Achilles was the leading Greek hero of the Iliad, the ancient Greek epic told by Homer, the blind bard. Achilles' father was a mortal man, and his mother was an immortal sea nymph. In an effort to make him immortal, too, his mother dipped him in the River Styx, which separates Earth and the Underworld. However, in order to dip him in the water, she held him by the heel of one foot, which remained vulnerable.
The Iliad starts with Achilles' wrath and withdrawal from the fleet about to sail away to invade Troy. He thinks Agamemnon has insulted him. Agamemnon was the brother of King Menelaus, whose wife Helen had run away with Paris, the prince of Troy. After Achilles and the other Greek kings agreed to invade Troy and retrieve Helen, Achilles thought Agamemnon insulted him because Agamemnon kept for himself a beautiful slave Achilles had claimed for his own, as a spoil of war. When Achilles withdrew from the war, he didn't just go and sulk in his tent by himself. He also withdrew his warriors, the Myrmidons, a powerful troop of soldiers.
Throughout most of the Iliad, Achilles stays out of the fight against Troy. Eventually, he goes out to fight again, seeking vengeance for the death of his dearest friend, Patroclus. In the fighting, Achilles engages in one-on-one combat with the great Trojan hero, Hector. When Hector is dead, Achilles defiles his body, instead of allowing his family to bury it with religious honors. At last, Hector's father, the King of Troy, ransoms Hector's body, and the epic ends with Hector's burial.
Curiously, Achilles' vulnerable heel does not affect the Trojan War. However, later epics describe the death of Achilles, when an arrow strikes him in the heel, and he dies as a result.
English word: In English, Achilles has not contributed a single word, but a phrase, or two phrases: Achilles' heel and Achilles tendon. The first refers to a strong person's one vulnerable point. The second refers to a body part, which connects the muscles of the calf to the bone of the heel. It is essential in order to walk normally.
The Iliad starts with Achilles' wrath and withdrawal from the fleet about to sail away to invade Troy. He thinks Agamemnon has insulted him. Agamemnon was the brother of King Menelaus, whose wife Helen had run away with Paris, the prince of Troy. After Achilles and the other Greek kings agreed to invade Troy and retrieve Helen, Achilles thought Agamemnon insulted him because Agamemnon kept for himself a beautiful slave Achilles had claimed for his own, as a spoil of war. When Achilles withdrew from the war, he didn't just go and sulk in his tent by himself. He also withdrew his warriors, the Myrmidons, a powerful troop of soldiers.
Throughout most of the Iliad, Achilles stays out of the fight against Troy. Eventually, he goes out to fight again, seeking vengeance for the death of his dearest friend, Patroclus. In the fighting, Achilles engages in one-on-one combat with the great Trojan hero, Hector. When Hector is dead, Achilles defiles his body, instead of allowing his family to bury it with religious honors. At last, Hector's father, the King of Troy, ransoms Hector's body, and the epic ends with Hector's burial.
Curiously, Achilles' vulnerable heel does not affect the Trojan War. However, later epics describe the death of Achilles, when an arrow strikes him in the heel, and he dies as a result.
English word: In English, Achilles has not contributed a single word, but a phrase, or two phrases: Achilles' heel and Achilles tendon. The first refers to a strong person's one vulnerable point. The second refers to a body part, which connects the muscles of the calf to the bone of the heel. It is essential in order to walk normally.
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