Achilles' confession in the underworld highlights that mortality is preferable to the existence of a shade in the afterlife.

“Achilles tells Odysseus, "I made a terrible mistake. I went for the short life full of glory, but I would far rather live off the earth as the serf of another man, some man with a pitiful portion who barely eeks out a living, than rule here as the lord of all those who are dead and gone."”

The meeting between Odysseus and Achilles in the underworld serves to critique the ancient Greek glorification of martial heroism.

“To me, that is the single most interesting moment of the entire Odyssey. Because it undermines the cult of the hero and the sort of the emphasis on glory and martial vigor and writing your name in neon letters that will never fade and all of that kind of thing.”