Achilles’ Heel
Respond to each of the following questions. Use details from the text to support your responses. Use at least three module vocabulary words.
Describe a character in two full paragraphs.
1. Achilles agrees with Ajax that he is clinging to his anger over Agamemnon’s insult. Many of the choices Achilles makes are based on that anger. However, when Achilles sends Patroclus into the fray, he advises him to drive back the Trojans but to stay away from the city’s walls, lest he be killed. These actions give depth to Achilles. Describe Achilles based on his actions and his interactions with others. Use specific details from the text to support your answer.
Answer:
Write one full paragraph in answer to each question to demonstrate your understanding of the story.
2. Achilles is the greatest warrior in the Iliad: He has matchless strength and skill in battle, noble birth, and the gods’ favor, so he should have great pride. But Achilles has too much pride. What has Achilles been willing to sacrifice for the sake of his pride?
Answer:
3. Having too much pride is a common theme in Greek stories; the Greeks even have a word for it: hubris. For Achilles, his pride, or hubris, is his tragic flaw. It causes his downfall. Think about the events so far in the story. Why is Achilles’ hubris causing his downfall?
Answer:
