Achilles (Greek mythology)
Achilles is a central figure in Greek mythology, renowned as an exceptional warrior and the son of the immortal sea nymph Thetis and the mortal king Peleus. His story is most famously recounted in Homer’s epic poem, the Iliad, which revolves around the Trojan War, where Achilles plays a crucial role in the Greeks' eventual victory over the city of Troy. According to myth, Thetis attempted to make Achilles invulnerable by dipping him into the river Styx, but she held him by his heel, leaving it the only vulnerable part of his body. This “Achilles' heel” became a metaphor for a singular weakness in an otherwise strong person.
During the Trojan War, Achilles is depicted as the mightiest of Greek warriors, but his pride leads to a pivotal dispute with Agamemnon, resulting in his temporary withdrawal from battle. The death of his close friend Patroclus spurs Achilles into a vengeful rage against the Trojans, ultimately leading to the slaying of Hector. Despite his invincible reputation, Achilles meets his end when Paris, aided by the god Apollo, strikes his heel with an arrow. Beyond mythology, Achilles has influenced various cultural expressions, including literature and film, with contemporary interpretations exploring themes such as masculinity and the nature of love, particularly in relation to his bond with Patroclus.
Achilles (Greek mythology)
Culture: Greco–Roman
Mother: Thetis
Father: Peleus
Children: Neoptolemus
Achilles, an important figure in the mythology and literature of ancient Greece, was the son of Thetis, an immortal Nereid (sea nymph) and Peleus, a mortal king. The story of Achilles originated in Greek mythology, and later became the subject of The Iliad, Homer’s epic poem that tells of the Trojan War.
According to the Iliad, Achilles’s prowess as a warrior led to the Greeks’ defeat of Troy. The city of Troy, long believed to be fantasy, was discovered by archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann to be a real historic site in northwestern Turkey. Schliemann’s discovery, which took place in 1870, included nine cities, built one on top of the other. The sixth city may well be the Troy of legend, and evidence suggests that a war did indeed occur in that location. There is not, however, any evidence that Achilles himself ever existed.
One of several traditional versions of the Achilles story states that Achilles’s mother, in an attempt to make her infant son immortal, dipped him in the river Styx while holding him by the heel. When he emerged from the water, he was invulnerable—except for his heel, which remained dry. Following Achilles’s exploits in Troy, the Trojan prince Paris, with the help of the god Apollo, shot an arrow into Achilles’s heel, killing Achilles. As a result of this story, the term Achilles heel has come to mean "sole area of vulnerability."
In Mythology
The story of Achilles begins with his mother, the beautiful Thetis, who was an object of desire for the gods Zeus and Poseidon. There are two versions of the story explaining why Thetis did not wed either of the two gods. In one version, the gods rejected Thetis when they learned of a prophecy that her son would be greater than his father. In another version, Thetis rejected both of the gods, thus leading to her punishment: marriage to a human mortal. Both stories lead to the marriage of Thetis to Peleus, King of the Myrmidons. The Myrmidons were the people of Phthia, a city-state in southern Thessaly, a region of Greece.
According to legend, at the wedding of Thetis and Peleus, Zeus invited the young Trojan prince, Paris, to judge a beauty contest between three goddesses. The goddesses, Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena, each offered Paris a bribe. Aphrodite, determined to win the contest, offered Paris the most beautiful bride in the world: Helen of Troy. Helen, however, was already married to Menelaus, King of Sparta. Disregarding her married state, Paris traveled to Sparta, captured Helen’s heart, and brought her back to Troy along with her riches. Menelaus, vowing revenge, gathered his armies and started the long, bloody Trojan War.
As a young man, Achilles was said to be handsome, brave, and strong; in short, an ideal warrior. Legends state that he was the greatest of Menelaus’s soldiers, the commander of the Myrmidons (a force of fierce, highly-trained soldiers from Achilles’ homeland), and the man who led the Greeks to victory after ten years of war.
Homer’s poetic masterpiece the Iliad begins about nine years into the Trojan War. The story centers on Achilles, who has been fighting the war for nine years. Despite Achilles’s extraordinary prowess, neither Greeks nor Trojans have been able to declare victory.
After a dispute with Agamemnon, King of Greece, Achilles withdraws from battle, and the Trojans gain ground. Finally, Achilles allows his dear friend Patroclus to impersonate him by wearing his armor. Apollo, who supports the Trojans, helps the Trojan hero Hector to defeat and slay Patroclus. Achilles, in a rage, avenges Patroclus by slaying Hector and dragging his body behind his chariot.
According to legend, Achilles was never defeated in battle, but was killed, instead, by Paris. Paris’s arrow, guided by Apollo, struck Achilles in his unprotected heel. Achilles then died of his wound. The legend of Achilles, however, lived on in literature.
Homer’s Odyssey, which tells the story of the voyages of Odysseus, includes a segment in Chapter 11 in which Odysseus meets Achilles in the underworld. There, Odysseus tells Achilles not to grieve at being dead, because he left behind a great legacy and now rules in the underworld. Achilles, however, will not be comforted and says that he would rather serve anyone as a living man than rule the land of the dead.
Origins and Cults
Though Achilles was a mortal hero rather than a god, there is some evidence of Achillean cults. Specifically, the tumulus (burial mound) of Achilles, located near the mouth of the Hellespont, is described in the Odyssey, and a cult is believed to have worshipped at the grave. A cult of Achilles may also have existed in the Euxine (an area near the Black Sea). Researchers have learned that Achilles was believed to have great powers, and was particularly popular among sailors who formed an Achillean cult.
In Popular Culture
The story of Achilles has become the basis for a wide range of films, poems, stories, and even comic book characters. Multiple movies have been made about Helen of Troy, the Trojan War, and the story of the Iliad. In recent years, the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus has been examined more closely as a story of homosexual romantic love. A few of the more significant recent examples of Achilles in popular culture include:
- The 2004 movie Troy, based on Homer’s Iliad, stars Brad Pitt as Achilles and Orlando Bloom as Paris.
- The comic book character Achilles, in the Marvel pantheon, is a Holocaust survivor with supernatural powers of strength and invulnerability.
- The 2011 book The Achilles Effect: What Pop Culture Is Teaching Young Boys about Masculinity, by Crystal Smith, examines the impact of the Achilles figure on today’s American boys and men.
Bibliography
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Smith, Crystal. The Achilles Effect: What Pop Culture Is Teaching Young Boys about Masculinity. Bloomington: iUniverse, 2011. Print.