There are values to be learned from both Achilles(a King who is not yet noble) and Hector (a warrior who is noble). However, what does it say about rage, power, and forgiveness to men who would be kings?
Iliad and Odyssey are two books in what is called the Epic Cycle. The “Bible” of the ancient world. There were six others that told the other parts. The other books were much shorter And one amendment to them: the Aeneid.
THE EPIC CYCLE:
ACT I
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Cypria – preamble and first nine years of the war.
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Illiad – The rage of achilles
ACT II
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Aetheiopis – death of achilles
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Little Illiad – building the trojan horse
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Iliou Persis – sack of troy
ACT III
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Nostoi – Everyone but odysseus returns home
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Odyssey – Odysseus’ journey home
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Telogony – Odysseus gets killed
POSTSCRIPT
- Aneid – The last trojan goes west. (added later).
The others are largely lost. But most of the dramas (plays) take place during these stories. And there is a lot of written commentary. So we can reconstruct them.
The Iliad is “A Story of Achilles Rage” or “The Rage of Achilles“. But Priam comes to Achilles and they settle the rage. He learns to forgive his enemies and abandon his rage.
It is a story of aristocracy becoming through respect and forgiveness. It is a lesson of how a warrior is to to become a king: Through Nobility.