" This belief is completely foreign to Achilles view of the world, because the majority of his actions in The Iliad are centered on his pride, anger and revenge. .

             Similarly, The Iliad and the Trial and Death of Socrates both have heroic characters that stray from the norms of society. Achilles and Socrates examine and question the prevalent ideas in their own societies. Achilles was a complex warrior who often ignored the cultural norms of society because he saw through their fallacies, particularly in the contradictory heroic code. In the beginning of the Iliad, Achilles questions King Agamemnon's involvement of the plague. This inquiry lead to his ultimate rebellion against the King and all social norms. .

             Achilles' actions were uncommon because honor within the community was vital to Homer's concept of a hero. The hero's whole world revolved around his relationship to his family and the city. If this personal honor awarded to him by the community was compromised, he felt life had lost its meaning. For example, Achilles felt he had lost his honor when Agamemnon takes Briseis away from him. Later, he even refuses Agamemnon's gifts to compensate for his previous actions because he feels it will be even more detrimental to his honor. Achilles also centers many of his actions around his utter fear of disgrace. Although, he breaks the heroic code of society by threatening to kill Agamemnon, and by showing disrespect for his superiors. For the main part, Achilles' actions revolve around his pursuit for honor and glory, and for his sense of loyalty to the community and to the society in which he lives. He is even forewarned by his mother that if he kills Hector his "fate will stand ready." When he hears this he made little out of death and danger, and possessed a much greater fear that he would have to live the remainder of his life as a coward. Achilles said, "May I die straightway when I have penalized the wrongdoer so that I may not remain here the laughingstock beside the beaked ship, a burden to the earth.