Ancient Mythology East and West Multicultural Comparison of Myths

¶ … mythology and ancient beliefs. Specifically it will compare the myths of heroism in the myth of Achilles to the modern film "Troy." The film "Troy," from 2004, is a remake of the Homer classic "The Iliad," which recounts the legend of the Greek warrior Achilles. In the film, actor Brad Pitt plays Achilles, giving him a larger than life, heroic quality. Achilles is the child of a mortal and a nymph, and his parents attempt to give him immortality by dipping him in the River Styx, but they miss a tiny spot on his heel, and this leads to his downfall.

Both of these myths center around the idea of the hero in mythology, and in fact, they show the importance of heroes in the Greek society 3500 years ago. The translator of the Iliad writes, "Heroes are born into positions of prominence, which they also reaffirm by their public actions and especially by courageous performance in combat" (Homer xxii). Society reveres these heroes and treats them like gods, and they receive better treatment in society, with better food, better homes, and more power and prestige, as well. The translator continues, "Part of what makes heroic combat so breathtaking is this head-on response to mortality. Instead of evading death, heroes make it their own, inflicting it on others and courting it for themselves" (Homer xxiii). That is what makes them heroic in the eyes of others, and what counted in society at the type. Both of these works portray Achilles as a larger-than-life hero who courageously leads his men into battle, helping win the Trojan War that had lasted ten years.

However, there are some differences between Achilles and most other larger-than-life heroes. In both the book and the film, Achilles does not always act like a hero. In fact, because of disagreements with Agamemnon, the Greek forces leader, Achilles sits out much of the war, along with his men. In the film, there were only a few key battles, but in the book, the war lasted ten long years, and stubborn Achilles sat out most of it. He only joined in the fighting after his good friend was killed, and he killed Hector, the murderer, in revenge for his friend's death, and this ultimately ended the war. These events are portrayed in the film as a one-on-one fight between Hector and Achilles (which did not happen in the book. In fact, Achilles killed Hector with a spear as he was running toward him, and Hector was wearing Achilles own armor that he had take from Patroclus after he killed him. This does not seem like a very heroic way to act, especially when the victorious heroes are so revered in Greek society. Achilles was a hero, but not in the way we might think of modern day heroes. In this book, he was heroic because he avenged his friend's death and helped win the war, but he certainly was not heroic in the way he disagreed with him commander and then sat out a large portion of the war.

In the film, most of the action takes place on the battlefield, as if that was all there was to Achilles life. The book goes into much more detail, giving glimpses into Greek everyday life, the backgrounds of all the characters, and why Greek society was centered on heroes and heroism. The book goes into much greater detail, and that makes the entire story more interesting and believable. The film, although it does portray Achilles as a true hero, is more about the battle itself and less about the characters, but in the printed myth, it is all about the characters and the reasons behind their actions.

In the book, Achilles recognizes that his fate is tied to the war against the Trojans. He says, "Zeus does not fulfill A man's every thought. / We two are fated / To redden the selfsame earth with our blood, / Right here in Troy. / I will never return home / To be welcomed by my old father, Peleus, / Or Thetis, my mother. / The earth here will hold me" (Homer 365). In the film, Achilles is dead by the end of the war, while the Greeks are victorious. In the book, Homer never actually shows Achilles death, he simply alludes to it, as Achilles alludes to it here, so the reader has to come to their own conclusions about Achilles fate.

There are many other differences between the film and the movie that ignore the heroic and important aspects of Greek life. In the book, Achilles mother is a nymph, making him half god half man. In the film, she is human. Part of his heroic qualities come from his half God status, and his immortality, which is not a part of the film's story. That was a big part of Achilles life, however, and a huge part of Greek life. The gods and goddesses were the epitome of Greek culture and beliefs, and helped propel them into battle with others, and all of this is completely ignored throughout the film.