Achilles, the Greek Hero of the Trojan War

                 Achilles, the Greek hero of the Trojan War, the greatest warrior of Homer’s Iliad, was introduced in the book as a brave righteous warrior that fights for his stand and his belief. He fights with King Agamemnon, a debate that centralizes on freeing Chryseis or not, that helps us distinguish the characteristics of the two, Achilles being the righteous one. After the big harsh debate comes the taking over of the soft sacrificing side of Achilles. He accepts his fate that his prize Bryseis is taken away from him, knowing that it is for his town’s own good. He holds all the anger inside and never lets it show.

                   That anger is not seen until Book 9 of Iliad. Phoinix, along with Oddyseus, comes to Achilles to deliver King Agamemnon’s message including his promise, oath, and gifts for the lad. King Agamemnon offers him such likeable gifts that only few can resist, and Achilles is one of those few. Achilles firmly stands on his ground. Boiling in temper, he freely refuses the offer. He believes that whatever choice he makes, he will still end up with similar fate. He even loses hope on beating the Trojans. Even with the plea of his fatherly Phoinix, he again refuses the offer as if no one can melt the ice inside his heart. He decides to stay for the night and decide on it tomorrow. This features the metamorphosis of another side of Achilles, a hard-hearted, grudge-holding, proud king.

                For me, Achilles doesn’t even touch the standard of a mighty king rightful of the
position that he’s holding with his reply. A king should do whatever it takes to help, to raise, and to support his country for all’s sake. A king should consider every direction of his decisions before even making one. He should see to it that every step he makes will help his country embark on new roads, opportunities, and success. Based on his answers, he is far from a rightful king. He lets his emotions, particularly his anger, control him and his decisions that will determine the fate of his fellow countrymen. He knows that he will be of big help but he still chooses to refuse. He lets his pride ruin his dignity as a king and as a warrior. He, who fears to be like Agamemnon, slowly turns into one without even realizing it. He suddenly adapted the “stubbornness of the heart”.

The Stubborn-Hearted King

    Homer’s Iliad narrates the story of how the famous Trojan Wars occurred. It includes how the “stubborn hearted” King Agamemnon participated in the mentioned war.

    King Agamemnon, the son of King Atreus and brother of Menelaos, rules Argos. He is the king that has the so called “stubbornness of the heart”. It is deeply enchained in his character, a stubborn proud king that always thinks he is right and is in control of everything.

     Hoping he can set her daughter free, priest Chryses makes King Agamemnon an offer, a ransom. Although the people talk good words about this, and they agree to accept the ransom, King Agamemnon is still unsatisfied. He sends the priest leaving the place with a broken heart that makes them suffer from Apollo Shootafar. During the assembly, he gets into a debate with Achilles. Achilles gets into his stand and tells Agamemnon that he is selfish and that he needs to set the priest’s daughter free for them to avoid any harm from Apollo Shootafar. Being humiliated, King Agamemnon disagrees. Instead, he makes Achilles a threat to rob his wife in return of setting the priest’s daughter home. Agamemnon keeps on doing things even without thinking about the consequences of these just to prove that he is right.

    One example of "The stubbornness of the heart" is seen in the character Micah in the movie Paranormal Activity. The movie focuses on the lives of a couple who begins to experience paranormal activities inside their new home. After experiencing such activities, the couple tries to ask for help from a physic. They are informed that the demon inside their house feeds on negative energies and is intent to haunting Katie wherever she goes. The physic recommends them to call a demonologist. He also tells them not to talk to the demon for this will only let him in and make him stronger. Despite the advices given to them, Micah, Katie’s husband, starts to talk to the demon. He keeps on taunting the him and asking him questions. This makes the demon stronger and makes him more able to haunt Katie which slowly leads to their suffering.


     It is clear the Micah possesses the "stubbornness of the heart" that makes them suffer more. The advices the psychic has given them are just like trash ignored. Instead, he decides to do it his way which he believes is right. Just like any typical teen or adult, he will always tend to do things the way he wants to even if it disregards the things people advice him as long as he accomplish his goal.