PLUG QUOTES (AT LEAST ONE PER SECTION)WORKS CITED PAGEAchilles and Socrates: contrasting embodiments of human excellenceChloë SellsGTX 2301 HDr. David D. CoreyApril 2, 2014Achilles in Homer's Iliad and Socrates in Plato's Republic are both models of human excellence, but they do not seem exceptional in the same way. This leads to the development of several questions regarding these individuals and the curious differences in their size. What makes these characters great in such varied and unique ways? How can these distinctive types of greatness be classified? Finally, with such contrasts between them, is it reasonable for a human being to strive to embody both types simultaneously? In the following essay, I will address each of these questions, first demonstrating, through evidence derived from excerpts from each of the works, that it is military preeminence and the pursuit of enduring honor that make Achilles excels, while this same attribute in Socrates is largely due to his aspiration to live a life free of injustice and full of knowledge. Next, I will argue that what Achilles embodies can be described as Homeric excellence and Socrates, Socratic excellence, as excerpts from each of their respective works demonstrate. Finally, I will argue that it is unreasonable for man to aspire to both types of excellence simultaneously, because the excellences of Achilles and Socrates are rooted in and motivated by conflicting parts of the soul. Achilles and Socrates achieve excellence under radically different conditions, demonstrating their strength. and the versatility of human nature. Achilles is constantly mentioned throughout The Iliad as the best... middle of paper ...... pted... will he then be livable when the very nature of this thing we live by is confused and corrupt? » With such great fundamental distinctions directly opposing each other, it would be almost impossible to balance the types of excellence within the same soul and the person would be in constant ideological turmoil, struggling to justify the differences between the two. contrasting parts of the soul. . Since Homeric and Socratic excellence are linked to each of the different aspects of the soul, it is fundamentally unreasonable for a human being to aspire to embody both types of excellence simultaneously. Although very different characters, Homer's Achilles and Plato's Socrates both became recognized as models of human excellence. Their Impact Over the AgesWorks CitedCRITOAPOLOGYTHE REPUBLIC OF ILIADPLATO