Greek Mythology: What are some less known facts about Achilles?

Answer 1

Achilles’s opposition to Agamemnon’s unjust treatment of Chryses and his daughter exhibit a political and ethical dilemma. Beyond Achilles’s justified thumo-resistance, his dissent is also productive of a stasis, one helps to highlight Agamemnon’s moral wrong doing. 

Achilles resists on many grounds that quite clearly dissent with Agamemnon. To disobey orders, and to create a dissentual relationship with the violent and wrathful King of Kings takes a tremendous amount of epic courage. This type of thumos, and the penchant to approach resistance so virtuously, knowing full well that Achilles could be slain, is not found in any other great Greek hero. Glorious Diomedes, clever Odysseus and even mighty Ajax never disobey Agamemnon, even though they knew he made the wrong decisions about not returning the daughter of Chryses. Thus thumo-resistance is a unique quality that Achilles possesses. The refusal to fight might appear at face value unheroic, dishonorable and inglorious, however it takes a far greater courageous spirt to say no in the face of the loss of the honors and undying glory. This shows not only that Achilles was a great thumotic-resistor, but also a man with an unmatched menis, that which drove him to resist and maintain a stasis with Agamemnon. 

Menis is the affective connective tissue that holds epic heroes on the level of gods. Apollo’s wrath against the Greek army is matched by Achilles, and they both share a bond over their disruptions of Agamemnon and his plans. This is a powerful insight because, in addition to Paris’ pride, Agamemnon looses legitimacy from the gods Apollo and Zeus, and by using domestic and personal issues that become political issues, he is despotic in trying to use home ruler qualities over Achilles. As Agamemnon’s claims to legitimacy are lessened, Achilles claim to the right to hold menis are strengthened, as are his claims to distance himself from Agamemnon’s allies. As the most virtuous and most courageous of the Achaeans, Achilles is the only one who's justified in his time, in his menis and in his production of agonism and stasis. 

Achilles’s act is a heroic and honorable thumotic act of resistance, and after incurring wrath from Agamemnon hearing the truth, Achilles is in the right to respond by stirring a stasis, which occurs, for just reasons for Achilles and unjust reasons for Agamemnon, though three quarters of the Iliad, where Achilles refuses to fight, despite his heroic calling and fate, on ethical grounds of his continued thumotic resistance.

If Achilles is viewed as ‘the best of the Archaeans,’ is this because of his thumos,, his rage, or his ethical withdrawal from the Trojan War? How deep is the rage and thumotic struggles? The ethical dilemma that produces the rage and suffering of Achilles stems from the fact that he only has two bad options to choose from. Rage and frustration at Agamemnon’s decisions as a general are productive of the narrative of the Iliad. Is rage or solidarity the better option for Achilles to pursue, and furthermore, should he live the ethical life or die the heroic death?

What does an epic about μῆνις, τιμή and θυμός have to do with the themes of life and death? Blind rage produces death and destruction around the angered hero. The major thematic question through the Iliad is whether the honorable hero should allow himself to die on the battlefield sung with undying glory, κλέος. Is it better to live without glory and not live a long life? Perhaps, as the myth would suggest, heroic death is often fated. The good life or the noble death seem to be the core issues that trouble Achilles. As Thetis foresaw, the Trojan War will be the death of Achilles, and, because of Agamemnon’s misconduct, without a sense of belonging, communtiy, identity, friendship and solidarity with the Achaeans, it no longer makes sense to stay and die.