Achilles

**Achilles** was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and is the central character of Homer's *Iliad*.

## Overview

Achilles was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, king of Phthia. Zeus wanted to marry Thetis himself but she was married off to Peleus because of Zeus's fears about the prophecy by Themis that the son of Thetis would be more powerful than their father.

One of Achilles' most notable feat was slaying of the Trojan prince Hector outside the gates of Troy during the Trojan War.

## Classics Summarized

### Iphigenia

At the Achaean camp in Aulis, Achilles bumped into Queen Clytemnestra, who congratulated him on his engagement to Iphigenia, her daughter. Achilles was quite confused and didn't know anything about it, but a messenger suddenly cames across the two and informed them that Agamemnon only brought Iphigenia to sacrifice her so the wind would blow for the ships to sail to Troy. Achilles and Clytemnestra then resolved to save Iphigenia.

Later, Odysseus realized that the wind would only blow if Iphigenia was sacrificed, so the Achaeans started beating up Achilles to stop him from saving Iphigenia.

When Iphigenia wondered if she would be the most important woman in the Trojan War by her sacrifice, Achilles told her that she would at least get second place behind Helen. Iphigenia then accepted her fate and was sacrificed.

### The Iliad

During the tenth year of the Trojan War, Achilles had acquired Briseis as his bride-prize, and Agamemnon, Chryseis, the daughter of Chryses. After Agamemnon refused to return Chryseis to her father, Chryses prayed to Apollo for help. Apollo fulfilled his request by shooting a plague down on the Achaean soldiers. Eventually, the leaders figured out that the plague was Agamemnon's fault and ordered him to give Chryseis back to Chryses. He refuses and gets Achilles so angry with him that Athena has to physically restrain him from killing Agamemnon. Agamemnon eventually agreed only on the grounds that he would be compensated with Briseis. Achilles reluctantly agreed and then promptly dropped out of the war, asked his mom Thetis to get Zeus to support the Trojans, and sulked in his tent.

Later, Odysseus and Ajax the Great were sent by Agamemnon to Achilles to convince him to return to the battle. They offered him Briseis and tons of riches, but Achilles refused and told them that he was sailing home the next day. He then talked about how his boyfriend Patroclus is great and awesome.

Later, Achilles asked Patroclus to check if a wounded soldier was one of his friends so he could know whether or not to feel sad. When he returned, Patroclus asked, at the behest of Nestor, if Achilles could come out and fight. He still said, "no," but he also suggested that Patroclus could go out and fight in his armor and lead his army. Patroclus agreed and, after Achilles made him promise not to die, was quickly killed by Hector. Achilles remained oblivious in his tent for a while before a messenger informed him of Patroclus's death. Achilles was enraged by this and went out to fight. Hephaestus also makes him some new armor.

While fighting, Achilles killed enough Trojans to anger a river due to all the corpses he put in it, so he beat it up. He later chased Apollo around the city in his anger. Achilles then went to fight Hector, chasing him around the city a few times before finally killing him; he then dragged Hector's mangled corpse around with his chariot.

Achilles and the rest of the Achaean army held Patroclus's funeral games.

### The Odyssey

Achilles appeared with Patroclus, Ajax the Great, and Agamemnon in the underworld when Odysseus visited.

## Legends Summarized

### The Trojan War

Achilles was prophesized by his mother Thetis to either live a long life and die in obscurity or die in Troy and be known forever. He was also notably not required to go to Troy since he wasn't one of Helen's suitors and thus wasn't a part of their oath to protect her marriage. The episode then gives a more cursory summary of the Iliad and Achilles's role in the Trojan War.

Hector prophesized that Achilles would die at Paris's hand with Apollo's assistance. Later, according to Quintus Smyrnaeus's *Posthomerica*, he killed the Amazon warrior Penthesilia and then lamented about how they could have had a wonderful life together in different circumstances after seeing her beauty. Another warrior named Thersites makes fun of Achilles's woman-loving weakness, so Achilles smacked him in the face, killing him.

Eventually, Achilles was killed by Paris, guided by Apollo and maybe Poseidon, who shot him in the ankle.

## di-VINE deities

### di-VINE OLYMPIANS 2

Achilles comes out as the worlds biggest gay.

### di-VINE OSP 3

Achilles comes out to his son Neoptolemus as gay. When Neo asks if he still loves mom, Achilles responds disgustedly that he doesn't 'cause he's GAY.

## Physical Appearance

Achilles is a young man and has long blond hair.

## Appearances

* Iphigenia
* The Iliad
* The Odyssey
* The Trojan War
* di-VINE OLYMPIANS 2
* di-VINE OSP 3

## Links

* Classics Summarized: Iphigenia
* Classics Summarized: The Iliad
* Classics Summarized: The Odyssey
* Legends Summarized: The Trojan War
* di-VINE OLYMPIANS 2
* di-VINE OSP 3