Achilles self absorption essays

Achilles self absorption essays Achilles is "godlike self-absorption", the hyper-violent hero of Homer's Iliad. Now I understand all about ancient ideas of honor and such, but let's face it: if Achilles were alive today, we'd want him in jail faster than someone could say "homicidal maniac." - Unless we needed him. Anyway, our friend Achilles lacked perspective. While most of us would consider "godlike" and "self-absorbed" to be contradictory ideas, this isnt a Buddha, Mohammed, or Yahweh; these are the Olympians, history's very first dysfunctional family. The gods are petty, conniving, violent, philandering liars, but still, they are gods, and as such, they demand respect. They do not learn moral lessons. They do not seek enlightenment. They do not honor their inner-child; they are their inner-child. They pursue their self-interests as well as they can in a more or less amoral manner, as a scholar would pretty much expect of any overly self-involved all-powerful being. Their timeless nature deprives them of their dignity. How can anything ever be really serious to someone who is destined to go on living for eternity? Achilles is confused. He is the product of a mixed marriage, mortal and immortal, and never got the counseling he needed to make it work. So, he thinks like a god, even though he will die just like any other mortal. This makes him very emotional. Thetis, his overindulgent sea nymph of a mother, doesn't help. She is at his beck and call. Achilles whines about Agamemnon stealing his girlfriend, so she agrees to get Zeus to back the Trojan enemy. They will mow down Achilles' own allies so that, at the brink of utter and total defeat, they'll beg him to fight, thus recognizing and proving his godlike greatness. Until then, he and his Myrmidon forces will just hang out and party on the beach. And it will all be that other self-absorbed ass, Agamemnon's fault. Nothing can intrude upon Achilles' perfect self-pity. He is inc...