Greek myth reading response PDF

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Olivia Yazzolino Classics 40 Reading Response In Book 9 of the Illiad, Achilles says “Fate is the same for the man who holds back, the same if he fights hard.We are all held in a single honour, the brave with the weaklings. A man dies still if he has done nothing, as one who has done much” (9.318-320). He critiques the heroic code by saying that there may not be any reason to live with courage or honor because we all die the same. He is having an existential crisis and is unsure if what he does in battle will even matter. The heroic code is a code to encourage living a certain way, and Achilles has a moment of doubt where he isn’t sure that bravery and accomplishment in battle is as important as heroic code makes it seem. His point of view is different than in Book 1, when he says, “You wine sack, with a dog's eyes, with a deer's heart. Never once have you taken courage in your heart to arm with your people for battle, or go into ambuscade with the best of the Achaians. No, for in such things you see death” (1.225-232). He accuses Agamemnon of cowardice and emphasizes the importance of fighting with honor. He believes in the heroic code because he has not yet met defeat. This is worth thinking about because myths and classical literature place so much value on battle and heroism and they give us insight on what the culture in that time was like. What did the ancient Greeks value most? Why did Achilles change his philosophy over the course of the war?...