Achilles Achilles See More Achilles Pictures > Achilles was a hero in Greek mythology and one of the main characters that participated in the Trojan War . He was also the protagonist of Homer’s epic, the Iliad. He was the son of Peleus , king of the Myrmidons, and Thetis , a nymph. Both Zeus and Poseidon were in love with Thetis , however Prometheus warned them of a prophecy that said the son of Thetis would be greater than his father; so, the two gods decided to withdraw, and Peleus ended up marrying her. When Achilles was born, his mother wanted to make him immortal and thus, dipped him in the river Styx . However, she did not realise that his heel, by which she held him, was not touched by the waters, and so that was the only part of his body that remained mortal. According to another version, Thetis covered Achilles ’ body in ambrosia and put him on top of a fire to burn away his mortality; however, she was enraged because she was interrupted by Peleus and abandoned them. When the Trojan War started, Achilles commanded 50 ships, each having 50 Myrmidons.

He also appointed five commanders; Menesthius, Eudorus, Peisander, Phoenix and Alcimedon. After departing, they landed in Mysia by mistake, which was then ruled by Telephus . Telephus was wounded in the battle by Achilles , and could not be healed. After consulting an oracle, he was told that he who inflicted the wound would be able to heal it; so, Telephus asked Achilles to heal him, and in return he guided them to Troy . The Iliad starts the narrative of the Trojan War with Agamemnon , leader of the Achaeans , having acquired a woman called Chryseis as his slave. Her father, being a priest of Apollo , begs the god to help him, and Apollo sends a plague among the Greeks. Calchas identifies the source of the problem and Agamemnon reluctantly consents; however, he demands that Achilles hand over his own prize, another woman called Briseis. Achilles , furious that he was dishonoured in such a way, withdraws from battle and asks his mother to convince Zeus to help the Trojans, so that he may prove himself again in the battlefield.

The Trojans manage to repel the Greeks back to the shore; Patroclus , Achilles ’ friend, wearing Achilles ’ armor, successfully leads the Myrmidons against the enemy, but is subsequently killed by Hector , the Trojan prince. Enraged by his friend’s death, Achilles joins the battle and tracks down Hector , whom he kills in a face to face duel. He then drags Hector ’s lifeless body with his chariot during the funeral games he held for Patroclus . The death of Achilles is not narrated in the Iliad, although it was predicted by Hector with his dying breath. Paris , the brother of Hector , managed to kill the hero with an arrow that landed on Achilles ’ heel, the only vulnerable part of his body. The arrow was poisoned and some sources say that it was guided by the god Apollo . Achilles was cremated and his ashes were mingled with those of Patroclus . Achilles Is also called Achilleas, Achilleus.

Peleus | Greek mythology | Britannica.com Greek mythology Zeus Peleus, in Greek mythology , king of the Myrmidons of Thessaly; he was most famous as the husband of Thetis (a sea nymph) and the father of the hero Achilles , whom he outlived. When Peleus and his brother Telamon were banished from their father Aeacus’ kingdom of Aegina , Peleus went to Phthia to be purified by his uncle King Eurytion, whose daughter Antigone he married, receiving a third of Eurytion’s kingdom. During the Calydonian boar hunt he accidentally killed Eurytion. He then went to Iolcos to be purified by King Acastus, whose wife Astydameia made advances to him. When he refused her, she told Antigone that he wanted to marry her daughter, causing Antigone to hang herself. Peleus later won the sea nymph Thetis by capture, and all the gods except Eris (the goddess of discord) were invited to the wedding. The golden apple that Eris spitefully sent to the wedding guests led to the “judgment of Paris” and thence to the Trojan War .

Peleus was too old to fight in that conflict and gave his armour to his son Achilles. Thetis, who had returned to the sea after bearing Achilles, eventually fetched Peleus to dwell with her. Learn More in these related articles: Achilles | Greek mythology | Britannica.com Greek mythology hero Achilles, in Greek mythology , son of the mortal Peleus , king of the Myrmidons , and the Nereid , or sea nymph , Thetis . Achilles was the bravest, handsomest, and greatest warrior of the army of Agamemnon in the Trojan War . According to Homer , Achilles was brought up by his mother at Phthia with his cousin and inseparable companion Patroclus . One of the non-Homeric tales of his childhood relates that Thetis dipped Achilles in the waters of the River Styx , by which means he became invulnerable, except for the part of his heel by which she held him—the proverbial “Achilles’ heel.” Amphora with Ajax and Achilles playing a board game, painted by Exekias, c.

550–540 … © DeA Picture Library The later mythographers related that Peleus, having received an oracle that his son would die fighting at Troy, sent Achilles to the court of Lycomedes on Scyros, where he was dressed as a girl and kept among the king’s daughters (one of whom, Deïdamia, bore him Neoptolemus ). Hearing from the soothsayer Calchas that Troy could not be taken without Achilles, the Greeks searched for and found him. Thetis immersing her son, Achilles, in the River Styx by Antoine Borel, 18th century; in the … The Art Archive/SuperStock During the first nine years of the war, Achilles ravaged the country around Troy and took 12 cities. In the 10th year a quarrel with Agamemnon occurred when Achilles insisted that Agamemnon restore Chryseis, his prize of war, to her father, a priest of Apollo , so as to appease the wrath of Apollo, who had decimated the camp with a pestilence.

An irate Agamemnon recouped his loss by depriving Achilles of his favourite slave, Briseis. Achilles refused further service, and consequently the Greeks floundered so badly that at last Achilles allowed Patroclus to impersonate him, lending him his chariot and armour. Hector (the eldest son of King Priam of Troy) slew Patroclus, and Achilles, having finally reconciled with Agamemnon, obtained new armour from the god Hephaestus and slew Hector. After dragging Hector’s body behind his chariot, Achilles gave it to Priam at his earnest entreaty. The Iliad concludes with the funeral rites of Hector. It makes no mention of the death of Achilles, though the Odyssey mentions his funeral. The poet Arctinus in his Aethiopis took up the story of the Iliad and related that Achilles, having slain the Ethiopian king Memnon and the Amazon Penthesilea , was himself slain in battle by Priam’s son Paris , whose arrow was guided by Apollo.

