Achilles steadfastly refuses to give in to pleas for help from Agamemnon, Odysseus, Ajax, Phoenix and Nestor, spurning the offered honours and riches and even Agamemnon‘s belated offer to return Briseis to him. Diomedes and Odysseus sneak into the Trojan camp and wreak havoc. He asks Odysseus at last to tell him who he is, where he is from, and where he is going. When Patroclus finds out that his lover, Achilles, has left to fight in the Trojan War without him, he goes to find him. His body is burned and his ashes placed in the urn along with those of Patroclus. Achilles is the best of the Greek warriors at Troy. He then tells them about a prophecy that says if Hector dies before Achilles does, then Achilles will die soon after. There is no character development in Odysseus, but his purpose in the Iliad does not call for dramatic character development.His purpose is to show us strong demonstrations of tact, strategic ability, and heroic capability, all of which are qualities that a king should have. From... (The entire section contains 4 … As we have already seen, some experts argue that the quarrel of Achilles and Odysseus in Odyssey viii is a pastiche actually based on the opening of our Iliad, where Achilles and Agamemnon have their memorable quarrel. Through Odysseus's interaction with Achilles, he discovers that the underworld is an awful place where comfort and pleasure do not exist. Odysseus (known for his wisdom and tactics) and Ajax (known for his valor) rescue the corpse of Achilles. Odysseus motivates troops through a mix of eloquence and physical coercion. Odysseus’s stay at Alcinous’s palace provides the reader with some relief as it bridges the narrative of Odysseus’s uncertain journey from Calypso’s island … Odysseus expresses his admiration to Achilles, telling him that he is the most honored hero of all and died with the ultimate kleos. Then Odysseus and Ajax vie in assembly for the right to wear Achilles’ armor, the work of Hephaestos that Thetis had brought him. He is pessimistic and hates life in Hades, even though he rules all of it and all the souls inhabiting it. He is of the people that Odysseus fought alongside. Odysseus discovered Achilles by offering gifts, adornments and musical instruments as well as weapons, to the king’s daughters, and then having his companions imitate the noises of an enemy’s attack on the island (most notably, making a blast of a trumpet heard), which prompted Achilles to reveal himself by picking a … 3§1. Odysseus meets Achilles at the gate to the underworld, where Achilles tells Odysseus that he wishes that he had lived a quiet and humble life. Achilles died in the final year of the war, so we know nothing of how he would have conducted himself during the homeward trip with the Myrmidons, the contingent he brought with him to Troy. Achilles sees his life in a very different light. Homer uses Odysseus' stability and maturity as a foil to both Achilles and Agamemnon. When they are found together by Odysseus and Diomedes, Peleus refuses to tell them where Achilles is. [] But in this line of reasoning there is a flaw that we have yet to single out: it presupposes that one text (the Odyssey) is here referring to another text (the Iliad). Analysis: Books 7–8. While Achilles was a beast, it cannot be said that Odysseus was a god—for Aristotle’s statement was undeniable: in order to be part of a society, must one know one’s place. Achilles stands poised to draw his sword and kill the Achaean commander when the goddess Athena, sent by Hera, the queen of the gods, appears to him and checks his anger. He says that he would rather slave on earth than rule Hades. Achilles prays to his mother, the sea-nymph Thetis, to ask Zeus, king of the gods, to punish the Achaeans. It is not about self-sufficiency, it was about helping each other and knowing which position to take and fill in.