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Aphrodite Apollo Ares Artemis Athena Atlas Coeus Crius Cronus Demeter Dionysus Gaia Hades Hephaestus Hera Hermes Hestia Hyperion Iapetus Mnemosyne Oceanus Phobos Phoebe Poseidon Prometheus Rhea Tethys Themis Uranus Zeus
Bacchus Ceres Diana Juno Jupiter Mars Mercury Minerva Neptune Pluto Venus Vesta Vulcan
Amun Anubis Aten Atum Babi Bastet Bes Geb Hapi hathor heqet Horus Isis Khepri Khnum Khonsu Maat Nephthys Nut Osiris Ptah Ra Seshat Seth Shu Sobek Thoth
Alfheim Baldur Freya Freyr Frigg Heimdallr Helheim Idun Jotunheim Loki Nerthus Njord Odin Thor Tyr
Aengus Arawn Badb Brigid Cailleach Ceridwen Cernunnos Cu Chulainn Dagda Danu Gwydion Herne the Hunter Lugh Medb Morrigan Neit Nuada Taliesin Taranis
Chalchiuhtlicue Coatlicue Huitzilopochtli Mictlantecuhtli Mixcoatl Ometeotl Quetzalcoatl Tezcatlipoca Tlaloc Tonatiuh Xipe Totec Xochiquetzal Xolotl
Amaterasu Ame no Uzume Benzaiten Bishamonten Daikokuten Ebisu Fujin Fukurokuju Inari Izanagi Kagutsuchi Raijin Susanoo Tsukuyomi
Caishen Cangjie Dragon King Eight Immortals Erlang Shen Fuxi Guanyin Hou Yi Huxian Jade Emperor King Yama Leizi Lu-ban Mazu Nezha Nuwa Pangu Shennong Sun Wukong Xiwangmu Yue Lao Zhong Kui
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  1. Classical Mythology
    Pantheon Heroic Age Royal Houses Geographia Facts & Figures Genealogy Bibliography About Classical Myths
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  3. Heroes 2
    Achilles Odysseus Diomedes Ajax, Greater Ajax the Lesser Philoctetes Neoptolemus Telemachus Hector Paris Helenus Deïphobus Aeneas Sarpedon & Glaucus Memnon Turnus
  4. Achilles

Achilles

Achilles (Άχιλλεύς) was the son of Peleus and the Nereïd Thetis. Ligyron was the name given to Achilles at birth.

While still an infant, Thetis tried to make her son immortal. One account says that she anointed Achilles in ambrosia before laying him in a fire, burning away the mortal parts of his body and making him invulnerable from ordinary weapons. When Peleus discovered she held their son over a fire, he cried out in alarm, leaving Achilles invulnerable except for his heels. Annoyed with her husband's interference, Thetis left her husband and son, and returned home to the sea.

A different account says that Thetis dipped him in Styx, the river of the Underworld, holding him by his feet. His heels were the only vulnerable parts of his body, which was covered by Thetis' hands. This is obviously where the term - Achilles' heel - originated.

Achilles was brought up and trained by his father and the wise Centaur, Cheiron. His name was changed from Ligyron to Achilles. He learned how to hunt and fight. He was so swift that he could run down any wild animal.

When the Greeks began gathering leaders to fight in the war in Troy, Thetis knew from a prophecy that her son had two possible destinies. One was a peaceful and long life, but without the fame and glory. The other was the most glorious - he could become one of the greatest Greek heroes, but only to be fated to die young.

Thetis tried to prevent her son from going to Troy by disguising Achilles as a girl and hiding him in the court of Lycomedes on the island of Scyrus. During his stay in Scyrus, one of the king's daughters, Deïdaemeia (Deidaemeia), fell in love with him and bore him a son named Neoptolemus (Pyrrhus).

Achilles and Ajax playing a board game

Achilles and Ajax playing board game
Exekias
Black-figure vase, c. 540 BC
Vatican Museum, Vatican

The Greeks had been told by a seer that Troy would not fall without the aid of Achilles. One of the Greek captains, Odysseus, penetrated his disguise by placing a spear and shield among the gifts to the king's daughters. When the Greeks blew their trumpets as if the island were under attack, Achilles snatched the weapons, thereby revealing his identity. Once discovered however, Achilles willingly joined the Greeks.

In the Trojan War, Achilles was regarded as the handsomest, the swiftest, the strongest and the bravest of the Greeks who fought in the Trojan War. He led the Myrmidons with fifty ships from Phthia, Alus, Alope, and Trachis. Achilles wore immortal armour belonging to his father, a wedding gift from the gods. He was also armed with a spear made by Cheiron from a tree in Mount Pelion. Peleus also gave his two immortal horses to his son (Xanthus and Batus)..

Before arriving in Troy, Achilles was warned by his mother not to kill Tenes, son of Apollo and king of Tenedos. If he were to kill Tenes, the god would surely avenge his son's death. But landing on the island of Tenedos, Achilles had forgotten her warning that resulted in the king's death. Achilles killed many of the Trojan leaders (including many of Priam's sons) as well as their allies. The most notable was Cycnus, son of Poseidon, in the earlier year of war. In the last year of the war, he killed Hector, the Amazon Penthesileia and the Aethiopian prince Memnon, son of Eos and Tithonus.

