Human government and the military rarely agree, no matter how vital they are to each other. Homer's Iliad illustrates such a struggle quite well in its capture of the tension between political authority and military force, notably the perceived tension between Agamemnon, king of the Achaeans, and Achilleus, the most skilled and respected by the Achaean army. These frictions are caused by the requirement of each hero to have greater honor than the other through the fair use of their respective excellences. The excellence held by Agamemnon is that of political authority, while the excellence possessed by Achilleus is that of martial excellence. Through this competition for higher honor, the reader can understand that political authority can be transcended by martial excellence, and vice versa. Achilleus' martial excellence has a greater claim to higher honor than Agamemnon's political authority due to the injustices Agamemnon commits through his selfish abuse of power, in which he loses his right to honor, and also because of the right use of Achilleus' prowess on the field. battlefield. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get an original essayTo distinguish the actions of Achilles and Agamemnon as just and unjust respectively, the meaning of justice in the sense of tradition Achaean must first be established: Justice is rooted in the use of a hero's excellence or talents to increase distinction among common men in accordance with the will of the gods. This agreement with the will of the gods can essentially be defined according to whether or not the act in question fits into the destiny of the subject and object of said action. For example, when Agamemnon dishonors Achilleus by taking his war prize, Briseis, Achilleus becomes so angry that he almost draws his sword and kills Agamemnon. Instead, Athena comes down from Mount Olympus to urge Achilleus not to kill Agamemnon, and Achilleus obeys, saying: "'Goddess, it is necessary that I obey your word'... He spoke and placed his heavy hand on the 'money. the hilt of the sword and did not thrust the great blade back into the sheath nor disobeyed the word of Athena” (1. 216-221) Agamemnon is not destined to be killed by Achilleus, nor Achilleus destined to kill Agamemnon. Achilleus and Agamemnon must die according to their tragic destiny. If Achilleus had killed Agamemnon, the killing would have been unjust because Agamemnon would not have been able to face his fate at the hands of his wife and would have been killed over a minor quarrel over a war prize. With this concept of justice in mind, Achilleus seems to follow these guidelines quite well. Achilleus' power on the battlefield is a fair use of his excellence because he does so in order to distinguish himself from the common man by acting according to the will of Zeus. This use of considerable force can be seen again and again in his victories against the lesser heroes of Troy, but where it is most striking is in his victory over Hektor: "Die: and I will accept my own dead at any time, Zeus and the others. immortals choose to accomplish it” (22. 365-366). At this point, Achilleus not only accepts Patroclus' death through vengeance upon Hektor, but he also accepts his own death through his tragic fate as Good. Achilleus kills Hektor, who is Troy's most famous hero. This action, although it has an aspect of vengeance, ultimately distinguishes Achilleus from the common soldier. Hektor's death at the hands of Achilleus is also in accordance with the will of the gods, for even the gods who fought for the Trojans knew that the time of death..