ACHILLES AND HIS HEEL

FAMILY

• Achilles' parents are Peleus (pe-LAY-us) and Thetis (thee-tis).
• Peleus is a king of northern Greece.
• Thetis is a sea nymph.
• Achilles is half human and half supernatural being.

BEHAVIOR AND GENERAL OPINION

• Achilles is a strong, brave, prideful, full of honor, and heroic warrior.
• However, Achilles is also neurotic, stubborn, and revengeful.
• The Greeks prioritized qualities that Achilles showed, however his stubbornness and his need for revenge eventually kill him.

GENERAL STORY OF ACHILLES

Achilles' story is from Homer's Iliad. It starts with Achilles' mother wanting him to be invulnerable because she knew of the upcoming Trojan War so she dips him into the Styx River that flows through the underworld. The only part of Achilles' body that wasn't submerged was his left achilles tendon.

Achilles was very gifted as a child. It was believed that he learned to run, use medicine, and skills of warfare from a centaur named Chiron. When the Trojan War broke out, Achilles was encouraged to fight. He refused because the prophecy claimed he would die a glorious death if he went to war. However Odysseus claimed they couldn't fight without him so Achilles fought in the war.

During the war, Achilles was a great warrior. When his closest friend died to Hector, he swore vengeance. He killed Hector and dragged his body around for nine days. It wasn't until later that Achilles was killed when Paris, Hector's brother, shot an arrow into his vulnerable achilles tendon.

SYMBOLS AND IDEAS

• Achilles represents a brave warrior because even though he knows that the prophecy foretells his death, he still fights in the war.
• Revenge is a key idea because before his friend died, he refused to fight because he was offended by the king. This led to his friends death, then Hector's, and finally Achilles.
• Myth about a very frail part of our body.

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