As I finished reading The Iliad, I could not help but notice that book twenty-three was quite a bit different from the other books in the story. There is no battle taking place (none between the achaeans and the trojans anyway) and I think that the way the achaeans grieve at a funeral is actually really cool. First, having games in honor of a fallen comrade allows those who knew the deceased to get their mind away from the grief and potentially win something that they can dedicate in their fallen friend's honor. Second, the book shared several similarities with an episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender. In the show's third season, the creators dedicated an entire episode promptly titled "The Beach" to show the character depth that some of the antagonists really had.
The funeral games such as the chariot race and archery contest were by far my favorite events of book twenty-three, and while they were both entertaining, I can't help but feel as though Achilles was aiming to one-up Agamemnon when he settled the dispute for second place between Antilochus, Menelaus, and others by giving out another prize instead of rearranging the prize order. Going back to the comparison I made earlier, Avatar's scene of Zuko, Azula, and their friends playing a game of beach volleyball with some other kids shows Azula's desire to always be the best when she gloats after scoring the game-winning point:
"'Yes! We defeated you for all time! You will never rise from the ashes of your shame and humiliation!'"
Sheesh, see what I mean? The similarities between Achilles and one character in particular, Zuko, are actually quite astounding, both being born from powerful families, possessing extraordinary power, and even being prone to anger (though they express it in vastly different ways). Ironically enough, Zuko experiences a breakthrough in his arc in the episode, much like Achilles; he experiences a breakthrough by overcoming a lot of his grief for Patroclus.
P.S. I commented Clabo's and Jackson's posts.
When I first read the title of your post, I was intrigued because I love ATLA, but I was not sure how you were going to connect the two. However, after you talked about Zuko, I definitely did see the connections. One cool thing I thought about was Zuko's insatiable desire to retrieve his honor, and this is easily seen in the Iliad and the importance placed upon honor and glory in this epic. I also agree that Zuko's shift in where honor can truly be achieved has great resemblance to Achilles in the final books.
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