Achilles
Son of the mortal Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis, Achilles is the best warrior at Troy. He leads the Myrmidons (from the Greek word for “ant,” as their ancestors were created by Zeus from ants after a plague had depopulated part of the kingdom of Achilles’ grandfather, Aeacus).
His mother dipped the baby Achilles in the River Styx, which made him invulnerable. But she forgot to dip the heel by which she held him, which left one place where a weapon could injure him: hence an “Achilles’ heel” is a weak or vulnerable spot....
Source: Epics for Students, ©2013 Gale Cengage. All Rights Reserved. Full copyright.
(The entire page is 6585 words.)
Want to read the whole thing?
Subscribe now to read the rest of this article. Plus, get access to:
- 30,000+ literature study guides
- Critical essays on more than 30,000 works of literature from Salem on Literature (exclusive to eNotes)
- An unparalleled literary criticism section. 40,000 full-length or excerpted essays.
- Content from leading academic publishers, all easily citable with our "Cite this page" button.
- 100% satisfaction guarantee READ MORE
