that lionheart who mauls battalions wholesale.
– Homer
The Iliad, Book 7, line 265. Great Ajax meets Hector in battle, warning him about the great champions they have within the Achaean ranks besides Achilles – describing him as having the heart of a lion. This metaphor conveys that Achilles is a fierce and brave warrior. The Achaeans have been battling without Achilles, who refuses to fight because Agamemnon has stolen his war-prize, his slave Briseis.