The Iliad is primarily about how Achilles’ anger is affecting the war’s outcome. Throughout the book, the readers can observe how his character matures. A consistent characteristic of Achilles is that he let's his emotions cloud his judgment, and thinking rationally. The developmental characteristics are his sense of consequence (book 15-390 18). Throughout the book and even towards the ending of the book, Achilles has yet to learn how to keep his emotions from clouding his judgment. At the beginning of the book when Achilles loses his war prize Briseis to Agamemnon, his menace drives him to make an oath: “that all the sons of the Achaians be pinned on their grounded vessels by the reason of [Achilles’] loss, and suffer things that are shameful” to the point where it would be clear that Agamemnon has given “no honor to the best of the Achaians” (18.76-7) (1.242-4). Achilles being a man of his word, stood fast on his ground as he sat on the sidelines while Hektor kept on “slaughtering the Argives” (9.633). At that moment, Achilles had little care for the Argives seeing as his companion, Patroclus, as well as his soldiers, the Myrmidons, were safely …show more content…
Achilles’ judgment is clouded because he wants to take the army of the Achaians “starving and unfed” until “[his] companion”, Patroclus, has been honored (19.207, 210). He ends up needing Odysseus and Nestor's’ council of reason for him to think rationally. That in a little while it will be time for the battle, and if he wants his men to succeed they will need energy or the men “will not have strength to fight” because they are “starving for food” (19.162, 164). With that, Achilles had said he has forgiven Agamemnon, but in actuality, Achilles has redirected the “fury inside [his] heart” towards the Trojans and Hektor (19.202). It is primarily because of Achilles fury, that the excessive bloodshed has taken place in the