The Beginning and The End

Credits to *GENZOMAN for the image

Without knowing that an opening on his armour showed his flesh somewhere around his neck, Hector drew out his sharp and flasing sword as he charged towards Achilles. Achilles took advantage of the weak spot, so his spear ran through the body of Hector. He fell in the dust as Hades gradually pulled his soul down to the underworld.

That was the version of Homer of the scene when Hector was killed. I think what happened was quite too fast, so I made my own version of it. Here it is:

Prince Achilles was already pointing his spear towards the opening on Hector's armor. As he was about to cast, he saw a lady, running at Hector's back. "Hector! Achilles!," the girl screamed. It was Helen, the source of all troubles and war. "Please stop! Please stop!" She ran in the middle of the two fierce warriors, and said, "I won't let this thing to happen. I'm the root of all this chaos, so I myself will put an end to it. I will now come back to my homeland, and live with Menelaus again. I can't take all these killings anymore. Now prince Achilles, please take me to Menelaus."

Some were shocked, some were angered, and some were relieved. They had been fighting for that single woman for nine years and now, it would all end.

Credits to ~SyreneTarancledd for the image

Achilles and Helen turned their back towards the Achaian fleet. On the other hand, Hector was moving towards his spear. He then pointed it to Achilles, and threw. It was about to hit the target, but Athena was there. She moved the spear to another direction, so it was a miss. However, the most beautiful lady, Helen, was directly hit and was thrown to the ground.

As the grieving Menelaus rushed beside Hellen, Achilles balanced his spear, preparing to strike at Hector. It was a direct hit on the forehead. For he was not yet satisfied, he ran towards the dying man and stabbed him on his chest, piercing his heart.

The Achaians were able to sack the city of Troy. However, their main goal for fighting was not met. She died as she was trying to stop the carnage between the two men. She was the root of war, and little did she know that she would be the end of it.

Achilles: Torn between Two Matters

Credits to =djailledie for the image

Being a leader entails a lot of decision making. The decisions he makes may result to either something which can lift him up, or to something which can pull him down. Many times he has to make what we call 'sacrifices' for the sake of the common good. This was experienced by the great of king of the Myrmidons, Achilles.

In book XVI of The Iliad, his permission was asked by Patroclus if he could go to war wearing his prestigious armor. He said yes but he posted certain conditions. In the war, Patroclus was able to slain a lot of enemies; however, he was also killed because of Apollo Shootafar.

Credits to ~ishka-el for the image

His decision to send Patroclos out to the battlefield has both a positive and a negative effect. First, the positive is that he was able to achieve his main goal that was to push the Trojans away from the ships. The negative is that he lost something he could never take back, the life of his friend.

As the greatest warrior of the Achaian fleet, i believe that he was concerned for what would happen to the whole army. His hidden motivation was actually to bring panic to the Trojans by just even showing his 'fake' presence. I believe he really would like to fight force-to-force with the enemy; however, he was torn between two things: his concern for the army and his hatred to Agamemnon.

What he did was the safest choice he could take. He wanted to help his army but he did not want to give up his pride. Therefore, he was able to help the army because of his 'fake' presence, as well as he was able to grieve for the lost of his wife.

In this incident, Achilles conveys the kind of a leader who cannot fully fulfill his responsibilities for his people because of personal matters. He cannot give his whole self to his duties because of some personal sacrifice he has to make.

This confusion Achilles had been going through is also being experienced by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. I'm not referring to her duties to our country, yet I'm referring to her duty to go down from his place on 2010. Because of the numerous cases her husband has brought, she needs to retain power, so she decides to run again as a congresswoman in Pampanga.

Credits to by ~jaybhoi for the image

Somehow, Gloria Arroyo's case can be compared to Achilles'. They know they have to do something for the common good, yet they cannot do it because a personal matter is at stake.

Achilles: Heart Over Mind

Credits to ~TagsMagilicuty for the image

A man who never knew fear, a man who was worth more than thousands of men, a man who entailed valor and boldness, a man who could persuade a large assembly with sweet words, and of course, the greatest warrior of Greece - Achilles, prince of the house of Peleus. These are just several of the great praises given to him based on the first books of Iliad.

Every man, wife and elder saw him as a great king, and the traits of such a king can be simplified into one strong statement: A king does what is best for his people. However, did the great Achilles possess that trait particularly in book 9?

To answer that question, let us assess his actions in the book.

King Agamemnon was already giving a great atonement to him which I think was the greatest peace offering made in the book. Moreover, he was actually accepting the wrongdoings he had committed, and he even swore an oath to him that he had never touched his wife. I think those are enough for Achilles maybe not to forgive Agamemnon at once, but to be in aid of his nation. However, he rejected the humble offer and apology. The eminence I saw in him slowly faded as I was reading the part where he was very ill-minded in decision making.

Credits to ~jonchan for the image

His decisions were very foot-in-mouth for a king and a champion like him. In that book, I saw Achilles as an angry man who was overruled by his emotions. He was still badly mourning for what King Agamemnon had done to him, and that was robbing his wife. As the post to which everyone leaned on, he did not think of the sake of his people; but instead, he only entertained the negative side of his ego and pride.

If he was a merchant, a shepherd, an ordinary person, I would be able to sympathize with him because he was badly wronged. However, he was not; his responsibility for the Achaians was unmatchable. His duty would always be his duty. The greatest warrior would always be the greatest warrior. Achilles would always be Achilles.

Credits to ~Merkaba998 for the image

Based on the assessment I've done, I conclude that Achilles didn't have the trait of a great king in book 9. On the other hand, there are still more books to come and I am pretty sure that this hero will redeem himself.

One lesson in life that we can learn from this is that the heart and the mind should always reach the balance for us to make right decisions in life. Sometimes when the mind overrules, one tends to forget the values that he should always carry with him. On the other hand, when the heart is in power, one tends to forget his duties, responsibilities and his main goal. Therefore, I say that when the mind is equal to the heart, and the heart is equal to the mind, right decisions in life will be made.

Credits to ~nikkixnervosa for the image

A King's Stubborn Heart

Credits to ~jc25813 for the image

It all started when Chryses went before King Agamemnon to carry ransom to bring his daughter, Chryseis, back home. Despite the man's humility and respect, the King rejected the offer, and then said harsh words to him.

Furious and broken-hearted, poor Chryses went home and prayed to Apollo. The God heard his prayer, so he sent pestilence on the camp of the King.

So i'll cut the story short. To solve the problem, Achilles summoned everyone to a conference and there, he discovered the root of the conflict. He and the King resulted to a brutal debate.

In the end, King Agamemnon decided to send Chryseis back to her father. They all thought that everything would be fine; however, the King told Achilles that he would take his wife, Briseis, in exchange of the daughter of Chryses.

Achilles then bursted into anger, yet he was still able to control himself with the help of Athena. After their long exchange of harsh words, he returned to his quarters with his friends.

This brief narration shows how stubborn King Agamemnon's heart is. Only because he has the power of a King, he does what we wants without thinking that his rude actions may affect the participation of Achilles in war.

For me, the best modern day example who displays the same stubbornness of heart is former President Joseph Estrada. Without sounding very controversial, I believe that he is very greedy of power and wealth. He was impeached before because of being a Jueteng Lord and now, he again wants to be the president.

Credits to ~rhiver for the image

All of these teach us an important lesson in life. It teaches us that greediness and stubbornness in all their forms will do us nothing but harm. At first, we may enjoy it, but at the latter part of the story, we will be faced by consequences we didn't think about before.

Credits to *Liol for the image