Achilles Character Analysis in The Iliad

Achilles is the protagonist of the Iliad, and the story centers on his rage and anger against Agamemnon. The son of the immortal sea-nymph Thetis and the Phthian king Peleus, Achilles is by far the greatest warrior of the Trojan War. Achilles’ mother Thetis tells him that he has a choice of two fates: either he can die a young and glorious death at Troy, or he can return home and live a long but unremarkable life. Achilles chooses the former. When Agamemnon takes the girl Briseis away from him, Achilles’ honor is wounded, and he refuses to fight. After the death of Patroclus, Achilles emerges from battle and slays many Trojans, including Hector.

Achilles Quotes in The Iliad

The The Iliad quotes below are all either spoken by Achilles or refer to Achilles. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Rage—Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles,
murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses,
hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls,
great fighter’ souls, but made their body carrion,
feasts for the dogs and birds,
and the will of Zeus was moving toward its end.
Begin, Muse, when the two first broke and clashed,
Agamemnon lord of men and brilliant Achilles.

Related Characters: Achilles, Zeus, Agamemnon

Page Number and Citation: 1.1-8

Explanation and Analysis:

Someday, I swear, a yearning for Achilles will strike
Achaea’s sons and all your armies!

Related Characters: Achilles (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 1.281-282

Explanation and Analysis:

O my son, my sorrow, why did I ever bear you?
All I bore was doom…
Doomed to a short life, you have so little time.

Related Characters: Thetis (speaker), Achilles

Page Number and Citation: 1.492.494

Explanation and Analysis:

I and Achilles…Ah if the two of us
could ever think as one, Troy could delay
her day of death no longer, not one moment.

Related Characters: Agamemnon (speaker), Achilles

Page Number and Citation: 2.448-452

Explanation and Analysis:

I say no wealth is worth my life...a man’s life breath cannot come back again.

Related Characters: Achilles (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 9.488-495

Explanation and Analysis:

Mother tells me,
the immortal goddess Thetis with her glistening feet,
that two fates bear me on to the day of death.
If I hold out here and I lay siege to Troy,
my journey home is gone, but my glory never dies.
If I voyage back to the fatherland I love,
my pride, my glory dies . . .
true, but the life that’s left me will be long,
the stroke of death will not come on me quickly.

Related Characters: Achilles (speaker), Thetis

Page Number and Citation: 9.497-505

Explanation and Analysis:

Come, friend, you too must die. Why moan about it so?
Even Patroclus died, a far, far better man than you.
And look, you see how handsome and powerful I am?
The son of a great man, the mother who gave me life
a deathless goddess. But even for me, I tell you,
death and the strong force of fate are waiting.

Related Characters: Achilles (speaker), Hector, Patroclus

Page Number and Citation: 21.119-124

Explanation and Analysis:

Achilles went for him, fast, sure of his speed
as the wild mountain hawk, the quickest thing on wings,
launching smoothly, swooping down on a cringing dove
and the dove flits out from under, the hawk screaming...his fury
driving him down to beak and tear his kill—
so Achilles flew at him, breakneck on in fury
with Hector fleeing along the walls of Troy.

Related Characters: Achilles, Hector

Page Number and Citation: 22.165-172

Explanation and Analysis:

But one thing more. A last request—grant it, please.
Never bury my bones apart from yours, Achilles,
let them lie together…
just as we grew up together in your house.

Related Characters: Patroclus (speaker), Achilles

Page Number and Citation: 23.99-102

Explanation and Analysis:

Those words stirred within Achilles a deep desire
to grieve for his own father…And overpowered by memory
both men gave way to grief. Priam wept freely
for man-killing Hector, throbbing, crouching
before Achilles’ feet as Achilles wept himself,
now for his father, now for Patroclus once again,
and their sobbing rose and fell throughout the house.

Related Characters: Achilles, Hector, Patroclus, Priam

Page Number and Citation: 24.592-599

Explanation and Analysis:

Achilles Character Timeline in The Iliad

The timeline below shows where the character Achilles appears in The Iliad. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...begins by asking the Muse to help him sing the story of the rage of Achilles. The outcome of Achilles’ anger is the will of Zeus, but it also killed a... (full context)

...Apollo hears his prayer, and the Achaeans begin to die from disease. Ten days later Achilles calls a meeting of the troops. He declares that unless Apollo is appeased they will... (full context)

...insists that he must be repaid for his loss, or else he will be dishonored. Achilles tells him that all the treasure has already been divided, and that they will repay... (full context)

Agamemnon tells him that he doesn’t care if Achilles leaves, and that he will take Achilles’ own spoil of war, the girl Briseis, by... (full context)

Agamemnon calls two heralds and tells them to go to Achilles’ camp and take away Briseis. When they arrive, Achilles welcomes them and lets the heralds... (full context)

Weeping, Achilles prays to his mother Thetis, a sea goddess, to help him get revenge on Agamemnon.... (full context)

...kneels before him, asking him to honor her son by granting the Trojans victory while Achilles remains out of the battle. Zeus is angered, and says that helping the Trojans would... (full context)

Zeus is kept up at night trying to devise the best plan to honor Achilles by harming the Achaeans. He decides to send a treacherous dream to Agamemnon. The dream,... (full context)

...will show their true bravery. Agamemnon agrees and also expresses some regret for quarreling with Achilles, stating that the argument came from Zeus, and that Troy would fall “if the two... (full context)

...sail for each army. Great Ajax is singled out as the best Achaean soldier after Achilles. (full context)

...the battle from above, and cries out for the Trojans to fight back, noting that Achilles is not fighting. However, Athena spurs the Achaean forces onward. Homer finishes the book with... (full context)

...many more Achaeans will die. He says that Hector will not quit the fight until Achilles returns from his absence. (full context)

At the meeting of captains, Nestor proposes that Agamemnon make peace with Achilles in order to bring him back into battle. Agamemnon agrees with Nestor, stating again that... (full context)

Agamemnon’s emissaries reach Achilles’ camp, where they find Achilles playing the lyre and singing. Achilles’ friend Patroclus is at... (full context)

Achilles tells the embassy that his mother Thetis told him of two possible fates: either Achilles... (full context)

Phoenix attempts to convince Achilles not to sail home. He recalls Achilles’ father Peleus sending Achilles off to battle. Phoenix... (full context)

Achilles moves to adjourn the meeting, but Great Ajax speaks his turn. He tells Achilles that... (full context)

The embassy returns to Agamemnon’s camp. The embassy gives Agamemnon the news of Achilles’ refusal. The soldiers are dispirited by the news. Diomedes says that Achilles is very proud,... (full context)

Achilles watches the course of battle from the top of his ship. Noticing Machaon’s injury, he... (full context)

...which Nestor was present, reminding Patroclus of his role as a guide and advisor to Achilles. He urges Patroclus to help convince Achilles to fight, but also offers an alternate plan.... (full context)

...clash of wills between Zeus and Poseidon. Zeus favors the Trojans in order to give Achilles more glory, but Poseidon is determined to secretly protect the Achaean forces. In battle, Idomeneus... (full context)

...to lead the Trojan charge. Zeus tells Hera that his plan is simply to bring Achilles back into battle, and that Troy will eventually fall to the Achaeans. (full context)

Patroclus, still tending to Eurypylus, hears the Trojans storm the ramparts and rushes back to Achilles. The Trojans and Achaeans are locked in combat in front of the ships, and neither... (full context)

...are killed on both sides, but Zeus plans a further Trojan breakthrough, hoping to lure Achilles back into battle. Ajax valiantly defends the line from the top of the ships, using... (full context)

Patroclus returns to Achilles’ camp, crying with pity for the Achaean losses. Achilles tells him he has no reason... (full context)

