In Homer’s Achilles would be one of the primary Greek Mythology characters to be wordy for Dante’s vison of hell. The difficulty that xxxx would face is assigning Achilles to the right circle of hell, as he is suitable for most if not all. Although Achilles was dubbed a hero and his actions and motivations were acceptable for his time, by the time Dante wrote his works, many of the attributes possessed by Achilles, and ancient heroes alike were deemed sinful. Much of society view was influenced by the Church and by the time of Dante, the European social norms had also shifted, thus making ancient heroes sinners and hell worthy.
In the first sentence Homer opens with “Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans” (128). Without going through the rest of Iliad, just based on this statement, Achilles would go to the fifth circle of the hell described by Dante, the circle off hell reserved for those that are charged with anger as a sin. As Vigil describes it to Dante, the residents of this circle are those overcame by anger and the sullen (Alighieri 622). Achilles was a skilled warrior, but many of his decisions were based …show more content…
Although the King’s war in Iliad might have been justified that he was trying to rescue his brother’s wife, the true campaign goal was to take over Iliad and it’s riches. Regardless of motivation or goals, since Achilles is one of the military leaders, he does get his share of the spoils of war. In an heated discussion with Agamemnon Achilles says “Never when the Achaeans sack any rich city of the Trojans do I receive so good a prize as you do, though it is my hands that do the better part of the fighting” (Homer 130). Active or passive motivation for fiscal gain and wealth would land Achilles in the fourth circle of Dante’s hell a place reserved for those consumed by