Achilles was a mythological hero in Greece and a main character in the Trojan War.
He was the son of Peleus, king of the Myrmidons, and Thetis, a nymph. Thetis had attracted many suitors, including Zeus and Poseidon, but the two gods were warned by Prometheus of a prophecy that said the son of Thetis would be greater than his father.
This caused the two gods to disengage from Thetis in fear of being overtaken by their son, and Peleus ended up marrying the nymph.
When Achilles was born, his mother wanted to make him immortal. To accomplish this, she held him by his heel and dipped him in the river Styx.
However, she did not realize that she had covered his heel, which left that portion of his flesh mortal.
The Trojan War
Achilles commanded 50 ships, each having 50 Myrmidons. He also had five commanders:
- Menesthius
- Eudorus
- Peisander
- Phoenix
- Alcimedon
They departed Greece for Troy and landed in Mysia by mistake. During this time, Mysia was ruled by Telephus, who went to battle against Achilles and received a severe wound.
Telephus consulted an oracle about his wound and was told that only the one who inflicted it could heal it. The kind met with Achilles and asked him to heal him, to which Achilles obliged.
In return for the good deed, Telephus guided Achilles to Troy.
Achilles and Achaean leader (Early Greeks) Agamemnon were always at odds together, and the Trojan War would not be any different. Agamemnon acquired a woman whose father was a priest of Apollo.
The father begged for Apollo to help his daughter Chryseis, and Apollo sent a plague among the Greeks.
Calchas identifies the source of the problem, and Agamemnon reluctantly consents; however, he demands that Achilles hand over his own prize, another woman called Briseis.
Achilles, furious that he was dishonoured in such a way, withdraws from battle and asks his mother to convince Zeus to help the Trojans so that he may prove himself again on the battlefield.
The Trojans, under the leadership of Hector, fought bravely and repelled the Achaeans multiple times. Achilles sat and watched but refused to engage in battle until Agamemnon repented for his actions.
Meanwhile, Achilles' friend, Patroclus, grew weary of watching his countrymen be slaughtered by the enemy and did not want to sit out the battles.
He stole Achilles's armor and, fooled the Myrmidians into thinking he was Achilles and led them into battle.
His leadership turned the battle in favor of the Greeks, but he was then killed by Hector.
Achilles is then told the news of his friend's death and how it transpired. He then joins the battle and faces Hector in a face-to-face duel. Hector fought bravely but was no match for the Immortal Achilles.
With his dying breath, Hector foretold the death of Achilles. After his death, Achilles drug the body of Hector with his chariot during the funeral games he held for Patroclus.
Death of Achilles
There is multiple version of the death of Achilles, but the most accepted is the one in which Paris shot Achilles with a poisoned arrow, believed to be guided by Apollo.
Some retellings also state that Achilles was scaling the gates of Troy and was hit with a poisoned arrow. All of these versions deny Paris any sort of valor, owing to the common conception that Paris was a coward and not the man his brother Hector was, and Achilles remained undefeated on the battlefield.
His bones were mingled with those of Patroclus, and funeral games were held.
Achilles is spoken of again in the Odyssey when Odysseus speaks to him in the underworld, Hades.