Codes of behavior and a specifically presumed etiquette of decorum are expected in every culture because of the conventional human experience within that society. In ancient Greece, there is a definitive conclusion that all figures agree on when considering the roles of timē and arete in society and how one attains an honorable, heroic status. Swift-footed Achilles is considered a hero by Homeric qualifications in “The Iliad of Homer” because he places value on his role of a masterfully skilled warrior above even his internal questioning regarding the constraints of their societal expectations.
The weight of honor is valued highly above all things in the Homeric society and in Book One, Achilles affixes a focus on integrity, honesty, and fairness especially concerning Agamemnon’s utter disrespect of the honor code. Achilles confrontation of Agamemnon right at the very beginning of “The Iliad” and Achilles’ resulting rage maintains an overriding essence throughout the story. Achilles’ being driven by the societal code of honor is critical in book one:
“O wrapped in shamelessness, with your mind forever on profit, how shall any one of the Acheans readily obey you either to go on a journey or to fight men strongly in battle?” 01.149-151.
Agamemnon’s lack of self-discipline and poor choices regarding himself versus his warriors make for a very discouraging leader and that is the rationale through which Achilles’ addresses the demoralized feelings of the Achean men. It is evident through Achilles’ reference to Agamemnon as being “wrapped in shamelessness” that Achilles does not shy away from calling out Agamemnon on his self-serving ways and the repeated notion of Agamemnon being shameless really drives home the impression Achilles has of his leader, and possibly the impression all the soldiers have of their leader:
“O great shamelessness, we followed you to do you favor, you with the dog’s eyes, to win your honor and Menelaos’ from the Trojans. You forget all this or else you care nothing. And now my prize you threaten in person to strip from me, for whom I labored much, the gift of the sons of the Acheans.” 01.158-162.
Achilles is a reinforcer of social code and throughout all the drained fighting of this tremulously long war, Achilles stands up against Agamemnon for the right of the warriors’ honor. Warriors are rightly justified through their prizes and Agamemnon’s behavior of taking from his men and giving to himself goes against the readily accepted social conduct of war in Ancient Greece. Achilles refers to Agamemnon as having “dog eyes” as a way to express Agamemnon as being greedy and thoughtlessly hungry in war. Just as a hungry dog is not to be trusted, Agamemnon is losing trust and faith among his fighting Achean men. Achilles understands how the world works and his clear social awareness is what makes him a fine heroic figure, yet it his because of his anger over the loss of his geras that the Achean men will be negatively affected.
Achilles’ withdrawal from the war is an effective and poignant strategy to guarantee that Agamemnon is forced to acknowledge his misconduct as a leader. Achilles’ absence from the war, however, also is an extreme deviation from what would be expected of such an immeasurably skilled warrior like Achilles. As the Trojans press onward in the war the Acheans suffer much loss, failure, and disappointment. An important instance to take note of occurs in book nine when Ajax, Phoinix, and Odysseus unify and go to Achilles in hopes that they can convince him to return to the fight. They appeal to Achilles, offering up the treasures that Agamemnon had stripped him off and more. At this time, however, it has become clear that Achilles is a more matured and fully-thinking character who has had time to reflect on the societal norms that have constrained him for so long.
“But I will speak to you the way it seems best to me: neither do I think the son of Atreus, Agamemnon, will persuade me, nor the rest of the Danaäns, since there was no gratitude given for fighting incessantly forever against your enemies. Fate is the same for the man who holds back, the same if it fights hard.” 09.149-151.
This is a critical moment for Achilles as he has now developed a revised assessment concerning the way warriors live their lives and it challenges everything considered to be valuable in this society. He has realized that, in the end, having fought valiantly and died young or having returned to live a long life back on his homeland of Phthia, he will end up in the same place: dead. The harsh reality that fate is the same for both men and there is no true, ultimate genuine gratitude for “fighting incessantly forever” is a dangerous reflection for the most prominent warrior of the Achean army to embrace.
“We are all held in a single honor, the brave with the weaklings. A man dies still if has done nothing, as one who has done much.” 09.319-320.
Achilles, born and raised under the social construct that warriors who had gained much honor on the battlefield, who have aided in the sacking of cities and the destruction of enemies far a wide will be rewarded with the utmost respect and fortune, a skilled warrior is nonpareil in a Homerica civilization. Despite being raised in a society that reverses the kind of man Achilles is: faster, stronger, more valuable than other men, kalos kai agathos… he still struggles with the understanding that in the end fate is the same for the man who has done nothing versus one who has done much. Accompanying this epiphanic episode Achilles proclamation that he will return to Phthia to live a long life away from the fighting and nonsense of war is a definitive challenge of the social norms. The trust, however, is that he remains nearby and this fact ties into his roots a reliably heroic figure in Ancient Greece. Even despite knowing that a glorified death on the battlefield is the same as a quiet death at home at an old age, Achilles cannot commit to the official act of abandoning his companions in battle or of abandoning his male-warrior upbringing.
When Patroklos goes to Achilles in book sixteen and asks to wear his armor on the battlefield to bring hope to fellow warriors, it is evident that Achilles is still very unresolved over Agamemnon’s treatment of him and the dishonor he has undergone.
“The girl the sons of Acheans chose out for my honor, and I won her with my own spear, and stormed a strong-fenced city, is taken back out of my hands by powerful Agamemnon, the son of Atreus, as if I were some dishonored vagabond.” 16.56-59.
Achilles still obviously considers this moment as a defining consequence for Agamemnon because he had overlooked Achilles’ timē through the acquirement of Achilles’ geras. Look at the language used by Achilles, “vagabond”, which according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a person who is “leading a wandering life”, clearly indicates that if he is not fighting in battle Achilles feels lost. This proves that even though Achilles has considered the denouncement of the honorable warrior life in book nine, he has not in actuality abandoned his warrior basis.
Upon the murder of his good friend Patroklos, Achilles finally returns to the battlefield with the intention of seeking revenge against Hektor. It is through Achilles’ penthos that he is invigorated with a renewed motivation that resides within the warrior spirit.
“The Trojans were taken every man in the knees with trembling and terror, as they looked on the swift-footed son of Peleus shining in all his armor, a man like the murderous war god.” 20.44-46.
Achilles’ veneration on the battlefield is apparent as his appearance on the fields of battle have encouraged his companions and has struck obviously blatant fear in the hearts of his adversaries. Achilles’ guilt and ethical questioning of social structure in ancient Greece remains unquestionable but his recognition of the inward exploration of his heroic spirit that societal norms had established in him.
The honor code built within a Greek hero like Achilles is indestructible, and the fact that even in the face of societal questioning he returns to his rightful place on the battlefield. The code of honor corroborates the concept that Achilles is a paradigm of the Homeric figure because of his re-affirmation of the status quo.
Works Cited
- Homer. Lattimore, Richmond. Martin, Richard. The Iliad of Homer. University of Chicago Press, 2011. Print.
- Oxford English Dictionary, www.oed.com. Online.