Achilles slaying Penthesilea, the queen of the Amazons, Attic black-figure amphora signed by … Courtesy of the trustees of the British Museum Learn More in these related articles: Achilles Encyclopedia > Literature and the Arts > Classical Literature, Mythology, and Folklore > Folklore and Mythology Achilles Achilles (əkĭlˈēz) [ key ], in Greek mythology, foremost Greek hero of the Trojan War, son of Peleus and Thetis. He was a formidable warrior, possessing fierce and uncontrollable anger. Thetis, knowing that Achilles was fated to die at Troy, disguised him as a girl and hid him among the women at the court of King Lycomedes of Skyros. He was discovered there by Odysseus, who persuaded him to go to Troy. One of Lycomedes' daughters, Deidamia, bore Achilles a son, Neoptolemus. According to Homer, Achilles came to Troy leading the 50 ships of the Myrmidons. In the last year of the siege, when Agamemnon stole the captive princess Briseis from him, Achilles angrily withdrew and took his troops from the war.

Later he allowed his friend and lover Patroclus to borrow his armor and lead the Myrmidons to aid the retreating Greeks. When Hector killed Patroclus, Achilles was filled with grief and rage and returned to the battle, routed the Trojans, and killed Hector, viciously dragging his body back to the Greek camp. Achilles died of a wound inflicted by Paris. According to one legend, Thetis attempted to make Achilles immortal by bathing him in the river Styx, but the heel by which she held him remained vulnerable, and Paris inflicted a fatal wound in that heel. Other legends state that Achilles was struck from behind and killed by Paris when he went to visit Priam's daughter Polyxena, with whom he had fallen in love. Achilles, the object of widespread hero worship, is the main character of Homer 's epic The Iliad. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

Achilles (Greek mythology) - Credo Reference Topic Page: Achilles (Greek mythology) Definition: Achilles from Philip's Encyclopedia In the Greek epic tradition, a formidable warrior, the most fearless Greek fighter of the Trojan War and the hero of Homer's Iliad. Legend held him invulnerable from weapons because he had been dipped by his mother, Thetis, in the River Styx at birth, except for the heel by which he was held. Achilles sought glory fighting at Troy, but an arrow shot by Paris struck his heel and killed him. Summary Article: ACHILLES from Gods, Goddesses, and Mythology Image from: Achilles Contemplating the Body of Patroclus (oil on canvas) in The Bridgeman History of Science According to Homer's Iliad, Achilles was the Greeks' best fighter in the Trojan War, famed for his strength and courage. The story of Achilles is dominated by prophecies about the future, and by desperate attempts to avoid fate—common themes in Greek mythology. As in other tales, the prophecies come true: despite the efforts of his mother, Achilles dies at Troy while still a young man.

Achilles was the son of the sea goddess Thetis and the mortal Peleus, king of Phthia. Long before his birth, the earth goddess Themis predicted that Thetis would give birth to a son who would be more powerful than his father. Zeus, king of the gods, and his brother, the sea god Poseidon, had both wanted to marry Thetis, but the prophecy put them off, since neither wanted to be overthrown. Instead, Themis said that Thetis should marry a mortal, Peleus, so that her son would be half mortal and thus no threat to the gods. Other versions say that Zeus's wife, Hera, helped to raise Thetis, and the sea goddess refused Zeus's advances out of loyalty to her. Several events occurred at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis that would have a bearing on Achilles' life. For a wedding gift, the gods gave the happy couple the enchanted horses Xanthus and Balius, which would later pull Achilles' chariot. More significant, during the wedding ceremony, Eris, goddess of discord, threw a golden apple among the guests.

The apple was inscribed with the words For the fairest, and was claimed by three goddesses: Hera; Athena, goddess of arts and war; and the love goddess Aphrodite. Zeus asked the mortal Paris, son of King Priam of Troy, to judge the victor. Paris chose Aphrodite in return for the goddess's promise to help him win the most beautiful woman alive— Helen, daughter of Zeus and the mortal Leda. Achilles' younger years Another of Themis's prophecies regarding Achilles was that he would die in battle. When Achilles was born, Thetis tried to protect her beloved son from his fate. According to one version of the story, she dipped him in the magical Styx River in the underworld in order to make him immortal, but she held onto her son by the heel, which became the one vulnerable point on his body. In other versions, Thetis tried to protect Achilles by applying ambrosia (the ointment of the gods) to his body by day and putting him in the embers of fire by night to burn away his mortality. Peleus, however, was alarmed by his wife's behavior and prevented her from continuing her treatment of Achilles.

His intervention irritated Thetis, who left her husband but continued to watch over her son. Thetis is depicted in this painting dipping her son Achilles in the River Styx, by Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640). Peleus sent Achilles to be educated by Cheiron, a centaur (a human with the body of a horse) famed for his wisdom and kindness. Cheiron trained the boy to use weapons and taught him many other skills, including healing and playing the lyre. However, as Achilles grew older, he became unruly, stealing things and vandalizing the other centaurs' homes, and Cheiron despaired of his disobedience. After his time with Cheiron, Achilles returned to live with Peleus. His new tutor was Phoenix, whom Peleus had made king of the Dolopians. During his time with Phoenix, Achilles became acquainted with the youth Patroclus. Peleus made Patroclus his son's attendant, and the two became lifelong companions. The Centaur Cheiron A centaur was a creature that was human from the waist up, but with the body and legs of a horse.

