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Red Figured Amphora (450 B.C.E.)
Achilles
(also Akhilles, Achilleus)
Relationships to other mythological figures
The myth
Birth
Zeus and Poseidon both wanted to have children by Thetis, a beautiful immortal. However, they were deterred by either Prometheus or Themis, depending on the version of the story, who said that her children would be greater than their father. Wanting to avoid a power greater than themselves, Zeus and Poseidon arranged a marriage for Thetis to a mortal.
Childhood
Thetis became very attached to her youngest boy of seven children, a boy named Achilles. She wanted to make him immortal, and tried many things to acheive this. The most famous story is that she dipped her child into the river Styx, holding little Achilles by the heel. Achilles grew up as an immortal in all places except one: the bit of heel by which his mother held him when she dipped him into the Styx. Other versions of the story include rubbing ambrosia on Achilles and burning out his morality in the hall fire.
Achilles the warrior
Achilles later became a great warrior. He learned the skills of warfare from Chiron, the leader of the Centaurs, and ate wild game to make himself more vicious. Achilles became well-known as a great fighter, but Thetis was worried about him. A prophecy had said that the son of the Thetis would either have a long but dull life or a glorious but brief life. When the Trojan war started, Thetis disguised Achilles as a girl and hid him among the women at the palace of King Lycomedes on the island of Scyros.
The Greeks did not think that they could win the Trojan war without the help of Achilles, but he was well hidden. Finally, they sent Odysseus to find him, which he did with the help of a clever trick. Having traced Achilles to Scyros, he placed a sword among some jewelry in King Lycomedes' castle. While the women were admiring the jewelry, a call to arms was sounded and Achilles reached for the weapon, pointing himself out as a man. Exposed, Achilles set sail for Troy.
At Troy, Achilles spent a long time in his tent, refusing to fight the Trojans. He even asked his mother to convince Zeus to hurt the Greeks. However, when Patroclus was killed he rose to action. Patroclus was killed by Hector, the Trojan hero. Achilles went out to seek revenge. Patroclus had worn Achilles armor, which was forged by Hephaistos, which Achilles then donned. Achilles came up against Hector and beat him, and then dragged his body around the tomb of Patroclus for twelve days. Thetis eventually convinced him to return the body to the Trojans.
Achilles fought well and killed many Trojans, but was warned by his horse Xanthus that his life was growing short. He was finally killed when a poorly-aimed but divinely-guided arrow from the bow of Paris hit his one mortal spot: the tendon above his heel.
Influences in history
- Achilles was the mythical character most admired by Alexander the Great
- The tendon above the heel is known as the Achilles tendon
- Greek tragedian Aeschylus wrote a trilogy about him, entitled Achilleus
- One of the A's in SHAZAM (which transformed Billy Batson into Captain Marvel and gave him qualities of mythological figures) stood for the courage of Achilles
Bibliography
Related Terms and Articles
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