When we first meet Gilgamesh, the epic’s title character, he possesses beauty, strength, and unequaled potential for greatness, but he is a tyrannical ruler, inexperienced and impulsive. The story is about his growth to full maturity as he develops through his friendship with Enkidu and his search for everlasting life.

In almost the entire story of The Iliad, Achilles has been a prideful, jealous, stubborn prick. He is the mightiest warrior in the Achaean army, but he cannot control his pride and his rage makes a puppet of him. He gets jealous of Agamemnon for taking all the glory of winning the battles, which is understandable because he is the one who won them, and withdraws from battle causing much suffering for

Achilles then goes and tries to convince the rest of the Greek army to sail home and abandon the war with him. He no longer is crying like a child, but being rebellious and insulting Agamemnon. This shows his transition into adolescence. The three ambassadors Odysseus, Ajax, and Phoenix come to Achilles and try to get him to release his anger and join them back on the battlefield. Phoenix takes on the fatherly role when he calls Achilles his son, and Achilles rejects the appeals of the older men just as expected of an adolescent to reject the advice of a parent.

Achilles finally matures in the last book of the epic. The gods make Achilles give Hector’s body back to Priam, the king of Troy, after Achilles has disgraced it. Achilles realizes that the anger he feels toward Hector is about as pointless as the anger he feels towards Agamemnon. Therefore, when Priam comes to get Hector’s body, Achilles treats him with the utmost respect. Achilles also promises eleven days of peace in order to have a proper funeral for Hector. This is the most compassionate thing Achilles has done throughout the poem. He has made the transition from a child to an adult and is ready to selflessly fulfill his duty to the Greeks.

After Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh starts fearing death and goes in search of Uta-napishti and eternal life. This is Gilgamesh’s mid-life crisis. He realizes death will come looking for him so he tries to find a way to escape it. Uta-napishti counsels Gilgamesh and tells him that he can’t defeat sleep, so th

Some topics in this essay:
Phoenix Achilles, Iliad Achilles, Patroclus Patroclus, Agamemnon Priam, Gilgamesh Achilles, Greeks Achilles, Gilgamesh Enkidu, Highway Life, Patroclus Achilles, Enkidu Gilgamesh, bottom ocean, hector’s body, eternal life, achilles realizes, anger feels, greek army,