Much of what we know today about Greek culture was passed down through history via Homer's The Iliad. The Greeks, one of the first known civilizations of which our species is aware, had a great influence on the Roman Empire and, by extension, most civilizations in our known history. Throughout history and different cultures, there are various stories of heroes and heroism, and it seems that the definition of heroism has changed frequently since classical antiquity. “Goddess, sings the rage of Achilles, the son of Peleus, murderer, condemned, who cost the Achaeans countless losses. » (The Iliad I.1-2) Thus opens the Iliad, a story of the Trojan War and the flawed hero, Achilles. Achilles, an example of the ideal Greek hero, is not without his faults. His anger, while understandable in the early parts of the poem, begins to seem irrational during Book IX. The Greeks, who aspired to embody the qualities they valued in their heroes, treated the story of The Iliad with great respect. In my humble opinion, the Iliad's most revealing source on Greek culture and values ​​is found in Book IX, "The Embassy." to Achilles. Many of the heroic values ​​presented and discussed in The Iliad, and particularly in this book, courage, oratorical skill, honor, glory, wealth, friendship, lineage, and a certain level of favor with the gods, are provided with numerous and rich examples in book IX. Among these, courage seemed the most important to the Greeks. The heroes of the book are almost all great warriors, and the majority of the events in the book revolve around different battles, where traits such as courage would be most visible. Oratorical skill proves capable of greatly increasing morale, as well as being necessary to convince ...... middle of paper ...... into Achilles' armor once the battle has begun to become tougher, especially for some of Achilles' greatest friends. Finally, after Patroclus' death, Achilles returns to battle, distraught over Patroclus' death. Through the virtues and heroism of the Achaean heroes: the courage and oratory of Diomedes to invigorate the troops; Agamemnon's honesty in admitting himself to being the cause of Achilles' rage and providing enormous wealth and honors to Achilles in an attempt to atone for his mistake; Nestor's wisdom in selecting the three most likely to succeed; Phoenix's favor with Zeus preventing Zeus from intervening against them while they attempted to bring Achilles back into battle; Odysseus's skill as an eloquent orator in his attempt to convince Achilles; all of this together ultimately led to the success of the mission to bring Achilles back into battle..