The Hero 21
an enhanced sense of self. He feels a fullness and unity of being be-
cause of what he is and what he has done.
Before Achilles left for the war in Troy his father Peleus gave him
simple and daunting advice. He told Achilles that he must always
achieve the fi rst place. He must be the bravest of the warriors, taking
risks and doing deeds that no one else can match. It wouldn’t be
enough for Achilles to do his duty. He has to seek out opportuni-
ties to achieve remarkable feats. He has to put himself constantly at
risk. Peleus wanted his son to be the best man in the army, fi rst
among the Greeks, and that’s what Achilles strives to be.
At the opening of The Iliad, Achilles clearly believes that he is
the best of the Achaeans. No warrior means more to the army than
he does, and this fact fi lls Achilles with pride. But then everything
changes. Agamemnon, the king and leader of the Greeks massed at
Troy, demands that Achilles surrender the slave girl, Briseis, to him
after the god Apollo has forced Agamemnon to give up his own
prize, Chryseis. Agamemnon makes his demands not privately in a
conference with Achilles or in a meeting with the most im por tant
princes, but publicly, when the entire army is massed. It’s not clear
exactly what Achilles’ feelings are for the slave girl. At one point he
cries out that he deeply loved her, at another he says it would have
been better for all if one of Apollo’s arrows had struck her down after
she was captured.
Achilles is enraged by the king’s demand. His fi rst thought is
that he can end the dispute immediately by killing Agamemnon.
Agamemnon is a formidable warrior, perhaps the best spear thrower
in the army, but he couldn’t stand for an instant against Achilles. In
a fl ash, Agamemnon would be lying dead in the sand. Yet the gods
will not tolerate the killing of Agamemnon. Hera sends Athena down
to stop Achilles, and it is clear that Hera speaks for Zeus, the king of
all kings in the Greek cosmos. Zeus is nearly always sympathetic to