The Power of Restraint: ‘The Wrath of Achilles’

Reaching Within: What traditional art offers the heart

“The Wrath of Achilles,” 1881, by Louis Edouard Fournier. Oil on Canvas, 44.4 inches by 57 inches. Beaux-Arts de Paris, Paris. Public Domain

Have you ever had a moment when you felt anger rise from the pit of your stomach? Maybe someone did something or said something that really made you angry, and you could feel yourself about to do something that you might regret one day; but, instead, you stopped yourself.

The painting “The Wrath of Achilles” by French painter Louis Edouard Fournier reminds me that there’s wisdom in the type of restraint I just described.

The Anger Between Achilles and Agamemnon

As legend has it, Achilles was the seemingly invincible warrior fighting for King Agamemnon and the Greeks in the Trojan War. Achilles, efficient at his job, sacked 12 cities around Troy during the first nine years of the war. However, Achilles and Agamemnon did not always get along. In one particular moment in Greek mythology, the two were at odds.