The centaurs, who were said to have been born out of a cloud, lived in the mountains of Thessaly in central Greece. They were mostly drunken and violent creatures, but one of them, Cheiron, was not like the rest. He was the son of Cronus, the ruler of the Titans, and he was renowned for his gentleness and wisdom. Cheiron was a master of healing. He knew all about medicinal herbs and potions —Asclepius, god of healing, gained his knowledge of medicine from Cheiron. Besides helping to raise Achilles, the great centaur also taught Jason, Actaeon, Patroclus, and Peleus, Achilles' father, among others. Cheiron's life ended after the hero Heracles accidentally shot him with a poisoned arrow. He was badly hurt and longed to die, but he could not because he was immortal. However, the Titan Prometheus offered to become immortal in his place, and Cheiron was finally allowed to die. Sent away to hide When Achilles was nine, the seer Calchas said that the great war that was to take place at Troy could only be won if the Greeks had Achilles fighting on their side.

This prophecy terrified Thetis, who dreaded her son's death in battle. Hoping to save him from the war, she disguised Achilles as a girl named Pyrrha and took him to live in secret at the court of King Lycomedes on the island of Scyros. She told Lycomedes that Pyrrha was Achilles' sister, and the king believed her. In another version of events, Thetis sent her son to Scyros before Calchas's prophecy, and it was only after the seer gave his prediction that she insisted Achilles hide from the Greeks by pretending to be Pyrrha. At first Achilles was mortified at having to dress as a girl, but he soon realized it was a good way to get close to Lycomedes' daughter, Deidamia. The two fell in love, and by the time Achilles left Scyros, at age 15, Deidamia had given birth to their son, Neoptolemus. The outbreak of war Paris sparked off the Trojan War when, aided by Aphrodite, he ran away with Helen, who was married to King Menelaus of Sparta.

Many other Greek leaders who had originally hoped to marry Helen themselves had sworn an oath to her stepfather Tyndareos that they would fight anyone who tried to harm her marriage to Menelaus. They now were obliged to go to Troy to help Menelaus win back his wife. Achilles himself had not taken the oath, but because of Calchas's prophecy, the Greeks needed him to go to Troy, too. Odysseus, king of Ithaca, having heard where Achilles was, went to Scyros to collect him. He tricked Achilles out of his disguise by lining up a row of ornaments together with a spear and a shield. Odysseus then played a war trumpet, which caused Achilles instinctively to reach for the weapons, revealing himself as a trained soldier. Achilles eagerly responded to Odysseus's request that he join the Greeks in their war against Troy. Still only 15, he became the leader of the Myrmidons, an army of soldiers from Phthia, who took 50 ships to Troy. His closest friend, Patroclus, also went with him to the war.

Events before the Greeks landed at Troy demonstrated both Achilles' valor and his hotheadedness. He attempted to save the life of Iphigeneia, daughter of the Greek leader Agamemnon, when Agamemnon was poised to sacrifice her to ensure favorable winds for the Greek ships. Iphigeneia, however, offered herself for sacrifice anyway, and the Greeks set sail, landing not in Troy but, by accident, in Mysia, where Achilles acted honorably for a second time. On Mysia, an army led by King Telephus attacked the Greeks and drove them back to their ships. Achilles, however, stood firm and inflicted a serious wound on Telephus. An oracle told Telephus that his wound could only be cured by the one who had caused it. He raced after the Greeks. Odysseus, guessing that the cause of the wound was Achilles' spear, advised Achilles to rub rust from the weapon into the king's body. In thanks, Telephus showed the Greeks the way to Troy. As their journey continued, however, the Greeks stopped at the island of Tenedos, where Achilles fell for Hemithea, the sister of King Tenes.

Tenes tried to keep Achilles away from her, and in a fit of anger the young Greek killed him. This murder caused even more grief for Thetis, for it had been said that whoever killed Tenes would in turn be killed by his father, the sun god Apollo. This illustration from a c. sixth-century-BCE kylix (wide-bowled Greek cup) depicts Achilles (right) bandaging the arm of his friend Patroclus. During the ten-year siege of Troy, the Greeks raided other settlements in the area for supplies, or attacked them because they supported the Trojans. Achilles and his men sacked the island of Lesbos and captured 12 nearby cities. The warrior also killed countless Trojans and their supporters, including King Priam's son Troilus, and Cycnus, a son of Poseidon, whose body could withstand the blows of any weapons. Achilles killed Cycnus by strangling him with the straps of his own helmet. Besides fighting, Achilles managed to develop passionate feelings for Polyxena, a daughter of King Priam, even though she was a Trojan. He also kept a slave girl, Briseis, in his camp.

He had captured her in Lyrnessus, one of the cities he had raided. The fatal argument In the 10th year of the war, Achilles had a huge quarrel with Agamemnon that involved the youth's slave girl, Briseis, and the commander's slave girl, Chryseis. Achilles and other Greek warriors pleaded with Agamemnon to restore Chryseis to her father, a priest of the sun god Apollo, to save the Greeks from a plague sent by the angry god. Agamemnon did as the other soldiers asked, but he replaced his slave girl with Achilles'. Achilles was so furious that he withdrew from the battle, refusing to fight or to let his men fight. His decision was disastrous for the Greeks. Without Achilles and his armies, they soon lost ground to the Trojans, who eventually reached the Greeks' ships and began to set fire to them. The success of the Trojans was mainly the work of Zeus, whom Thetis had begged to help teach Agamemnon a lesson for upsetting her son. Thetis's wish was granted: Agamemnon soon tried to make amends to Achilles.

He sent an embassy of three men to Achilles' tent—Odysseus, Achilles' old tutor Phoenix, and the warrior Ajax—who relayed Agamemnon's offer to return Briseis, along with gifts of land and riches, if Achilles would fight again. However, Achilles would still not relent. In the end, what changed Achilles' mind was a tragedy. His companion Patroclus offered to go into battle wearing Achilles' armor and pretending to be him. He hoped this would encourage the Greek forces and scare the Trojans. Achilles agreed to the plan. Although Patroclus was successful at first, he chased the Trojans too far and was killed by the Trojan commander Hector. Now Achilles, spurred on by grief and the desire for revenge, deeply regretted his behavior. He wanted nothing more than to kill Hector—even if it cost him his life. Thetis finally began to come to terms with Achilles' fate and helped him by arranging for Hephaestus, god of fire and metalworking, to make new armor for her son. Achilles reentered the battle against the Trojans, killing dozens of them.