Achilles initially refuses Patroclus’ request, but ultimately agrees, under the condition that Patroclus will return after... (full context)

...succeed in setting the ship on fire. Patroclus sees the blaze and quickly puts on Achilles’ armor. Achilles’ chariot is yoked and Achilles stirs up the Myrmidons, his troops. Achilles prays... (full context)

...wasps that a boy has angered. The Trojans, seeing the fresh reinforcements and thinking that Achilles has returned, immediately begin to fear for their lives. Patroclus begins killing Trojans, and the... (full context)

...retreat. As the Trojans flee, Patroclus pursues them across the plain, violating his promise to Achilles to return after defending the ships. Patroclus kills more Trojans and nearly storms the gates... (full context)

...young Trojan Euphorbus. Hector pounces on Patroclus and finishes the kill. He tells Patroclus that Achilles cannot save him now. With his last breath, Patroclus predicts to Hector that Achilles will... (full context)

...him to come help defend Patroclus’ body from desecration. Before they can arrive, Hector strips Achilles’ armor from Patroclus’ body. Menelaus and Ajax reach Patroclus and stand guard over the body.... (full context)

Achilles does not yet know that Patroclus has died. Achilles’ horses, immortal gifts from the gods,... (full context)

...fighting. Menelaus finds Antilochus and asks him to relay the news of Patroclus’ death to Achilles. Antilochus, struck dumb at the news, rushes back to the Achaean camp. Menelaus and Meriones... (full context)

Antilochus races to Achilles’ camp to tell him of Patroclus’ death. Achilles, sitting by ships, realizes the Achaeans are... (full context)

Achilles lets loose a “terrible, wrenching cry” that his mother Thetis hears. All of the sea... (full context)

Achilles mourns his previous inaction, and says that he is now ready to accept his fate... (full context)

...and Hector keeps pressing them closely. Hector is close to seizing Patroclus’ body. Iris informs Achilles that he must help defend Patroclus. Achilles tells Iris that he has no arms for... (full context)

...withdraw back into Troy’s walls. He states that the Achaeans were difficult enough foes without Achilles, and now he is sure to return. Zeus causes Hector to reject Polydamas’ advice, calling... (full context)

At night, the Achaeans mourn Patroclus. Achilles begins to prepare Patroclus’ body for burial, but says he will not bury him until... (full context)

...him for nine years after his fall from Olympus. Thetis speaks of her marriage to Achilles’ mortal father, and explains the situation of Achilles’ lack of armor. Hephaestus gladly agrees to... (full context)

As dawn rises, Thetis arrives at Achilles’ camp with the new armor. Achilles is still in deep mourning, lying face down beside... (full context)

Achilles calls an assembly of the Achaean troops. Agamemnon comes to the meeting, and Achilles says... (full context)

Achilles urges the Achaean captains to call their troops to battle as quickly as possible. Odysseus... (full context)

Agamemnon’s gifts are brought to Achilles’ camp. Briseis, returned to Achilles, sees that Patroclus has died and mourns over his body.... (full context)

All the Achaeans prepare for battle. Achilles arms himself, donning the magnificent armor forged by Hephaestus. Achilles’ team of horses is readied.... (full context)

Battle breaks out, and Achilles searches everywhere for Hector. Apollo, taking the form of the Trojan Lycaon, urges Aeneas to... (full context)

Hera, seeing Aeneas approach Achilles, asks Athena and Poseidon to help her give support to the Achaeans. Poseidon replies that... (full context)

Aeneas and Achilles prepare to fight. Achilles taunts Aeneas, recalling the time when Aeneas ran from his fury.... (full context)

Achilles and Hector both marshal their men forward. Apollo speaks to Hector, instructing him not to... (full context)

Achilles curses Hector for escaping, and blames Apollo for intervening. Achilles continues on his murderous warpath,... (full context)

