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Mythology and the Historic Person
An historic person whose personality seems to mimic the character of Achilles from Homer’s Iliad in Greek mythology is Muhammad Ali. Ali was the world heavyweight boxing champion when he was drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. Ali refused to go, just as Achilles refused to leave his tent to go fight the Trojans. Achilles was angry that he had been disrespected by Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks. So too was Ali angry that he and his people had been disrespected by Uncle Sam, i.e., the US government. Ali cited the racial injustices in the US and all that the American government had done over the decades and centuries to oppress black people—and now the US government wanted to make black people go kill brown people on the other side of the world for a reason that no one could explain. Ali was incensed by the very thought of it.
Thus, Ali refused to go and fight in the war, even though it meant that he could no longer fight in the ring. He could not box; he lost his title as heavyweight champion as the belt was taken from him, and yet he refused to budge one iota. He was very much like Achilles sitting in his tent, refusing all petitions to go out and fight for the Greeks. Ali, like Achilles, was considered the greatest. Ali was a legend in the boxing ring, and now he became beloved by his people for refusing to submit to the leader of the free world, the US government.
Achilles would eventually leave his tent and fight the Trojans—but only after his friend would be killed by Hector. Ali never consented to join the war in Vietnam. He fought his own battle in the US—but at the end of it he emerged victorious and a hero. The draft was ended and the Vietnam War was concluded—which is what most people wanted. The Trojan War might have ended differently, too, if Achilles had stuck to his guns and never left his tent.
To verify this diagnosis, a doctor may then order either an X-ray of the area, or more likely, an MRI, which is better at imaging tears in soft tissues. When surgery is required, these symptoms persist for several weeks after surgery. Surgery is a common treatment for a rupture to the Achilles tendon; and most often consists of making an incision to the back of the lower leg and stitching
He is described as being of gigantic size and of tremendous emotion. Always Achilles is described with the most exaggerated terms, shining like the sun or falling in the most absolute wretchedness. In a moment of sublimity oddly precognizant of gothic writers like E.A. Poe, Achilles refuses to bury his beloved Patrocles' body because "since I'm journeying under the earth after you, I'll postpone your burial...Till that time, you'll
It is rather like a feud in this respect -- the one who commits the final act of revenge is declared the winner. Hector is the Trojan warrior whose character differs greatly from that of Achilles and who has very different reasons for fighting. Where Achilles fights for glory, Hector sacrifices himself or his family, his country, and his ideals. His dedication to family is apparent as he visits his
When I went home, I made a sandwich for dinner and ate it with an apple and some chips. I did not feel that I even wanted to try to cook anything or do dishes afterward. Taking a shower that night was challenging. I thought I would just stand in the shower with my left leg resting on the floor outside the tub, but then I realized I had a
Achilles and the Search for Immortality Achilles, as a heroic and mythical figure, is representative of the Western search for immortality and truth in a world of temporality and illusion. The figure of Achilles expresses the desire within all men for a transcendence of the world in the search for truth and permanence through the quest for immortality. This paper attempts to address the question of myth and immortality through the study
Thetis' procurement of new armor, in a more simplistic tale, might be read as a mother letting go of a son from her apron-springs. But in the wisdom of the "Iliad," an epic that does not glorify death and war, Thetis' emotional sacrifice is full of sadness for both son and mother because both of them know that Achilles' death will follow the death of Hector. As a mortal, and