THE ILIAD

The Iliad

The Iliad

Achilles is perhaps the best known figure from the Iliad and his story is, arguably, the central theme in Homer's account of the Trojan War. Like most Greek heroes, Achilles was born of a mortal (King Peleus of the Myrmidons in Thessaly) and an immortal (the sea nymph Thetis).

Also like Greek heroes, Achilles was himself a mortal man rather than an immortal, but his mother Thetis didn't want him to die so she dipped him into the River Styx as an infant in order to harden his skin and make it impervious to wounds - all except his heel, that is, which she had gripped during the process.

This, obviously, is the origin of the term "Achilles' Heel," which refers to a single vulnerable spot that a person has. Arguably this is not how the legends intended to tell the story, though, because in Homer Achilles' truly vulnerable spot would appear to be his pride - that, after all, is what ultimately leads to his downfall. It was typical of Greek drama and tragedy for a person to be brought down by a character flaw rather than physical weakness.

The name Achilles probably means something like "a grief to the army," suggesting that his role as a great warrior could date back to the earliest stages of his existence. In the Illiad Homer refers to Achilles as "god-like," a reference not only to his skills as a warrior but also his general attitude. He rises above mere mortals when it comes to his focus on fighting and his dismissive attitude towards everything else. He becomes so absorbed in fighting that, in a sense, he becomes the personification of war itself - and it is the process of becoming more human and less god-like that takes up a significant portion of ...