Achilles pursues the Trojans to the ford of the river Xanthus. The Trojan force has split... (full context)

Achilles also comes across Priam’s son Lycaon, who Achilles had previously captured and sold into slavery.... (full context)

Achilles continues killing Trojans in the river, clogging the stream with blood and bodies. Xanthus, the... (full context)

Xanthus flings the corpses out of his river while saving the Trojans still living. Achilles begins to fight the river, and Xanthus creates enormous waves to drown Achilles. Achilles runs... (full context)

Achilles laments that if the river kills him, he will never gain the honor he desires.... (full context)

Priam watches the carnage wrought by Achilles from the gates of Troy. He orders that the Trojan gates be opened in order... (full context)

Achilles chases the man he believes to be Agenor, but soon Apollo reveals himself to Achilles,... (full context)

Priam sees Achilles coming and implores Hector to come inside the city walls. He asks Hector to pity... (full context)

Hector waits for Achilles as he runs across the plain. He is ashamed of his decision to allow the... (full context)

On their fourth circuit of Troy, Achilles cannot gain on Hector, but Hector cannot escape from Achilles’ speed. Zeus takes up his... (full context)

Hector speaks to Achilles, asking that they both swear to honor each other’s bodies, no matter the outcome of... (full context)

Hector and Achilles charge one another, and Achilles drives his spear into the weak spot at Hector’s neck.... (full context)

Achilles briefly considers further battle, but soon realizes he must return to the Achaean camp to... (full context)

The Achaean troops return to camp. Achilles organizes an elaborate funeral for Patroclus, and the Myrmidons grieve for their losses. Hector is... (full context)

Exhausted from combat and from grief, Achilles falls asleep. In the night, the ghost of Patroclus appears before Achilles, asking him to... (full context)

...Patroclus’ pyre. A massive sacrifice is made to the gods, including the twelve Trojans that Achilles took captive the previous day. At first Patroclus’ pyre does not burn, but Achilles prays... (full context)

Achilles oversees a series of funeral games to celebrate the memory of Patroclus. The first event... (full context)

...to see Diomedes coming, though Little Ajax argues with him, claiming Eumelus is in first. Achilles calms the quarreling captains. Diomedes wins the race, followed by Antilochus and Menelaus. Achilles gives... (full context)

The next event is the boxing match. Achilles lays out more prizes for the winners. The warrior Epeus is the victor, a specialist... (full context)

...two chosen champions. They fight, but are separated before one man can injure the other. Achilles declares Diomedes the winner. (full context)

...because he did not pray to Apollo. Last, the men begin the spear throwing competition. Achilles intercedes, telling Agamemnon that he is the greatest spearmen by far. Agamemnon is automatically awarded... (full context)

The funeral games end, but Achilles continues to be consumed by grief for Patroclus. Flooded with memories, he repeatedly uses his... (full context)

The gods feel sorry for Hector and desire to rescue his body from Achilles. They ask the god Hermes to steal the body away, but Hera, bent on shaming... (full context)

...Apollo addresses the gods. He tells them that Hector always respected the gods, and that Achilles has no decency for desecrating his body. Hera counters him, stating that Achilles is the... (full context)

Thetis flies to Achilles side to comfort him. Achilles is still choked with sorrow. Thetis asks Achilles how long... (full context)

...must travel alone to the Achaean ships to ransom Hector’s body. He is told that Achilles will not kill him. Priam orders that a wagon be readied with magnificent treasure. Hecuba... (full context)

...suspicious and asks whom the stranger is. Hermes replies that he is an aide of Achilles, and lets Priam know that Hector’s body is still intact. Hermes guides Priam’s wagon through... (full context)

Priam enters Achilles’ lodge and kneels, kissing Achilles’ hand. He asks for mercy, and beseeches Achilles to remember... (full context)

Achilles fetches Hector’s body for Priam and apologizes to Patroclus for letting the body go. Achilles... (full context)