He drove the Trojans back inside their city walls, but Hector turned to meet him at the city gates. Helped by Athena, Achilles killed Hector with a spear wound to his neck, but he was still angry. For the next nine days he dragged Hector's body around the battlefield. Only later, when he had finally calmed down, did he allow Hector's father, King Priam, to take the body back to Troy for a dignified funeral. In his epic the Iliad, Greek poet Homer (c. ninth–eighth century BCE) describes a poignant reconciliation between the Trojan king and the Greek warrior: Priam goes to the Greek camp to beg for his son's body, and Achilles is reminded not only of his own father but of the grief he himself has felt for the loss of Patroclus. The two men weep, then share food together, before Achilles hands over Hector's body to Priam. The death of Achilles Achilles himself was not to live much longer. His killer was Paris, brother of Hector and Troilus, and whose affair with Helen had ignited the whole war.

In some versions, Achilles was killed in battle, although in others it happened while he was trying to make negotiations to marry Polyxena. Either way, Paris aimed an arrow at him, and Apollo, who supported the Trojans, directed its flight so that it killed Achilles. In one account the arrow landed in the hero's heel, the only vulnerable point on his body. Because Achilles had a divine mother and a human father, ancient writers were divided as to whether he was immortal or subject to death. In some versions of the tale, Achilles ended up with other mortals, including Agamemnon, in the land of the dead. In Homer's epic the Odyssey, which concerns itself with events after the fall of Troy, Odysseus meets Achilles' spirit in the underworld. The spirit is inconsolable: though Odysseus tells him that he holds much authority among the dead, Achilles replies that he would rather be alive and have no power than to be recognized as a leader in the underworld. However, other sources state that, after his death, Achilles became immortal and went to live on an island in the Black Sea.

This statue of the dying Achilles, by German sculptor Ernst Herter (1846–1917), echoes the classical Greek style and is an exhibit in the Achilleion Palace, Corfu. Achilles' place in mythology Although the details of his story are unique, Achilles was a familiar character in mythology and folklore—a hero with a weakness. His story draws parallels with other legendary characters, such as Balder, the Norse god of beauty, who was killed by the one thing in the world to which he was vulnerable (mistletoe); and Hindu prince Arjuna, whose hesitation before a battle led the god Krishna to deliver a speech on the right course of action in warfare. Some scholars regard Achilles' weakness as his heel; others regard it as his behavior—for instance, his unruly conduct while under Cheiron's tutelage and his withdrawal after Agamemnon took his slave girl. According to this argument, the Greeks admired Achilles' skill in battle, but they did not approve of the way he was constantly at the mercy of his emotions. Hector, by contrast, with his high morals and steely self-control, was much closer to the Greek ideal of a perfect soldier.

Sources The most famous work about Achilles is Homer's epic poem the Iliad, which focuses on the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles. However, the Iliad says little about Achilles' early life or his death. These and other details were elaborated by later writers, including Greek poet Pindar (c. 522–c. 438 BCE), Greek dramatists Euripides (c. 486–c. 406 BCE) and Apollodorus (third century BCE), and Roman poet Ovid (43 BCE–17 CE). Roman poet Statius (45–96 CE) began a long poem on the life of Achilles called Achilleid. He finished only a small part of it, although he was the first to include the story of Achilles' heel. In Hindu mythology the god Krishna was also killed by an arrow in his heel, his one vulnerable spot. It is possible that this element of the story was somehow copied from the Hindu legend, or that Statius's version influenced the Indian story. Like other Trojan War heroes, the mythical Achilles may have been based on someone real who lived in the 12th or 13th century BCE.

Archaeologists believe that it was during this period that the historical events thought to lie behind the Trojan War took place. Over time, tales of a great warrior who died at Troy could easily have been embellished into the story of a half-divine hero. Alexander the Great (356–323 BCE), the conqueror of ancient Greece and the Persian Empire, appeared to believe that Achilles was a real figure: he claimed that Achilles was his ancestor, and he saw him as a role model. Achilles in the modern world Today, Achilles is remembered as a great warrior. His story has inspired many paintings, songs, poems, and modern retellings, such as the novel Achilles (2002) by Elizabeth Cook. Achilles also features in numerous plays, children's books, and films that deal with the subject of the Trojan War, including the Hollywood movie Troy (2004), in which Achilles is played by the actor Brad Pitt. Most of all, people remember the Greek hero's story in the phrase Achilles' heel, which means a weak point in an otherwise strong person or organization.

The hero also inspired the medical term Achilles' tendon, which refers to the strong tendon that runs down the back of the heel, connecting the leg muscles to the foot. If this tendon is damaged, it is impossible to run. See also: AGAMEMNON; AJAX; APOLLO; BALDER; HECTOR; IPHIGENEIA; ODYSSEUS; PARIS; PATROCLUS; PELEUS; POSEIDON; PRIAM; THETIS; ZEUS. Further reading Homer, and Robert Fagles, trans. The Iliad. New York: Penguin, 2009. Ovid, and A. D. Melville, trans. Metamorphoses. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Citation Peleus | Define Peleus at Dictionary.com Peleus [pee-lee-uh s, peel-yoos] /ˈpi li əs, ˈpil yus/ Spell a king of the Myrmidons, the son of Aeacus and father of Achilles.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Examples from the Web for Peleus Expand Historical Examples For if Achilles alone shall fight against the Trojans, they will not even for a little sustain the swift-footed son of Peleus. The Student's Mythology Catherine Ann White Never was such a wedding-feast known as that of Peleus and Thetis. Children's Literature Charles Madison Curry British Dictionary definitions for Peleus Expand (Greek myth) a king of the Myrmidons; father of Achilles Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Achilles Achilles by James Hunter Achilles was the son of the mortal Peleus and the Nereid Thetis . He was the mightiest of the Greeks who fought in the Trojan War, and was the hero of Homer's Iliad. Thetis attempted unsuccessfully to make her son immortal.

