Achilles vs. Agamemnon: A conflict driven by Ego

While ones ego can be associated with self respect and hard work, many link this trait to arrogance and excessive pride. A big ego can be developed in a person, when he/she gets what they want time and time again, with little to no challenge. Force two people with huge ego's to work together, who share different opinions and the results will most likely be catastrophic. This is analogous to the conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon in the Iliad. While they fought for the same cause, they lacked respect for one another and believed themselves greater than their counterpart. This conflict between two men, who had major influences on their soldiers, was a massive problem for the Greek army.

In the Iliad, Agamemnon is portrayed as a greedy leader who used his army to sack cities and showed no mercy to his enemies. His victories and seat upon the throne of the Greek army, made him feel invincible. Achilles, the quick footed soldier who was the mightiest of the Greeks, could not be defeated in battle, he was said to live for war and and took down any opponent that got in his way. The Greek soldiers saw Achilles as their hero and many believed he should lead them in place of Agamemnon. This sparked a great amount of jealousy in the greedy commander and created this bitter rivalry between himself and Achilles.

After a small victory against the Trojans both Achilles and Agamemnon received war prizes from their defeated foes. Agamemnon was given Chryseis and Achilles received Briseis, daughters of wealthy and prominent Trojan nobles. This was a very common practice during that time, the winner of the war was given prizes to show respect. All was well for the Greeks until Chryseis, Agamemnon's prize, prayed to the God Apollo and had a plague spread throughout the Greek army. This crippled their numbers and was devastating to their war effort. In order to release the plague, Agamemnon was forced to release Chryseis and displayed his authority by taking Briseis from Achilles. Achilles was outraged by this move, not only because of his incredibly big ego, but he felt betrayed that his commander would take what was rightfully his. The two exchanged heated words and Achilles stood up for himself and stated he would no longer fight for the Greeks. In fact, he even went as far as to pray to Zeus to curse the army and prevent any further victories, proving his importance to their army. This actually proved to be devastating for the Greeks and they were unable to defeat the Trojans without their most valued warrior. Agamemnon refused to give in to Achilles's proclamation and denied that he had a significant role in the armies defeats. Although the Greeks ended up winning the war, the conflict started by only two men halted their progress and ultimately forced the war to trudge on. If the two had put their egos aside and worked in unison, they most likely would have taken down the Trojans more rapidly, completing their mission and prevented the two from butting heads any more.

 

Written by Nick Matkiwsky