Supplemental Thoughts #2 - Childlike Achilles

I stumbled across this piece on children and narcissists in Psychology Today, and I couldn't help but think of the passage in the Iliad (1.354-427) where Achilles recounts the preceding 350 lines to his mother, Thetis (who, as a goodess, would likely know everything in advance). W. Thomas McCary wrote a book on this (Childlike Achilles, Ontegony and Phylogeny in the Iliad) in 1982, and it opened many people's eyes to this aspect of Achilles' behavior. Achilles is guity in this passage of almost all of the 13 characteristics cited by the psychologist: blaming others, saying he had no choice, taking credit, withdrawing from others, etc.). Of course the Greeks might have viewed this not as childish behavior, but as godlike behavior: after all, the Olympian gods do love themselves, rarely admit to doing any wrong, and are easily bullied by Zeus, while at the same time bullying those who have less power.We sahll have to decide whether Achilles in able to break out of this childish narcissism in our reading of Book 9 and Book 24.

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