Achilles shows his moral inferiority in the first book of the Iliad when Agamemnon supposedly deprives Achilles of his honor by taking his "prize". Achilles responds to Agamemnon's action by deciding not to fight in the war and also prays against the Greeks by asking his mother, Thetis, to go to Zeus. When Thetis goes to Zeus she says: “Zeus, our father, if ever I have helped you among the immortals either with words or with something I have done, grant this wish. Honor my son who, more than others, is born for a quick death. But as it is, now the king of men Agamemnon has given him no honor. He took away his prize. He keeps it! But honor him, O Olympian, counselor Zeus. Give power to the Trojans until the Achaeans honor my son and increase his honor” (I. Lines 491-99). When Achilles does this he shows that he is selfish and only cares about himself. He is showing that he doesn't care about his troops by praying that his mother will ask Zeus to give power to the Trojans until Achilles gets the honor he believes he deserves. Another reason to show that Achilles is a selfish man is found later in book seventeen. For much of the epic, Achilles chooses not to fight only because Agamemnon didn't give him the honor he thought he deserved. But finally, in the seventeenth book, Achilles decides to join the battle again. But he doesn't choose to fight because he knows it's the best thing to do for his people or his country. He fights because he wants his name to be remembered. But this is not the main reason. The real reason Achilles decided to fight is because Hector killed his friend Patroclus. This is shown to be the main reason why Achilles decides to fight in book twenty-two, when Achilles tells Hector what he will do to him because Hector killed Patroklos. Achilles says “Do not beg me, dog, for my knees