The Shield of Achilles

In Homer's epic narrative of the Trojan War, the Iliad, he recounts the siege of Troy and of the great demigod warrior, Achilles, who, despite his many heroic deeds and victories, still sought for something far greater. But what more could a half-man half-god wish to possess that he did not already? Moreover, what else could he do that he had not already demonstrated through skill, bravery and determination?

Toward the latter end of the Iliad, before the crucial turning point of the war, Homer suspends his narrative of the final days of the Trojan War [in about 530 lines] to describe a more personal and meaningful piece of information - that of Achilles' shield. To some, the telling of the shield seems to detract from the war itself or appear out of place - even unnecessary.

But Homer was no fool and even without his eyesight could see composed his masterful and epic poems the Iliad and Odyssey. It is more than likely that his referencing the shield was aimed to remind the reader that war comes at a great cost and that no man, regardless of stature or prestige, fights for nothing. While some may fight for power and gain, many more choose to do so in defense of something greater - their lands, wives and families. Perhaps this is what really motivated Achilles and gave him purpose in battle - his long vision of a civilized life; not a life of advantage but one of simplicity which, ironically, he seems to eventually exchange for the immortality of his legend.

Still, others have postulated that Homer chose to break from the story to demonstrate the 'calm before the storm' as a result of Achilles' personal vendetta against Hector for the mistaken death of his cousin, Patroclus.

Even so, in the shield description we learn something very 'human' about Achilles - that beneath the fame and fanfare there was an ordinary man who, in spite of his many accomplishments and military skill, favored mortality and its limiting joys. In other words, he sought the 'good life,' the chance to settle down and savor the little things such as the sound of an afternoon breeze moving through trees or the smell of a woman's perfume who was his own. Or more accurately, as mentioned in the poem itself:

"The starry lights that heaven's high convex crown'd...Two cities radiant...one of peace and one of war...Along the street the new-made brides are led, with torches flaming to the nuptial bed...Another field rose high with waving grain...Ripe, in yellow gold, a vineyard shines...."[The Iliad, Book XVIII]

In sum, the shield depicts life as a series of contrasts - i.e. work and play, life and death, love and hate, war and peace - especially in the two cities as previously mentioned. In the first, a wedding is being celebrated while in the second there has been a murder and planned ambush as if to illustrate that man can never be free of conflict in life just as night invariably follows the day.

It is precisely because Homer took time away from his narrative in describing the shield that we learn an important truth about the world and how to sustain the orderly life beginning with the eternal truth that there is oppositional in all things, just as the prophet Lehi once declared:

"For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good or bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness or misery, neither sense nor insensibility."  (2 Nephi 2:11)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
Achilles' greatest strength was his strength of vision for what he saw deeply he fought for passionately - no matter the cost - even if it meant not seeing the same dream fulfilled. William Jennings Bryan illustrated this concept best in his book, The Prince of Peace:

"Only the man of faith can be courageous. Confident that he fights on the side of Jehovah, he doubts not the success of his cause. What matters it whether he shares in the shouts of triumph? If every word spoken in behalf of truth has its influence and every deed done for the right weighs in the final account, it is immaterial to the Christian whether his eyes behold victory or whether he dies in the midst of the conflict."

William George Jordan also said that, "A great purpose in life, something that unifies the strands and threads of each day's thinking, something that takes the sting from the petty trials, sorrows, sufferings and blunders of life, is a great aid to concentration. Soldiers in battle may forget their wounds, or even be unconscious of them, in the inspiration of battling for what they believe is right."

With that said, may we consider more the shield of Achilles and put to heart its layered message that 'there is an opposition in all things' and that, like the two aforementioned cities, we can choose to live and fight for the one or the other - "the image one of peace, or one of war."

I like to believe that Achilles would have chosen the former.

Long live the fighters