There are two versions of the story. In the earlier version, Thetis anointed the infant with ambrosia and then placed him upon a fire to burn away his mortal portions; she was interrupted by Peleus, whereupon she abandoned both father and son in a rage. Peleus placed the child in the care of the Centaur Chiron , who raised and educated the boy. In the later version, she held the young Achilles by the heel and dipped him in the river Styx ; everything the sacred waters touched became invulnerable, but the heel remained dry and therefore unprotected. When Achilles was a boy, the seer Calchas prophesied that the city of Troy could not be taken without his help. Thetis knew that, if her son went to Troy, he would die an early death, so she sent him to the court of Lycomedes , in Scyros; there he was hidden, disguised as a young girl. During his stay he had an affair with Lycomedes' daughter, Deidameia, and she had a son, Pyrrhus (or Neoptolemus ), by him.

Achilles' disguise was finally penetrated by Odysseus , who placed arms and armor amidst a display of women's finery and seized upon Achilles when he was the only "maiden" to be fascinated by the swords and shields. Achilles then went willingly with Odysseus to Troy, leading a host of his father's Myrmidons and accompanied by his tutor Phoenix and his close friend Patroclus. At Troy, Achilles distinguished himself as an undefeatable warrior. Among his other exploits, he captured twenty-three towns in Trojan territory, including the town of Lyrnessos, where he took the woman Briseis as a war-prize. Later on Agamemnon , the leader of the Greeks, was forced by an oracle of Apollo to give up his own war-prize, the woman Chryseis , and took Briseis away from Achilles as compensation for his loss. This action sparked the central plot of the Iliad, for Achilles became enraged and refused to fight for the Greeks any further.

The war went badly, and the Greeks offered handsome reparations to their greatest warrior; Achilles still refused to fight in person, but he agreed to allow his friend Patroclus to fight in his place, wearing his armor. The next day Patroclus was killed and stripped of the armor by the Trojan hero Hector , who mistook him for Achilles. Achilles was overwhelmed with grief for his friend and rage at Hector. His mother obtained magnificent new armor for him from Hephaestus , and he returned to the fighting and killed Hector. He desecrated the body, dragging it behind his chariot before the walls of Troy, and refused to allow it to receive funeral rites. When Priam , the king of Troy and Hector's father, came secretly into the Greek camp to plead for the body, Achilles finally relented; in one of the most moving scenes of the Iliad, he received Priam graciously and allowed him to take the body away. After the death of Hector, Achilles' days were numbered. He continued fighting heroically, killing many of the Trojans and their allies, including Memnon and the Amazon warrior Penthesilia.

Finally Priam's son Paris (or Alexander), aided by Apollo, wounded Achilles in the heel with an arrow; Achilles died of the wound. After his death, it was decided to award Achilles' divinely-wrought armor to the bravest of the Greeks. Odysseus and Ajax competed for the prize, with each man making a speech explaining why he deserved the honor; Odysseus won, and Ajax then went mad and committed suicide. During his lifetime, Achilles is also said to have had a number of romantic episodes. He reportedly fell in love with Penthesilia, the Amazon maiden whom he killed in battle, and it is claimed that he married Medea . Article details: Achilles | Article about Achilles by The Free Dictionary Achilles | Article about Achilles by The Free Dictionary Related to Achilles: Achilles Heel , Achilles tendon Achilles (əkĭl`ēz), in Greek mythology, foremost Greek hero of the Trojan War, son of Peleus and Thetis. He was a formidable warrior, possessing fierce and uncontrollable anger. Thetis, knowing that Achilles was fated to die at Troy, disguised him as a girl and hid him among the women at the court of King Lycomedes of Skyros.

He was discovered there by Odysseus, who persuaded him to go to Troy. One of Lycomedes' daughters, Deidamia, bore Achilles a son, Neoptolemus. According to Homer, Achilles came to Troy leading the 50 ships of the Myrmidons. In the last year of the siege, when Agamemnon stole the captive princess Briseis from him, Achilles angrily withdrew and took his troops from the war. Later he allowed his friend and lover Patroclus to borrow his armor and lead the Myrmidons to aid the retreating Greeks. When Hector killed Patroclus, Achilles was filled with grief and rage and returned to the battle, routed the Trojans, and killed Hector, viciously dragging his body back to the Greek camp. Achilles died of a wound inflicted by Paris. According to one legend, Thetis attempted to make Achilles immortal by bathing him in the river Styx, but the heel by which she held him remained vulnerable, and Paris inflicted a fatal wound in that heel. Other legends state that Achilles was struck from behind and killed by Paris when he went to visit Priam's daughter Polyxena, with whom he had fallen in love.

Achilles, the object of widespread hero worship, is the main character of Homer Homer, principal figure of ancient Greek literature; the first European poet. Works, Life, and Legends Two epic poems are attributed to Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey. ..... Click the link for more information. 's epic The Iliad. Achilles ((588) Achilles) The first member of the Trojan group of asteroids to be discovered, by Maximilian Wolf, in 1906. It lies east of Jupiter and precedes the latter in its orbit of the Sun by 60°. See Table 3, backmatter. Achilles (religion, spiritualism, and occult) Achilles, asteroid 588 (the 588th asteroid to be discovered, on February 22, 1906), is approximately 116 kilometers in diameter and has an orbital period of 11.8 years. It was named after the famous Greek hero of the Trojan War and was the first of the so-called Trojan asteroids (asteroids that travel along the same orbital path as Jupiter) to be discovered.

