Achilles Age of Rage
Throughout the books of the Iliad, the reader has come to know Achilles as the spoiled, impetuous youth who refuses to play by anyone elses rules. ... However, after Hector kills Patroklos, a new side of Achilles begins to emerge. This side is driven by a blind rage that consumes his every thought and action. In what he refers to as the avenging of a friend, Achilles mercilessly slaughters countless Trojans as well as defiles the tacit integrity of wartime civility. His rage becomes the single motivating factor in his quest for glory and honor. ... Through a more careful observation of two particular incidents, it becomes obvious that Achilles allows his rage to go much farther than it should--he allows it to take over. These two incidents are Achilles behavior at Xanthos and Achilles actions towards Hektors body. At the stream Xanthos, Achilles makes no effort to spare any lives. ... ” He turned the water red with their blood, and still his wander-lust for rage could not be quenched.