Achilles became involved in a bitter quarrel with his commander-in-chief, Agamemnon, over their concubines, causing the young hero to withdraw from the fighting. When the Agamemnon sent Nestor, Odysseus and Ajax to entreat him to return the fighting, his pride and bitterness made him stubbornly refuse. His pride, however, caused him to lose his beloved companion (and lover?), Patroclus. He returned to combat, avenging his friend by killing the Trojan champion Hector. (See the Iliad.)

Achilles' own death came very quickly after killing Memnon. As he pursued the retreating Trojans back to the city gate, Paris shot an arrow at Achilles; the god Apollo guided the arrow to one of his heels. Dying, Achilles managed to kill one last Trojan with his spear. Fierce fighting erupted around his body. His cousin Ajax managed to carry his body away while Odysseus held the Trojans at bay.

During the funeral games of Achilles, his armour resulted in a bitter dispute between two comrades – Ajax and Odysseus – with both heroes claiming to be the bravest warrior next to Achilles. The armour was awarded to Odysseus, resulting in Ajax's death. (See Death of Achilles.)

When Odysseus captured Helenus, the Trojan seer foretold that Achilles' son needed to fight at Troy in order for the city to fall. Odysseus brought Neoptolemus to Troy. Odysseus gave Achilles' armour to Neoptolemus.

There are a few other different accounts of his death. One of them involved Achilles falling in love with Priam's daughter Polyxena. The Trojans promised him to arrange a secret meeting with the girl, alone that night. Achilles was ambushed and killed by Paris and Deïphobus (Deiphobus). According to Dares of Phrygia, Antilochus was killed by Achilles, so Paris was Anticholus' killer, not Memnon.

Odysseus later met Achilles' shade in the Underworld, in the Odyssey. Different accounts by Apollodous and Apollonius of Rhodes say that he lived on White Island (also known as the Isles of the Blessed or the Elysian Fields), and he was married to the sorceress Medea.

Related Information

Name

Achiles, Akhilles, Άχιλλεύς.
Ligyron (name at birth).

Pelides (son of Achilles).
Aeacide (descendant of Aeacus).
Asopids (descendants of Asopus).

Related Articles

Peleus, Thetis, Neoptolemus, Ajax, Agamemnon, Odysseus, Penthesileia, Hector, Medea, Cheiron, Athena, Apollo, Zeus.

Trojan War.

Genealogy: Descendants of Aeacus.

Jimmy Joe Timeless Myths

By Jimmy Joe

Heroes 2:

  • • Achilles
  • • Odysseus
  • • Diomedes
  • • Ajax, Greater
  • • Ajax the Lesser
  • • Philoctetes
  • • Neoptolemus
  • • Telemachus
  • • Hector
  • • Paris
  • • Helenus
  • • Deïphobus
  • • Aeneas
  • • Sarpedon & Glaucus
  • • Memnon
  • • Turnus
Thetis

Thetis

A sea-goddess. She was one of the sea-nymphs known as the Nereids . Thetis was the daughter of Nereus and Doris . By far, Thetis was probably the most important sea-goddess because she played a prominent role in several important events in Greek m...

April 24th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Peleus

Peleus

A king of Phthia, in Thessaly. Peleus (Πηλεύς) was the son of Aeacus (Aiacos), king of Aegina, and Endeïs. He and his brother Telamon plotted to kill their half-brother Phocus, son of Aeacus by the Nereïd (Nereid) Psamathe , because he excelled in...

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How Old Was Achilles When He Died: A Conclusive Report

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How old was Achilles when he died? This question has been asked many times, and rightfully so because there is no authentic data or explanation present. Achilles was an ancient Greek hero who rose to fame in the famous Trojan war. Here we bring yo...

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Phthia Greece: The Setting of Achilles’ Life in Greek Mythology

Phthia Greece: The Setting of Achilles’ Life in Greek Mythology

Phthia Greece was an ancient city that is most famously known for its various Greek rulers. This ancient city is highly associated with Achilles , the Trojan war , and its after-effects in Phthia Greek mythology and Roman mythology. The city gave ...

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Hector

Hector

Commander-in-chief of the Trojan forces and their allies. Hector (Ἕκτωρ) was the eldest son of Priam and Hecuba . He was Troy's greatest warrior. Hector was the brother of Paris , Helenus and Cassandra . He married Andromache , the daughter of Eët...

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Penthesileia

Penthesileia

An Amazon queen. Penthesileia was the daughter of the war god Ares and Otrere. Penthesileia was as superb and fierce a warrior as she was beautiful. Penthesileia killed another Amazon queen named Hippolyta or Hippolyte. Priam , the king of Troy, p...

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Paris

Paris

The second son of Priam and Hecuba , Paris (Πάρις) was also called Alexander. Hecuba had a disturbing nightmare in which she gave birth to a son who would burn the city down. The seer Aesacus, Priam's son by Arisbe, told the king that this son wou...

April 24th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Aeneas

Aeneas

A Dardanian hero. He was the son of Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite . Hesiod says that Aphrodite gave birth to Aeneas (Αἰνείας) at the peaks of Ida. Aeneas was of the Trojan royal line of Dardania. Aeneas was brought up on Mount Ida by nymphs w...

April 24th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe

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