Achilles was the greatest warrior of the Trojan War and the main character in Homer's Iliad. In the book he possessed strength, pride, arete, and he was also arrogant. However, he came off particularly selfish. Achilles shows the act of selfishness in numerous ways including, conversations and acts. The reason for Achilles withdrawing from the war was because Agamemnon and himself were in argument. The argument led to Agamemnon taking Briseis, Achilles love. To get back at Agamemnon he then removed himself from the war. This was a setback on the Greeks because Achilles was an amazing warrior on the battlefield. Selfishness plays a huge role in this act because Achilles gets angry over something he caused. Due to the anger, he continues to …show more content…
In book nine, he showed unkind gestures to the men who appeared with gifts for him. They brought him gifts to once again, convince him to renter into the war. Achilles took the gifts however, he refused to enter the war again. This is a characteristic of both selfishness and greed. This example can show greed because he accepted the gifts. Then again, it could show selfishness because he continues to decline the request. Achilles and Patroclus have a strong relationship with each other compared to others. Achilles treats Patroclus with a lot of respect. They are extremely close friends. However, due to Achilles conflicts he sent his closest friend into the war as his replacement. This is relates back to a previous struggle with Achilles. Achilles has sent Patroclus the war as his own replacement. This is a strong act of selfishness because he put someone else in danger again. The Iliad shows many ways Achilles is identified as selfish. It shows different ways through the first couple books of the Iliad that he expresses these characteristics. It starts off as Achilles withdrawing from war to Patroclus replacing him. Achilles acts slightly like any other human being. Everyone has acted somewhat like these qualities. Selfishness is a trait you should not break. Achilles is selfish not