What an awesome scene it was in book eleven when Oddyseus meets Achilles in the Kingdom of the Dead. Oddyseus is suprised to find that Achilles is not so happy about his status as a dead man. He says he would rather " slave on earth for another man than rule down here over all the breathless dead."
It goes without say that Achilles probably missed the life as a warrior. Something else he missed was his son. The pride that Achilles has for his son and of the knowledge that this son is walking in the same footprints of his own are all Achilles needs to hear from Oddyseus to be able to walk back to the kingdom with a swift foot. This passage shows how the men in the military culture of Homer's lived; the men are flawed, have emotion, show pride in lineage and family, and hold respect to other men. I believe this case can help break the stigma of what our culture would describe as a "manly man" (Soutout to Mallory!!!)
Well sir, I can't attest to being much of what culture defines as a "manly man," but I believe that the Achilles we see here in the Odysseus's travels is more of man than what people today see as manly. Yes, he shows a little emotion, but what's the matter with that? I would say that it is a great thing for Achilles to be proud of what his son has accomplished because of the influence from his father.
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