Achilles

I can't say what it is exactly, but out of all the heros and gods (and heroines and goddesses) to be found in Greek Mythology, Achilles comes off as my favourite. I mean, Odyssius is pretty cool, and Orpheus is awesome if a little depressing. With them you get stuff like wisdom and looking backwards, but with Achilles you get brooding, idiosyncratic, self-centered, passive-agressive anger. I could probably throw in some more adjectives if you wanted. All in all though, I don't know what it is about him that is so cool. I remember being fascinated by the idea of Achilles' Heel in my youth (if only Thetis had pulled him out of the river, and then dipped him in again holding onto the other ankle, he would have been totally invincible!) In these days, though, I find that perhaps it is his anger that draws me. It makes him, ironically, more human than a lot of the characters in greek mythology. They all seem to act without consequence. Then achilles comes on the scene, kills Hector, and Priam is all "I kiss the hands of the man who killed all my sons" and Achilles is moved to change. He isn't like tantalus, forever reaching for those grapes but never getting there. He isn't like Demeter, who seems concerned only with changing the seasons and maybe getting her daughter back from Hades before she eats that Pommegranite. Achilles is just cool and stuff. And angry. And yeah, he's a pretty good character in that whole Illiad deal.