Second History Presentation - Script

JB Holic is back! Yay~

This is my script for the second history presentation that took place last Thursday...

We all chose a character from either the Iliad (by Homer) or the Histories (by Herodotus), and my character was Achilles. Before I started looking through the Iliad, I had no idea that Achilles was the main character.

He turned out to be the main character.

Ugh.

I was like, "What? Then I have to read the whole book or something! And I'm horrible at Greek history and myths! And I didn't even know!"

But I still had to do the presentation, so I sucked it up and just... just prepared.

I think it was actually pretty okay...;;;

Anyways, I'm loading it up on my blog here! No copying or anything, please.

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Hello. My name is Sophia Lee, and today I will introduce my character, Achilles, who is from the Iliad. In the book, he is the leader of the Myrmidons. He is from Phthia in Thessaly. Achilles is the main character of the Iliad, because the whole story is about Achilles’ anger and revenge. He is known to be very brave and strong. In the book, he is always addressed as “swift-footed Achilles” because he is very fast when he is chasing after an enemy. He is widely known because of the phrase “Achilles’ heel.” I’ll explain about the Achilles’ heel a bit later on – first, I’m going to talk about what happens in the Iliad to Achilles.

At the beginning of the book, Achilles and Agamemnon fight with each other because Achilles thought Chryseis should be returned to her father and Agamemnon wanted to keep her. Because Chryseis was the daughter of Apollo’s priest, Apollo started raining plagues on the Greeks, and Agamemnon agreed to return Chryseis. However, he took Briseis from Achilles as compensation, and Briseis was part of Achilles’ prize from when he sacked a Trojan town. Achilles was became very angry, and pulled his army back. When he stopped fighting for Greece, the Greeks started losing to Troy, but still Achilles refused to go back. So his best friend, Patroclus, got permission from Achilles to lead the Myrmidons back into battle. However, Patroclus was killed in battle by Hector. Achilles was extremely angry and grieved at this, and went back into battle to seek out Hector and kill him. When they finally met, they fought and Achilles finally killed him. Not satisfied with just killing Hector, he tied him to the back of his chariot and dragged his body around for many days. At first, he refused to give Hector’s body back to the Trojans, but the gods persuaded him and the book ends with Hector’s funeral. This is almost like a summary of the whole book, because Achilles is the main character and most events happen around him.

Now, I’ll talk about Achilles’ characteristics. First, his physical characteristics. I don’t think this was directly mentioned in the Iliad, but from what I know, Achilles was very handsome. In fact, he is said to be the most handsome Greek warrior in the whole book. I think this is true, because his father is a great warrior and his mother is a beautiful sea-nymph. He obviously inherited his warrior skills from his father and his beauty from his mother. He was a very strong and skillful warrior – so good that, in fact, in the Iliad, Aeneas says: “It is impossible for any mortal to fight Achilles. He always has a god with him to keep death at bay. Quite apart from that, his spear has a way of flying straight and true and never stopping till it lands in human flesh.” However, despite this, he has one crucial weakness – as you all know, his heel. When he was a baby, his mother Thetis dipped him in the River Styx so that he would become invincible. While dipping him in the water, Thetis held the baby by his heel, so water did not touch his heel. So, Achilles became almost completely invincible – all except for his heel. Nowadays, the phrase “Achilles’ heel” is used to mean “only but crucial weakness.”

Next, I’ll talk about his personality, his characteristics as a person. As I said before, he is a mighty warrior, so in naturally inspires fear and respect in others. An example of this is when Agamemnon sends Talthybius and Eurybates to fetch Briseis from Achilles. It is said in the book that these two men were terrified and embarrassed, and they only went forward when Achilles told them that it’s all right. He boosts the Greeks courage a lot when he goes into battle with them. Hera says, “In the days when godlike Achilles came out and fought, the Trojans never showed themselves in front of the Dardanian gate: they were too afraid of his massive spear”. Also, he is a bit touchy. This is something Patroclus, Achilles’ best friend, says: “He is easy to annoy.” He is very independent, and he chooses to do anything he wants. I think this is why he clashes a lot with people with authority, such as Agamemnon. This is what Agamemnon says about Achilles: “This man here wants no superiors; he wants to dominate everyone, to lord it over everyone and to give us each our orders.” When Achilles makes up his mind, it is hard to change it: even when his friends try to persuade him, he ignores them. An example is when he refuses to go out to war after Agamemnon insults him. Even when his closest friend Patroclus pleads the case, he is unmovable. Here are some quotes from his comrades: Patroclus comments to him, “You are quite pitiless”, and Ajax complains, “Achilles has hardened his once noble heart and become quite unreasonable – no thought for the affection of us, his comrades, who held him in the highest regard in the whole camp. And so obstinate!” Sometimes people around him think that he is disrespectful. Apollo says, “He has no respect for others.” When he is angry, he becomes an unstoppable force of nature. When Achilles becomes angry at the death of Patroclus, even Zeus, the highest of the high gods, worries that he will cheat destiny by destroying Troy earlier than it is meant to be. This shows that his anger was so great, it could change fate.

Now, I’ll introduce his family and friends. His father is a mortal, names Peleus. Peleus was also a great warrior in his days. He always fought with his two best chariot horses, his armor and his famous ash spear, which were all given to him as a wedding present. He is now an old man, but his legend lives on in his son. Achilles’ mother is Thetis, a sea-nymph. Thetis is the daughter of Nereus, and Achilles is her only child. So she is always at Achilles’ side, keeping him informed and giving advice whenever he needs help. His wife, or rather, his human prize from sacking a Trojan town, is Briseis. He won her from Lyrnessus as a part of his booty when he sacked the town. In the book, it is hard to tell if Achilles truly loved her or if she was just a prized servant. Achilles weeps when she is taken by Agamemnon as compensation for Chryseis. His closest friend is Patroclus. Patroclus is the son of Menoetius, and he is Achilles’ attendant as well as his friend. He dies when he stands in for Achilles at the head of the Myrmidons, killed by Hector. Patroclus’ death is what starts Achilles’ mad search for Hector. Later on, Patroclus comes back to Achilles once as a spirit.

In the Iliad, there are many predictions about Achilles’ death. Hints lay hidden in many pages of the book. An example is when he mocks his horses and the horse talks back: The horse tells him that he will live a short life, and Achilles calmly accepts the fact. His mother, Thetis, also predicts his death. She says, “You are not only doomed to an early death but also to a most miserable life.” Even his friend Patroclus mentions it when he comes back as a spirit: it says that Achilles will die under Trojan walls, just like him, and asks to be buried together.

Now, I’ll talk a bit about Athene. Athene is a goddess, and she is the daughter of Zeus. She is the goddess of war, wisdom, and the arts and crafts. Like Achilles is addressed as “swift-footed Achilles”, she is addressed as “Pallas Athene” or “grey-eyed Athene”. Pallas could mean lady, mistress, or youthful, and grey-eyed could mean “owl-eyed”, because the owl is her special bird. She fights on the Greek side because when asked to pick the most beautiful goddess, Paris, who is Trojan, picked Aphrodite over Hera and Athene. She works together with Hera, and she is always by Achilles’ side, protecting him and guiding him.

This concludes my presentation for today. Thank you.

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