In Book 11 of the Odyssey, Odysseus journeys to the realm of the dead, the Nekyia, to seek the prophecy of the seer Teiresias. There he encounters the soul (ψυχή) of Achilles. Odysseus tells him that while alive he was honoured like a God among the Greeks, and that now he holds great power among the dead.
Achilles rejects his consolation and tells Odysseus not to make light of death. He would rather serve a landless man of little means than rule over all the dead. For Achilles, even the humblest life among the living is preferable to kingship among the dead.