The movie Troy features the great Trojan War between Greece and Troy based on Homer's ancient epic, Iliad. The movie begins with Paris falling in love with Helen, the wife of the King Menelaus, so that Paris takes Helen away to Troy, which results in war. The movie shows many individuals' characteristics, such as the good and moral prince of Troy, Hector, or the greedy and powerful King of Mycenae, Agamemnon. However the most famous character that the director tries to describe is Achilles, the greatest warrior in Greece. Wolfgang Petersen, the director, portrays him based on the Greek heroism. At the same time, however, he seems to try to distort the hero manual with his Hollywood style adaptation. As a result, Achilles became not the ruthless hero who competes with gods and goddess but a muscular romanticist.
Achilles is depicted as a vulnerable hero in the movie. He is characterized by his unparalleled skill and strength in war. He is the one who finally defeats Troy's best warrior, Hector. However, the victory fades away when he reveals his weakness which comes from guilt about being the greatest murderer. He says that when he tries to go to bed every night, he sees the eyes of soldiers who he's killed. Also, when the King Priam visits him and beg for his son's dead body, he weeps on Hector's body secretly. The greater he becomes, the weaker he is. He knows he has strength to bring victory over Troy but his inner mind is like a baby who seeks for its mother's love. He seems to find it in the relationship with Briseis, a woman he gained from the first battle. In this sense, Achilles in the movie doesn't seem to conform to the general heroic character. He is likely to be interpreted as a ruthless hero but it's just his fate to be a warrior and die young. He cannot fight against his fate but suffer from the fate. .
However, the director is devoted to depict the rivalry between Achilles and the deities.
