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In The Iliad, what are four results of Achilles' pride?

There are four major results of Achilles' pride to be found throughout The Iliad, including alienation, wrath, vengeance, and death.


Alienation


The Greek warrior Agamemnon insults Achilles' pride by demanding that he surrender Briseis. Briseis was a maid Achilles had claimed as a prize of war, and Agamemnon's demand challenges Achilles' status as a leader. As a result, he withdraws from the Greek forces and does nothing to help when the Trojans attack. This alienation segues directly into the next result of Achilles' pride, which is his wrath.


Wrath


Achilles' pride commonly results in wrath, which is a major theme throughout The Iliad. The Muse is even asked to sing of the "wrath of Achilles." Achilles has a strong sense of honor that leads him to wrath as a response to certain events that violate his high standards of honor, particularly the capture of Briseis. To the Greeks, honor was based on the pursuit of excellence, nobility, valor, and accomplishment. The wrath of Achilles is strongly related to each concept, and all stem from his pride as a warrior. Whenever Achilles' pride leads him to feel that his honor has been violated, wrath is the result.


Vengeance


When Achilles' friend Patroclus is killed by Hector, Achilles' pride plays a large role in his quest for vengeance. It is also his pride, both in himself as a warrior and in his friendship with Patroclus, that leads him to kill Hector on the battlefield. Despite Achilles' disdain for the fallen warrior, Hector's father successfully recovers his son's body by appealing to Achilles' pride through begging.


Death


As the son of a mortal man and a goddess, Achilles was given the choice between living with the gods in a peaceful existence and pursuing glory among the humans. He chooses the life of a warrior and, in doing so, dies the death of an honored mortal. This choice exemplifies Achilles' pride better than any other. Rather than live a peaceful and long life without valor, his pride motivates him to lead the dangerous life of a warrior. Achilles is the greatest warrior among the Achaeans, which further bolsters his pride and confidence.


Throughout The Iliad, it is heavily implied that Achilles' fabled heel is a metaphor for his pride. After being dipped in the river Styx, Achilles is invulnerable everywhere except the heel by which his mother held him. Both his pride and his heel serve as his primary weaknesses. In the end, Achilles is killed by an arrow that strikes his vulnerable heel. Hector's brother is the one who shoots the arrow and kills Achilles out of vengeance. Because Achilles' pride was the primary reason he killed Hector, it could be argued that his pride indirectly leads to his own death.


Through these four results of Achilles' pride, we see that this characteristic is both his greatest strength and his most fatal weakness.

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