In the Pursuit of Perception: The Epic Education of Achilles Sean P. Kerrigan Course: ENGL 351 Instructor: Dr. Mary Sue Ply Essay Type: Research Paper Within the annals of epic literature, the celebrated role of "epic hero" has always been present, heralding the poem's themes through the actions of a single, extraordinary protagonist. Strong and courageous, he is caught within the nets of mortality, and, at times, he may struggle to replace his worldly desires with celestial knowledge. In profound ways, he can even embody the mythological ideals of a civilization, and, through his many perilous adventures and profound encounters, the course of his identity may shift in focus towards something greater than himself. Through this change in his character, one can observe the universal plight of humanity in greater detail and discover how one must overcome certain obstacles to understand the complex nature of the gods. In Homer's The Iliad, such an "epic education" can be found within the account of Achilles, who, through his slow transition from an excessively angry brooder to a compassionate symbol of self-sacrifice, matures into a character that is more in tune with divine enlightenment. At the beginning of The Iliad, Achilles is observed as being insulted by Agamemnon and getting caught within a web of anger; this state of rage distinguishes the ignorance of his character at the beginning of his "education." The pinnacle of this ignorance can be observed when Achilles is about to kill Agamemnon, "his spirit racing... drawing his huge blade from its sheath" (1.227-228). With this action, Achilles demonstrates his complete reliance on brutality and the more violent, primitive forms of justice, giving credence to his association with a "lion... [whose] deadly energy... [is] the brute force of beasts..." (King 19). At this stage of his development, he is shown as being susceptible only to his anger, and the goddess Athena has toswoop down from the sky to remind Achilles that he is not acting in accordance with divine virtue: "check your rage if only you will yield... Obey [the gods]" (1.242-251). In this scene, "Achilles has spoken and acted thoughtlessly…he sees a point and goes straight to it, feels an emotion and gives way to it immediately" (Redfield 90). This incident, however, also marks the beginning of his journey to overcome this pride as he acknowledges the words of the goddess in the noble response: "If a man obeys the gods they're quick to hear his prayers" (1.256-257). This simple statement signifies that Achilles is able to understand the knowledge of the gods and that he has an ability to decipher and accept these divine virtues. However, this type of development will come much later in the poem. Throughout the first half of The Iliad, Achilles is an arrogant and selfish character, especially when he reacts negatively to the Achaean embassy that has been sent to persuade him to rejoin the battle and displays "an irrational impulse of anger" (Schein 115). Odysseus begs Achilles to "at least take pity on all our united forces mauled in battle" (9.365-366), providing a reasonable request for Achilles to look past his own petty dispute with Agamemnon and, instead, fight for the honor and safety of his dearest comrades whose trust should not be betrayed. However, paralyzed in his anger over the insults of Agamemnon (Schein 115), he will not budge from his views: "Not for all the world," he insists, "nor will all the rest of Achaea's armies [persuade me]" (9.381-382). His selfishness is made even more apparent when he agrees to fight only if his own ships are attacked. This absence of sympathy for his innocent countrymen, who had no involvement in his quarrel with Agamemnon, shows that Achilles is still concerned only with himself. This notion is confirmed in his response to the words of another ambassador, his old friend and mentor, Phoenix. When Phoenix tries to persuade Achilles with images of familial duty, exclaiming, "I made you my son, I tried, / so someday you might fight disaster off my back" (9.599-600),Achilles is still not moved to acknowledge his own excessive pride, shunning the value of the father-son relationship because his "heart still heaves with rage... [at] that arrogance of his... that son of Atreus treating [him] like some vagabond" (9.789-792). At this stage of his education, Achilles is still overpowered by his need for glory and vengeance, and he continues to be an "isolated, inhibited, and dislocated figure"(Schein ll5). The significant shift in Achilles' character occurs with the death of his dearest friend Patroclus (Van Nortwick 58), which directs his anger to produce a more altruistic objective for his actions that involves restoring the honor of this fallen companion before his own. The notion that Achilles grows as a character before his selfless re-entrance into the war, being only interested in avenging the spirit of Patroclus, can first be seen in Achilles' refutations of his glory-seeking acts from the beginning of the poem. Acknowledging his unnecessary pride, Achilles states that "[Patroclus] perished, / lacking me, my fighting strength, to defend him" (18.116-117), and realizes that he did not "bring one ray of hope to [his] Patroclus, / nor to the rest of all [his] steadfast comrades" (18.119-120) when he was needed most. This initial realization of his past destructiveness allows him to temporarily look past his individual pursuits for glory and focus on a more enlightened path of action that acknowledges the thoughts and feelings of others before focusing on personal, material triumphs. This crucial step in Achilles' education is realized more specifically in his words spoken to the body of Patroclus before entering the battlefield: "Here in front of your flaming pyre I'll cut the throats / of a dozen sons of Troy in all their shining glory, / venting my rage on them for your destruction!" (18.392-394). This short proclamation perfectly exemplifies the new feelings of an evolving Achilles; at the beginning of the poem, "Achilles [saw] the world through the heroic prism, valuing individual honor above the common good" (Van Nortwick 62), but, withthis new perspective, Achilles has begun to look past his own needs in order to preserve the honor of Patroclus. The fact that he is receiving no rewards for this action and is actually acknowledging it as a means for self-sacrifice (King 7), recognizing that "this alien earth I