Achilles

Greek hero of Homer's Iliad. He was the son of Peleus, King of the Myrmidons in Thessaly, and of the sea nymph Thetis who, by dipping him in the River Styx, rendered him invulnerable, except for the heel by which she held him. Achilles killed Hector at the climax of the Iliad, and according to subsequent Greek legends was himself killed by Paris, who shot a poisoned arrow into Achilles' heel.

Educated by Phoenix and the centaur Chiron, Achilles led the Myrmidons in 50 ships to Troy, and during the first nine years of the Trojan War was responsible for the capture of 12 Trojan cities. In the tenth year Agamemnon, being obliged to surrender his captive Chryseis, made good his loss by depriving Achilles of a favourite slave girl, Briseis. Achilles withdrew from active service to sulk in his quarters, and the Greeks were so hard pressed in consequence that they sent a deputation proposing to restore Briseis with additional rewards. Achilles rejected their offer. At length, however, he agreed to lend his arms and armour to Patroclus, who was killed by Hector in the ensuing fight. Moved to fury by the death of his friend, Achilles made peace with Agamemnon, obtained new armour from Hephaestus, and eventually killed Hector. In the Iliad Achilles is already doomed to die before the Scaean Gate of Troy, and in the Odyssey there is a reference to his funeral.