Akhilleus

A poem about perhaps the greatest warrior to have existed in the Western world: Achilles. He is filled with anger and pride. As any great Greek hero is.

Forever am I known as the greatest warrior
To have arisen from the land of Greece.
The son of a nymph and a king making me:
A half god that was for the most part invincible.
Patroclus was my most faithful friend
And he was by far one that I loved deeply
For it was only him who engaged
What humanity I had left at that time.
I am forever lost in the vast chasm of war
And all that it does to my mind and body.
Killing a man with the skill that I posses is an art
That cannot be learned but rather admired.
Forever do I recall my squabble with Agamemnon
And how he enslaved that poor maiden
Whom you may know by her name: Chryseis.
I watched with terrible regret as Apollo
Sent a terrible plague to destroy us.
And my blood boiled as Agamemnon sent my love,
Briseis, as a token of friendship and peace.
Never before had I known such rage and power
And every breath that seeped through my lips
Was a desire to murder that joke among kings.
As the war turned against our favor, Greece
Despaired of victory as defeat began to spread
Through every heart and bone of the men.
Hector, prince of Troy, ordered one last attack.
One last attack to finally end the war of an age
But Patroclus, my dear friend, how he fought
And in my armor! Leading my men into battle!
The Mermidons drove back the Trojans
But at the cost of Patroclus's life. And how I wept indeed!
I vowed to attain my revenge for his death
And rightly so, I fought Hector in a duel soon after.
He failed to defeat me and I made sure that his father
Watched with horror as I effortlessly killed him.
Finally, I sealed my place into history when I tied his body
To my trustful steeds and paraded it around the city
But only a parade of silence in a shocked air.
I am Achilles. The greatest warrior to have hailed
From not only Olympus, but also Greece.
A legend that would be written into history.
And remembered thousands of years hence.

Author's Note

Inspired by Ulysseus.