Book 2 of the lliad is very interesting. I finally get a visual of Achilles in battle, but honestly I don’t like it! He is very boastful and I don’t think his actions were that of a hero. As stated in the question, he actually does have blind rage and he admits it. When Hector is begging him to uphold his honor after death, but Achilles refuses and instead taunts Hector about how his fury will drive him to basically mutilate him. This is not a way in which a hero is supposed to act. Given, this is a time when war and killing seems to be honorable and that’s fine, kill if you must but the mocking of the enemy to the death is totally unnecessary. The only thing that I am confused about is that action that caused all of Achilles’ rage. What lead him to mutilate Hector? Until I know this answer, I do not think that Achilles’ actions were justifiable. Yet, I do understand that ethically, the actions of Achilles could be right. Considering that fighting for ones honor and pleasing the gods is a sort of code of conduct. I just honestly do not believe that neither the taunting nor the lack of empathy on Achilles’ part can be justified.
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