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).

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.