“The best of the Achaeans” (Iliad, 1.412) displayed extraordinary strength and intelligence. But the account of his achievements highlights some worrying behaviour: his bouts of excessive violence irritated Gods and allies. Other episodes such as his transvestism on Skyros raises queries related to gender. We will discuss this notion of fundamental ambivalence of the character, as we journey through 2,000 years of Greek and Latin literature.
By Flore Kimmel-Clauzet, professor of Greek language and literature, Université Paul Valéry and Aline Estèves, Latin language and literature lecturer, Université Paul Valéry
