achilles

Achilles is a central figure in Greek mythology and a key hero of the Trojan War. He is the son of Peleus, a mortal king, and Thetis, a sea-nymph. According to myth, his mother attempted to make him invulnerable by dipping him in the River Styx, but she held him by the heel, leaving that spot vulnerable. This story gives rise to the expression “Achilles’ heel,” meaning a single point of weakness.

In the Homeric tradition, Achilles is the greatest of the Greek warriors and commands the Myrmidons. He withdraws from battle after a dispute with Agamemnon over a captive woman, Briseis, which temporarily shifts the war in favor of the Trojans. The death of his close companion Patroclus at the hands of Hector convinces Achilles to return to combat. He then kills numerous Trojans, including Hector, and plays a decisive role in the later stages of the conflict. The Iliad ends before Achilles’ own death, but later myth recounts his demise.

Traditionally, Achilles dies from an arrow that strikes his vulnerable heel, with the weapon often described as guided by divine aid, in some accounts either shot by Paris or aided by Apollo. After his death, the Greeks prize his armor, a symbol of his status as the premier warrior. Achilles’ legacy extends beyond the battles of Troy into literature and art, where he is depicted as an almost invincible hero whose one fatal vulnerability defines his narrative.