AchillesWrath2.0100

Jonathan Shay, 1994, Achilles in Vietnam: combat trauma and the undoing of character (New York, Scribner)...

Shay's application of a mythological narrative for deeper understanding of how to treat clinically psychosis is not unrelated to Freud's uses of myth — e.g. Oedipus or Electra. Shay identified similarities in his patients' experiences to Achilles' in Iliad, where "a noble character [is] brought to ruin." Shay's novel methodology gave rise to many subsequent usages by artists and psychologists who explore modern warfare's grim toll through the lens of the Trojan War narratives by classical authors. Shay led the way with treatments — clinical and narrative — of returning combatants in his (2002) Odysseus in America: combat trauma and the trials of home-coming.

While working as a V.A. clinical psychiatrist with veterans traumatized in Vietnam and other military conflicts, he began to discern disorders — psychological injuries — shared by the modern warriors and those described in classical texts: “betrayal of what’s right (thémis)", personal guilt for surviving, deep alienation after homecoming. These factors, Shay argues, result in rage (ménis), the first word [i.e. 'title?'] and theme of Iliad. “I realized,” writes Shay, “that I was hearing the story of Achilles over and over again.”
"Veterans can usually recover from horror, fear, and grief once they return to civilian life, so long as 'what's right' has not also been violated. ... I believe [ménis, or indignant rage] is also the first and possibly the primary trauma that converted subsequent terror, horror, grief, and guilt into lifelong disability for Vietnam veterans." (20-21)
    Packed with quoted combat narratives from actual victims, Shay’s brilliant analysis bridges between the apparently fictional wrath of Achilles and the documented berserk rage of Vietnam veterans. And in building that bridge, the psychologist effectively establishes communication between both sides, facilitating better understanding of Achilles and of the broken veterans who may never be the same.
    Shay won a MacArthur Genius Award for his insightful work.
    Bryn Mawr Classical Review 94.03.21 — Sallie Goetsch reviews Shay's Achilles.