Briseis was the woman of why the great Achilles retreated from the huge war. She was taken from him by King Agamemnon as a replacement of his own lady. She was the reason why he quit from joining the troops of Greece on the war. She was that mere reason why he stabled himself and refrained from fighting.

Achilles was one of the best fighters Greece ever had. He was almost invulnerable. He was tough and courageous too. It was just too surprising that he grieved for a long time and decided not to join the wars because of what Agamemnon did. It was very unmanly of him, considering that he was a well respected warrior due to his greatness when it comes to warfare.

If he really was a great fighter, he would be very eager to defend his city for that is his purpose as a warrior. He accepted his job, and thus he must be worthy of the trust and glory given to him. If he is a real man, he would not let the world stop just because of a little problem – little compared to the problems the City of Greece is facing – the defeat they are having from the mighty city of Troy.

As a king, he should be showing what a great leader should be like. He should be an example to his people. He should not show obdurateness to his people. As a leader, he should not be easily moved by problems arising. He should always show how flexible he is when it comes to dealing with problems. If he shows an attitude like that, he might lose the respect that the Greeks have for him.

Consider the fact that Agamemnon lowered his pride already. The king offered him lots of things already, including lands and women. Most especially, he decided to give back Briseis, the woman whom Achilles already loved, and promised to swear that she has never laid herself on his bed, not even once. But despite of all these, Achilles stayed to remain hard. He did not accept the offering of Agamemnon. He did not consider Agamemnon’s humbleness and being pride-less.

On the other hand, we cannot blame the Great Achilles for his decision. It might really be hard for him to work and fight with an anger inside. He might just wanted to remove the shame he had. He might just want to have his glory and honor back, which he really worked so hard for. He might just have regretted everything that happened.

Achilles was a great man. He knew in himself what is right for him. He is the only man who knows who he really is.

This also applies to us. It is by oneself that he knows completely. Others are there to talk about us, and to comment on us. There are people who give their opinion for our betterment, or speak about things to make us fall. There are also those who easily criticize us. But no matter what statement we receive, we should not be fully affected by it. They do not know us completely. We should not be down on everything they say, hence, we should be stronger because we learn from them.

This is a beautiful video from http://www.youtube.com/ that I find somewhat related to my realization.

All the unnecessary things that appeared on the person were accepted. After a while, everything that she be in her made her more beautiful. Everything contributed to her becoming.

(photo credits : deviantart.com)