Achilles: The Tragic Hero Essay -- The Iliad Essays

When researching heroes of classic literature it is impossible to ignore Achilles from The Iliad by Homer. Starting from the time that his mother Thetis dipped him in the River Styx, making his consistency practically invincible, it was obvious that the Greeks had a hero in the making (Achilles, 173). His physical strength and persistence to extinguish the Trojan society is untouched by every other figure in mythology (Achilles, 173). In The Iliad Achilles is not only a hero, but a tragic hero who experiences a downfall and realizes that it is a draw result of his actions. Along with this basic definition of what it means to be a tragic hero, there are also three notable characteristics. Tragic heroes portray fatal ignorance, are prompted by will or linguistic context, and are involved in a binding obligation (Merriam-Websters Encyclopedia of Literature, 1126). These three aspects put forward be synthesized into the idea that tragic heroes make one or more errors, res ulting from ignorance or a personal impediment and are obligated to live bug out their error(s) in the form of a downfall. Achilles in The Iliad by Homer is a tragic hero because he exhibits fatal ignorance, is prompted by will or circumstance, and is involved in a binding obligation throughout the entire poem. Achilles is a tragic hero because he displays ignorance towards his surroundings in The Iliad. At the initiation of the epic, Achilles is presented with not one but two fates to die gloriously at Troy or to live anonymously at home (Harris, 262). With this decision Achilles decides to give the Greek forces and go to war against Troy. This, of course, guarantees his pre-mature destruction and proves how illogical and unstable his mind was during this time, for h... ... made poor decisions that led to his downfall and could have easily prevented himself from his early death in the Trojan War this makes him a tragic hero in The Iliad. Works CitedAchilles. Epics for Student s. Ed. Marie Lazzari. Detroit Gale, 1997. 173. Print.Hamilton, Edith. Mythology Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. Warner Books ed. mod York Warner, 1999. Print.Harris, Stephen L., and Gloria Platzer. Classical Mythology Images and Insights. 2nd ed. N.p. Mayfield Publishing Co., 1998. Print.Homer. The Iliad. Trans. W. H. D. Rouse. New York New American Library, 2007. Print.Knox, Bernard. Achilles. Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism. Ed. Lynn M. Zott. Vol. 61. Detroit Gale, 1990. 129-50. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Oct. 2015.Merriam-Websters Encyclopedia of Literature. Springfield Merriam-Webster, 1995. Print.