Priam s Request For My Reflective Essay - 835 Words

Bri Wright Prof. Kiliani 11 October 2015 HUM 114 – 01 Priam’s Request For my reflective essay, I’ve decided to analyze the scene between Achilles and Priam in Book 24 of The Iliad. This is a very powerful scene, and one of the most important scenes of the book in my opinion. After Patroclus’ funeral, Achilles continued to abuse Hector’s body by tying his corpse to his chariot and dragging it around Patroclus’ barrow. The gods, however, decided that Hector deserved a respectful funeral. To make this possible, Apollo convinced Zeus and the other gods to order Achilles to allow the body to be ransomed. Zeus sends Thetis to talk to her son and persuade him to do so, while Iris goes to Priam to help him initiate the ransom. This is how the powerful scene in Book 24 is created. Priam comes to Achilles in a state of weakness, almost. He begins his speech by talking about Achilles’ father, and how he hopes for the day to see his son come back from Troy alive. Priam mentions how he has lost all of his so ns because of Achilles and the rest of the Greeks, and talks about how lonely he is. On page 231, he says, â€Å"But what is left for me? I had the finest sons in all wide Troy, and not one of them is left.† He asks for Hector’s body back and mentions the fortune in ransom he brought. He tells Achilles to pity him and think of his own father, and that he’s done what no other man has done, he’s kissed the hand of the man who killed his son. Achilles is filled with sorrow for his own