1. Narrate how King Agamemnon shows stubbornness of heart in books 1-5.
· Cite modern day examples/people who display the same stubbornness of heart.
Kings play a very important role in history. They are the rulers of their kingdom and are responsible of uniting it and protecting it against anything that opposes their reign. However, King Agamemnon, in Homer’s Illiad, does otherwise. All that matters to him are his selfish agendas. Apollo’s priest, Chryses, comes to Agamemnon getting his daughter back. He brings with him unlimited ransom and Apollo’s spectre. All the Achaeans voice out to respect the priest’s offer and take the offer. Despite all of these, Agamemnon, with harsh words, speaks fiercely to the priest and sends him away. After which the priest prays to Apollo that the Danaans may suffer. Hearing the priest’s prayer, Apollo comes down from Mt. Olympus and for nine days Apollo’s arrow devastates the Danaans. On the tenth day, Achilles, son of Peleus, calls for a meeting. They discuss the status and try to convince Agamemnon to give back the daughter. Agamemnon, stubborn king as he is, does not hear any from the Achaeans. He refuses to give back the daughter, but he thinks of another way. In replacement to the daughter of Chryses, he will take the girl, the battle prize, of Achilles, and so he does. Achilles feels that it is unfair. Achilles declares that if Agamemnon continues his plan, he will withdraw from battle. Agamemnon does not plead Achilles to stay, and so Achilles withdraws. *Achilles was the Achaeans greatest warrior. It was fool of Agamemnon to let him withdraw from battle since he was an asset of the kingdom.
Agamemnon made a mistake because he let a lot of his people die because of his own agenda. He allowed self-satisfaction to rule over him. He did not care whatever happened to his people as long as he got what he wanted. This continued when he exchanged the daughter’s priest with Achilles’ battle prize [the girl]. He let Achilles, his greatest warrior, leave.
A clear manifestation of Agamemnon-like stubbornness is that of Rolando Mendoza’s. It was August 23, 2010 when the whole world was shocked because Rolando Mendoza hijacked a tourist bus parked near Manila’s Rizal Park. The bus was estimated to have 20-25 passengers, mostly from Hong Kong along with three Filipinos. He was considered as one of the top 10 officers in the country, but he was discharged for his alleged involvement in drug-related crimes and extortion. He wanted to be back in service so that he would clear his name and retrieve his benefits. At first, he was harmless, but as it turned out, 8 people were killed. Like Agamemnon, Rolando Mendoza did not think of what’s going to happen to the people around him. He wanted to get self-satisfaction his own way, by hook or by crook. A great impact was done because of that incident. Lives were taken, Filipinos were condemned, and ties between countries were broken. The self-centeredness of Rolando Mendoza ended up miserable. He died because of his stubbornness and selfishness.
A clear manifestation of Agamemnon-like stubbornness is that of Rolando Mendoza’s. It was August 23, 2010 when the whole world was shocked because Rolando Mendoza hijacked a tourist bus parked near Manila’s Rizal Park. The bus was estimated to have 20-25 passengers, mostly from Hong Kong along with three Filipinos. He was considered as one of the top 10 officers in the country, but he was discharged for his alleged involvement in drug-related crimes and extortion. He wanted to be back in service so that he would clear his name and retrieve his benefits. At first, he was harmless, but as it turned out, 8 people were killed. Like Agamemnon, Rolando Mendoza did not think of what’s going to happen to the people around him. He wanted to get self-satisfaction his own way, by hook or by crook. A great impact was done because of that incident. Lives were taken, Filipinos were condemned, and ties between countries were broken. The self-centeredness of Rolando Mendoza ended up miserable. He died because of his stubbornness and selfishness.
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