Achilles’ location by sign and house in a natal chart shows an area of exceptional strength, but at the same time the site of an Achilles’ heel. Sources: Ballinger, Richard Achilles References in classic literature ? Therefore, Agamemnon, though you be strong, take not this girl away, for the sons of the Achaeans have already given her to Achilles; and you, Achilles, strive not further with the king, for no man who by the grace of Jove wields a sceptre has like honour with Agamemnon. But Agamemnon did not forget the threat that he had made Achilles, and called his trusty messengers and squires Talthybius and Eurybates. They found Achilles sitting by his tent and his ships, and ill-pleased he was when he beheld them. Then Achilles went all alone by the side of the hoar sea, weeping and looking out upon the boundless waste of waters. But Achilles abode at his ships and nursed his anger. I believe, therefore, that you have been promising her to give glory to Achilles, and to kill much people at the ships of the Achaeans.

Thetis Thetis See More Thetis Pictures > Thetis was a sea nymph in Greek mythology, or according to some myths , one of the Nereids , the fifty daughters of the sea god Nereus and Doris . She was courted by both Zeus and Poseidon , but neither of them married her, out of fear of a prophecy that said Thetis ' son would surpass his father in glory. Instead, she married Peleus , with whom she had a son, the mythical hero Achilles . Peleus ' and Thetis ' wedding was the main event that caused all subsequent events triggering the Trojan War . During the wedding, the goddess of discord Eris , who had not been invited, threw amidst the guests the Apple of Discord, on which the words "to the fairest" had been inscribed. Hera , Aphrodite and Athena started fighting over who should get the apple; Zeus said that Paris , prince of Troy should make the decision. He picked Aphrodite , after she told him she would give him the most beautiful woman in the world as a wife. This woman was Menelaus ' wife, Helen .

When Hephaestus , the blacksmith god, was thrown from Olympus either by Hera or Zeus , it was Thetis along with Eurynome that helped him and placed him on the island of Lemnos. There, he worked for them as a blacksmith. When Thetis gave birth to her son, Achilles , she decided to make him immortal by dipping him in the sacred waters of the river Styx , one of the rivers that flowed through the Underworld. However, when she was dipping him, she did not realise that his heel by which she held him was not touched by the waters, thus leaving that spot vulnerable. This is how the modern phrase "Achilles' heel" came to be; this was also the hero 's doom, as an arrow shot by the prince of Troy , Paris , and guided by the god Apollo , hit Achilles ' heel during the Trojan War , killing him. After his death, Thetis took her son's body and collected his ashes in an urn. She then started commemorative festivals in his honour.

Achilles, Greece, Greek mythology Greek Mythology Zeus Achilles Achilles was a half-divine hero, being the son of the sea nymph Thetis and king Peleus of Thessaly. He was educated by the wise centaur Cheiron and was described as extremely handsome but also very emotional. He was almost immortal since his mother had dipped him into the river Styx as a baby. Holding the child by its heel when putting it in the water, Thetis made Achilles' whole body except the heel immortal. He had a son,Neoptolemus, with the Skyrian princess Deidameia, who met her when he was hidden in the Palace of the king Likomidis on the island on Skyros. When the war against Troy was ignited by the kidnapping of Helen, Thetis learnt by an oracle that her son would not come back alive if he joined Agamemnon.

The oracle had said that he would either die young and glorious, or reach old age in obscurity.Thetis then send Achilles to Skyros to the king Likomidis and disguise himself as a woman, thus becoming the first known cross-dresser, but unfortunately he was revealed by Odysseus and forced to join the army against Troy. Odysseus managed to reveal Achilles true identity by dressing as a merchant, then filling a cart with weapons, clothing and perfumes. While the women ran to see the clothes and perfumes, Achilles ran to he weapons. According to another version, Odysseus blew a horn, which made all the women flee except Achilles. Achilles led a fleet of 50 ships with an army of warriors called the Myrmidons . When they arrived in Troy, they also conquered 12 cities by the sea and 11 on land. Achilles killed the queen of the Amazons , Penthelisea, but just as she died their eyes met and they both fell desperately in love. After an argument with king Agamemnon , who had taken Briseis , a beautiful hostage, from Achilles - the hero was so upset that he pulled out of the war.

His abcense from the battle field gave courage to the Trojans, who no longer having to face Achilles, began to gain ground and cause a lot of suffering to the Greeks. In Vain Agamemnon and other Greeks begged him to take part in the battle and they sent gifts and slaves to persuade him to back his decision. But the entreaties from Agamemnon and the other Greeks were all in vain. Eventually only the entreaties of his closest friend Patroclus made him him retreat and gave him his great armor that it was made by the god Hephaestus. to fool the Trojans, that supposedly was Achilles who took part in the battle. Hector but he understood and the battle that followed killed Patroclus and took its armor. Patroclus managed to trick the Trojans, who thought he was Achilles who took part in the battle. But Hector understood that he was not Achilles and during the battle that followed he killed him and took his armor. Patroclus was his best friend and when he was killed by the Trojan hero Hector Achilles was totally mortified. Homer describes how Achilles cut off his hair in mourning and lit the funeral pyre.

As a revenge, Achilles killed Hector, dragged the body around the city. This fact and the disrespect towards the dead Hector angered the god Apollo who helped the Trojan prince Paris , Helen's kidnapper with Aphrodite's help, to shot an arrow into Achilles only weak spot: his heel. Thetis and the Nine Muses attended Achilles funeral. In the underworld Achilles remained a leader, but it was not a happy existence. According to another version, the hero was taken to Elysium by his mother, where he married Helen or Medea. Yet another myth tells us that his shadow asked Polyxene to be present at his funeral. She was a Trojan princess who, despite him killing her brother, had fallen in love with Achilles. Polyxene went willingly to the funeral pyre, where the Greeks killed her. Brief history of the Iliad Nine years are supposed to have elapsed in desultory warfare, and the opening line of the poem, Sing, heavenly muse, the wrath of Peleus son, introduces Achilles, who has quarrelled with Agamemnon about a captive woman appropriated by the latter. This has angered Apollo, and a pestilence is raging in the Greek camp.

