Who Was Achilles? - Greek Hero Fact File

Achilles - Greek Hero Fact File

Achilles mid-battle on the side of a Greek vase

Name:

Achilles

Parents:

Peleus, King of the Myrmidons, and Thetis, a sea nymph or goddess of water.

Myths appeared in:

Primarily, Homer's Iliad with various minor roles in other myths, including the Odyssey.

Known for:

Being the strongest warrior in the Greek army during the Trojan War. Taking a starring role in Homer's epic tale, the Iliad. Oh, and having a bit of a dodgy heel.

Came to fame:

During the Trojan War; a legendary conflict from Greek mythology between the Greeks and the city of Troy. In brief, the war began when Prince Paris of Troy kidnapped Greek King Menelaus' wife, Helen. Following this, a 10 year siege of the city of Troy was wrapped up when the Greeks "gifted" the Trojans a horse. The horse was secretly filled with Greek soldiers who jumped out at night and destroyed the city. Achilles was thought to be invulnerable (meaning it was impossible to wound or injure him in any way) and there was a prophesy that the Greeks couldn't win the Trojan War without him.

Achilles rides his chariot holding the defeated Hector's helmet aloft for all to see.

Foes and monsters defeated:

Achilles was a demi-god - the son of King Peleus and the goddess Thetis. As such he had superhuman speed and strength and was really rather good at killing lots of people. In fact, that's what he spent the first nine years of the Trojan siege doing. The most notable foe he defeated during this time was the Trojan prince, Hector.

Best skill:

His invulnerability. It was thought that Achilles couldn't be harmed or injured. But this was only partly true. Most of his body was invulnerable. All except for his heel. Why his heel I hear you cry? Well, that's down to his mum. She dipped him into the River Styx when Achilles was just a baby. The waters of the river gave Achilles his invulnerability. The only problem? She didn't want to drop the baby into the murky depths and hope he would float! So, she had to hold onto him somewhere. And that somewhere was his heel. As a result, Achilles' heel was never touched by the waters of the river - his mum's fingers got in the way - and, because of this, his heel didn't end up invulnerable like the rest of his body. But his mum was certain this small weakness couldn't be a big problem, right?

Thetis gives baby Achilles a little dunk in the River Styx

Downfall:

Well, Achilles' mother was wrong (who would've expected that?). During the final battle at Troy, Prince Paris of Troy - yes, that Paris, the kidnappy guy from earlier - shot an arrow at Achilles. The arrow was guided by the god Apollo and ended up spiking Achilles right in his heel. Ouch. As his only vulnerable spot, Achilles died from the injury. I imagine he was pretty shocked by that outcome!

Fascinating fact:

This is where we get the phrase 'Achilles heel' from. It refers to a person or thing's only weakness - a fatal flaw that makes them vulnerable, just like Achilles' heel.