Feet, Fate, and Finitude: On Standing and Inertia in the Iliad

The essay explores the philosophical question of finitude as it is illustrated in the link between fate and feet in the Iliad. The standing posture is not simply one of various human characteristics, but an ontological determination of what it means to be human—that is, to be in relation to one's own death. With this assumption in place, the essay focuses on Achilles as the hero of the "swift feet" and a mortal who grapples with the intimate knowledge he has of his fate. Through readings of Achilles's inertia in Books IX and XXIV, as opposed to his violent actions in Book XXII, the essay shows that Homer offers us an intriguing juxtaposition: the Achilles who has rendered his feet inoperative is the one who better understands finitude than the Achilles who chases his opponents in an attempt to stand up against his own mortality.