Agamemnon consents to restore his captive to her father, but insists that Achilles shall give up a woman named Briseis whom he has carried off. Achilles complies, but appeals to his goddessmother, Thetis, who counsels him to nurse his wrath, and withdraw from the siege, whilst she intercedes with Jupiter. The king of the gods, however, has gone to a festival of twelve days duration with the Ethiopians, and, when Thetis obtains an audience, he tells her that he dreads the taunts of his wife Hera, but pledges his promise to humiliate the Greeks. Hera, however, has witnessed the interview, and a connubial dialogue ensues, in which she is silenced by the Thunderer. Hephaestus soothes his mother with nectar, and hands the cup round, whilst the gods and goddesses make fun of his hobbling gait. Zeus sends a vision of Nestor to Agamemnon, urging him to storm the city. The king of men assembles his council, and, to test the temper of the army, proposes, before leading them to the assault, that they shall embark at once for home.

They take him at his word and commence launching the galleys but Hera intervenes by sending Athens to bid Ulysses check their flight. He borrows the kings sceptre and awes the crowd. Thersites alone raises his voice in defiance upon which Ulysses chastises him, and the Greeks laugh heartily as he writhes and howls. They are then addressed. by Ulysses and Nestor, and Agamemnon concludes the debate by a call to immediate battle. But first the troops are well fed, whilst Agamemnon gives a banquet to six of the chieftains, at which Menelaus is present. The king stands by the burntoffering, to which no omen is vouchsafed. Nevertheless, the army is set in array, and a long musterroll follows of the Greek clans on the one side, and of the Trojans and their allies on the other. The battle begins the Trojans move forward with shouts and clashing weapons, the Greeks in silence. Godlike in his beauty, Paris advances alone from the Trojan ranks,. and challenges the leaders of the Greeks to single combat.

Menelaus springs from his chariot, exulting at the opportunity of gratifying his vengeance. But Paris starts back from the man he has wronged, and encounters Hector, who checks his retreat, ashamed at his cowardice, and Paris is induced by his brothers rebuke to accept the answer to his challenge. Helen is writing her own history when she is warned by the goddess Iris of the impending duel, and goes to the palace, where old King, Priam is sitting at the gate. Her beauty enchants every beholder, and all say it is no blame to fight for such. a woman, the spells of Venus are irresistible. She takes her place beside the king, and is pointing out to him the chiefs she is able to recognise, when he is summoned away to ratify the armistice. Then the lists are measured and the combat takes place. Menelaus has seized Paris by his crest, when Venus breaks the strap and he is left with the empty helmet in his hand, the goddess wrapping Paris in a mist and transporting him to Helens chamber. Her first exclamation is, Back from the battle ! Would thou there hadst died ! but his misadventure is soon condoned.

Jupiter now suggests that Helen be given up, and the fate of Troy averted but Hera is furious, and he consents to leave the city to her will. She accordingly sends Athens to incite the Trojans to break the truce by tempting Pandarus to aim at Menelaus. The goddess, however, turns the arrow aside. As when a mother from her infants cheek, wrapt in sweet slumbers, brushes off a fly. Nevertheless it has drawn blood, and Agamemnon fears his brother is mortally injured. Machaon, however, staunches the wound, and the Greek leaders being roused to avenge the treachery, their forces are marshalled, and Nestor counsels the dispositions of the line of battle, the plan of which is followed to the present day. Again the two armies encounter each other, like two winter torrents mingling in a deep ravine. Then follows a series of single combats between warriors of note on either side, Athens cheering on the Greeks, and Apollo the Trojans.

The gallant Diomed is hit by Pandarus, but the goddess heals the wound, and, returning to the contest, he kills his foe, and crushes the hipjoint of 1Eneas, who is screened from further harm by Venus. Diomed, however, wounds her in the palm, and she mounts to Olympus bewailing the injury she has suffered from a mortal. Her mother Dione consoles her by narrating how other deities have had to endure wrongs from men, whilst Apollo carries 1Eneas to be tended by Latona and Diana. Mars now calls Hector to the rescue, and Aeneas returns cured. The Greek line is giving way, when Hera and Athens alight on the battle plain.

The queen of the gods in form of Stentor of the brazen voice, reproaches the Greeks with cowardice, whilst Athens, taunting Diomed with his inferiority to his father Tydeus, who, though small in stature, was every inch a soldier, mounts his chariot against Mars, and the gods ichor being made to flow from a wound inflicted by Diomedes spear, he cries out with a shout like ten thousand men, and flies to Zeus who rates him soundly, but bids Poeon heal Mm, and Hebe prepares him a bath. The fight continues, and Diomedes encounters Glaucus, who, in answer to his inquiry, replies, Brave son of Tydeus. Glaucus, however, proceeds to announce himself as the grandson of Bellerophon, who rode Pegasus, and slew Chimmera, and Diomed remembers that his grandfather was Bellerophons guest. So, instead of fighting, they exchange armour in token of amity. The Trojans being hard pressed, Hector sends his mother, Hecuba, to offer prayers to Athena and finding Paris in the palace with Helen, upbraids him sharply.

Hector passes on to see his wife Andromache and their child. She is not in the palace, but at the Scan gate, eagerly watching the battle. Clinging to her husband, she entreats him not to be too prodigal of his life, for she is the last of her race , but, she adds, "While my Hector still survives, I see my father, mother, brethren all in thee". He attempts to soothe her, but, with a foreboding of his fate, he says, spies who force from him the information they desire, and behead him, after which they make their way to the Thracian camp, assassinate the king and twelve of his warriors as they sleep, and carry off their snow-white steeds. Next morning the battle is renewed, and the Greeks are very hard pressed. Achilles sends Patroclus to learn how they are faring, and Nestor begs him to persuade his master to come to the rescue. The Trojans charge the entrenchments, whilst an eagle drops a serpent in the midst of the combatants.

