What are some hero-like things that Achilles did?

Question

I find him to be a not so nice guy who needs to control his temper..however I need to write an essay on how Achilles is so heroic. Also, how do these things tie in to Greek ideals because Achilles was their national hero. Thanks! :)

Answer 1

He was the mightiest Greek who fought in the Trojan War. At Troy, Achilles distinguished himself as an undefeatable warrior. Among his other exploits, he captured twenty-three towns in Trojan territory, including the town of Lyrnessos, where he took the woman Briseis as a war-prize. Later on Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks, was forced by an oracle of Apollo to give up his own war-prize, the woman Chryseis, and took Briseis away from Achilles as compensation for his loss. This action sparked the central plot of the Iliad, for Achilles became enraged and refused to fight for the Greeks any further. The war went badly, and the Greeks offered handsome reparations to their greatest warrior. In addition to his skills as a warrior, he also was successful with women, which is another attribute of a hero.

Basically, he was strong, verile, successful with women, brave, and admired. All the key attributes of a hero.

ps, i don't think he was necessarily their national hero...

Answer 2

try wikipedia

though be warned about the pictures

i would have told u but the pics got me not to see

Answer 3

The way I learned it, Achilles was the hero of Troy during the Trojan war, and Odysseus took him down by shooting his heel with a poison arrow because Athena told him Achilles weakness.