How does Achilles act in the Underworld?

Odysseus' meeting with Achilles in the Underworld is perhaps my favorite part of The Odyssey, as it's one of the most thought-provoking moments in the poem. When Odysseus meets Achilles during his visit to the Underworld, the ghost of Achilles tells the king of Ithaca that death is terrible. In fact, Achilles says, he would rather be a living, breathing, normal person than a famous but dead hero. 

This moment is intriguing because Achilles...

Odysseus' meeting with Achilles in the Underworld is perhaps my favorite part of The Odyssey, as it's one of the most thought-provoking moments in the poem. When Odysseus meets Achilles during his visit to the Underworld, the ghost of Achilles tells the king of Ithaca that death is terrible. In fact, Achilles says, he would rather be a living, breathing, normal person than a famous but dead hero. 

This moment is intriguing because Achilles specifically chose a short but glorious life in favor of a long but unremarkable one. Getting what he wished for, Achilles became renowned as the greatest warrior who ever lived, but he also died on the battlefield at Troy. As such, it would appear that Achilles regrets his decision, and that he specifically regrets his decision to value fame and glory over all else. Thus, when Odysseus sees Achilles in the Underworld, the ghostly warrior seems to question the whole enterprise of yearning for a mythological reputation. This notion seems to undermine the whole point of epic poetry (which essentially celebrates the larger-than-life deeds of heroes), and so it serves as a surprisingly subversive philosophical point. Perhaps, Homer seems to suggest, it would be better to avoid idealizing the blustering heroes of The Iliad and The Odyssey, as the life of epic poetry is not as glamorous as it seems.