Achilles has the characteristics of an epic hero.

In my last post, I talked about three characteristics of an epic hero, according to Gregory Nagy of the Center for Hellenic Studies at Harvard University.  There are however other viewpoints on what it takes to be an epic hero.  In researching this topic, I found that the number of characteristics ranges from three to thirteen.  I have narrowed them down to four main characteristics.

• He is celebrated in his society and embraces its morals and values
• He is "above" the regular people, because he is smarter and stronger
• He is on a journey to seek something that is of great value
• He is a demigod who has human weakness

Achilles is an example of an epic hero, who has these characteristics.  In The Illiad, his community values him because of his abilities as a great warrior.  He had heroic value that many Greeks strived to achieve. 

Because of his deeds in battle, he was viewed as stronger and thus had a higher perceived status in his community.  He was a celebrity of sorts.  

His journey begins after Zeus says only he can prevent the destruction of Greece.  Saving the Greek people and its way of life are of great value to Achilles.

A demigod is the child of a God and a human.  Achille's mother was Thetis, a sea nymph and Peleus, the king of a tribe called Myrmidons.  His human weakness was his heel.  When he was a baby, he was dipped in the river waters, to free him from all harm, but he was held by the heel, and it never touched the waters.  

There can be no argument that Achilles met these requirements of an epic hero.  Tragically, it is his human weakness that ultimately leads to his demise.