Hector makes the portent, saying, the best of omens is our countrys cause and the balance of the fight hangs even until he heaves a huge boulder, which bursts open the wooden gates of the Greek stockade, and as the Trojans rush in the Greeks flee in confusion to their ships. Neptune, however, in thq form of the soothsayer Calchas, rallies them, and Hectos advance is checked. But the Greek ships are still in danger of being burnt, and a proposal to launch them and escape during the night is with difficulty over-ruled. Hera now borrows from Venus her magic girdle, with which she diverts the attention of her husband, so that he may not help the Trojans, and Neptune leads the Greeks in person. Ajax meets Hector and hurls a stone against his breast, which disables him, and the Greeks rush to strip off his armour. The Trojan chiefs, however, shield him, and he is borne away to his chariot.

Zeus awakes in time to avert further danger from the Trojans, and, turning wrathfully on Hera, reminds her how he has punished her in former times, and explains his desire to teach the Greeks their utter helplessness without Achilles. For this purpose, Apollo is sent to revive Hector and accompany him back to the conflict. Flashing his shield in the faces of their adversaries, he clears a way for the Trojan chariots, The struggle is renewed, and, as Hector attacks the galley in which Ajax stands at bay with an enormous pike, Teucer plies his arrows, and twelve Trojans are slain in their attempts to set the Greek ships on fire. Achilles, who has been watching the peril of his countrymen, now consents that Patroclus shall go, clad in his armour, at the head of the Myrmidons, to aid them. The Trojans, believing it is Achilles himself who is leading, retreat in dismay, and Sarpedon, Jupiters son, is slain. But Patroclus ventures too far in pursuit Apollo meets and disarms him, Euphorbus stabs him from behind, and Hector drives his spear through his body.

With his dying breath he foretells the fate of his slayer, and the Greeks succeed in carrying off his body, Zeus casting a veil of darkness around it. The crisis of the story is now reached. Achilles is frantic with grief and rage at the death of his comrade, and eager to avenge him. His mother, Thetis, reminds him that when Hector falls his own last hour is near, but he replies, "Be it so, death comes in turn to all". He cannot, however, go forth without armour, and his mother promises that Vulcan shall forge him a suit by to-morrows dawn. Meanwhile, Iris bids him let the Trojans hear his voice, and, standing on the rampart, under the shield of Minerva, he shouts thrice aloud. They are seized with panic and abandon their pursuit of the Greeks, who bear off the corpse of Patroclus to Achilles tent. Vulcan is making velocipedes and automaton helpers when Thetis applies to him, but he willingly accedes to her request on behalf of her son.

The helmet and breast-plate and body gear are soon ready, but upon the shield he bestows his utmost skill, and the poets description of it is so graphic and elaborate that it will not bear condensing. Thus armed for the deadly fight, Achilles makes for the tent of Agamemnon, calling on the Greek leaders to make ready as he passes the galleys and he and the king, mutually admitting themselves to blame, are reconciled. Ulysses urges the need of a substantial meal for the army, from which Achilles sits apart, but is sustained by Minerva with ambrosia and nectar. When all is prepared for the battle he mounts his chariot, drawn by Xanthus and Balius, and bearing the ashen spear of Mount Pelion, the gift of the Centaur. Taunting his horses with the death of Patroclus, one of them, inspired by Juno, replies ift human voice, and tells him that his own doom draws nigh. Several of the gods and goddesses take part in this last conflict, some on the side of the Greeks, and some on the Trojan side.

The principal interest, however, is centred in the heroic deeds and narrow escapes of Achilles, who dashes through the Trojan host, hewing many in pieces, driving others into the river Scamander, and forcing the remainder to take refuge within their walls, Hector alone remaining outside the Scxan gate, which is guarded by Apollo. As Achilles draws near him, the Trojan heros courage wholly deserts him, and thrice he flies, with his adversary in pursuit. Then his guardian, Apollo, leaves him, and Minerva comes to the aid of her favourite. Hector now turns and challenges his foe, at the same time endeavouring to make a mutual agreement that the dead body of whoever of them is slain should be returned to his family, but Achilles rejects the proposal, and makes the first thrust. Hector rushes on him and falls mortally wounded by Achilles spear, beseeching that his father Priam may be allowed to ransom his corpse, and prophesying the death of his adversary when he obdurately refuses his prayer. Savagely, instead, Achilles fastens the body to his chariot, and drags it towards the Greek fleet, in sight of Priam and Andromache.

On reaching the ships he flings the corpse in the dust in front of Patrocluss bier and, whilst he sleeps after his exertions, the shade of his friend appears to chide him for leaving his body so long unburied. Next day the funeral pile is built, and the burial rites are celebrated, twelve captive Trojan youths being slaughtered by Achilles himself, and their bodies added to the flaming heap with the other libations. Then followed the funeral games, consisting of chariot races, boxing matches, wrestling, foot races, a single combat with shield and spear, archery, and hurling the spear. But the wrath and grief of Achilles are not yet appeased, and for twelve days he drags the body of Hector each morning three times round the tomb containing the ashes of Patroclus. At last Priam is led by Hermes to his tent, and the aged monarch, in an agony of supplication, succeeds in obtaining from him the corpse, which, after it has been washed and anointed, and clothed in costly raiment by Achilles orders, he carries back to Troy. The poem then concludes with a description of Hectors funeral rites, for the due celebration of which Achilles has spontaneously offered a twelve days truce .

Greek Mythology

Question: In Greek mythology Achilles was the son of Peleus and whom?
Answer: THETIS