Which part of the Achilles body was the most vulnerable. Achilles (Achilles), the greatest Greek hero in the Trojan War

Achilles (Achilles), the greatest Greek hero in the Trojan War

Achilles (Achilles), Greek - the son of the Phthian king Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis, the greatest Achaean hero in the Trojan War.

None of the hundred thousand Achaeans who came under the high walls of Troy could compare with him in strength, courage, agility, speed, as well as directness of character and courageous beauty. Achilles had everything that adorns a man in abundance; fate denied him only one thing - happiness.

Achilles was born from a marriage that was forced on his mother. Initially, Zeus himself courted her, but then he learned from the titan Prometheus that, according to the prophecy, the son of Thetis would surpass his father - and then, protecting his interests, Zeus married her off to a mortal, to Peleus. When her son was born, she dipped him into the waters of the Styx, an underground river in the kingdom of the dead, and his entire body (except for the heel by which she held her son) was covered with an invisible shell. But, obviously, these are legends of later origin, since Homer knew nothing about it. He only said that Thetis rubbed Achilles with ambrosia and tempered him over fire so that he would become invulnerable and immortal. But one day Peleus found her doing this. Seeing his son on fire, he got scared, decided that Thetis wanted to kill Achilles, and rushed at her with a sword. The poor goddess had no time for explanations; she barely managed to hide in the depths of the sea and never returned to Peleus. Peleus found a teacher for his abandoned son. First he was the wise old man Phoenix, then the centaur Chiron, who fed him bear brains and roasted lions. This diet and education clearly benefited Achilles: as a ten-year-old boy, he killed a wild boar with his bare hands and caught up with a deer while running. He soon learned everything that a hero of that time was supposed to: behave like a man, wield weapons, heal wounds, play the lyre and sing.

"Achilles between the Daughters of Lycomedes", Gerard de Leresse(many paintings of Achilles-Achilles by different artists have been collected on).

Thetis was told that her son would be given a choice: to live long, but without glory, or to live a short, but glorious age. Although she wished him glory, as a mother she naturally gave preference to a long life. Having learned that the Achaean kings were preparing for war with Troy, she hid Achilles on the island of Skyros with King Lycomedes, where he had to live in women's clothing among the king's daughters. But Agamemnon, with the help of the soothsayer Calhant, found out his whereabouts and sent Odysseus and Diomedes after him. Disguised as merchants, both kings entered the palace and laid out their goods in front of the king's daughters. Among the expensive fabrics, jewelry and other products in which women have been interested since time immemorial, it was as if a sword happened to be there. And when, according to a conventional sign, the companions of Odysseus and Diomedes uttered a war cry and their weapons rang, all the girls ran away in fear - and only one hand reached for the sword. So Achilles gave himself away and, without much persuasion, promised to join the Achaean army. Neither Lycomedes' daughter Deidamia, who was expecting a son from him, nor the prospect of a long and happy reign in her homeland kept him on Skyros. Instead of Phthia, he chose glory.

Achilles led five thousand men to the harbor of Aulis, where the Achaean army was concentrated, the core of the detachment being the brave Myrmidons. His father Peleus, due to his advanced years, could not participate in the campaign, so he gave him his armor, a huge spear made of solid ash and a war chariot drawn by immortal horses. These were wedding gifts that Peleus received from the gods when he married Thetis, and Achilles was able to use them. He fought for nine years at Troy, took twenty-three cities in its vicinity, and terrified the Trojans with his very appearance. All the Achaeans, from the leaders to the last ordinary warrior, saw in him the most courageous, skillful and successful warrior - everyone except the commander-in-chief, Agamemnon.

He was a mighty king and a good warrior, but Agamemnon lacked the nobility to accept the fact that his subordinate surpassed him in merit and popularity. He hid his hostility for a long time, but one day he could not resist. And this led to a strife that almost destroyed the entire Achaean army.

This happened in the tenth year of the war, when deep discontent and disappointment reigned in the Achaean camp. The warriors dreamed of returning home, and the generals lost hope of gaining glory and booty by taking Troy. Achilles went with his Myrmidons to a neighboring kingdom to supply the army with provisions and raise its spirit with rich booty. Among the prisoners brought was the daughter of Chryses, a priest of Apollo, who, during the division of the spoils, went to Agamemnon. Achilles had nothing against it, since she was not interested in him; he fell in love with the beautiful Briseis, captured during one of the previous expeditions. However, soon Chris also appeared in the Achaean camp; he wished the soldiers a quick victory and asked Agamemnon to return his daughter to him for a rich ransom. The Achaeans were satisfied with this proposal, but Agamemnon was against it: he, they say, likes the girl and he will never give her up, and Chris, they say, let him go where he came from. Then the priest turned to his god Apollo with a plea to avenge him. Apollo heeded his plea, descended from Olympus and began scattering pestilence throughout the Greek camp with arrows from his silver bow. The soldiers died, but Agamemnon did not try to appease the angry god - and then Achilles decided to intervene. He called a meeting of warriors to decide together what to do. This once again hurt Agamemnon’s pride, and he decided to take revenge. When the soothsayer Kalkhant announced to the army that in order to reconcile with Apollo, it was necessary to return his daughter to Chris (but now without any ransom, and even to apologize), Agamemnon cut him off and angrily attacked Achilles, who stood up for the soothsayer. After unheard-of insults that disgraced Achilles in front of the entire army, Agamemnon declared that in the interests of the army he was abandoning Chryseis, but would take another from one of the commanders - and chose Briseis, Achilles’s beloved.

A still from the 2004 film Troy. Actor Brad Pitt plays Achilles.

As a disciplined soldier, Achilles obeyed the commander’s decision, but also drew his own conclusions from this. He swore that he would not participate in battles until Agamemnon asked him for forgiveness and restored his trampled honor. Then he retired to the seashore, called his mother from the deep waters and asked her to put in a good word for him before Zeus: let the Almighty help the Trojans push back the Achaean army, so that Agamemnon would understand that he could not do without Achilles, and come to him with an apology and a request about help.

Thetis conveyed her son's request to Zeus, and he did not refuse her. He forbade the other gods to interfere in the war, and he himself encouraged the leader of the Trojans, Hector, to take advantage of the absence of Achilles and push the Achaeans back to the sea itself. At the same time, he sent a deceptive dream to Agamemnon, which tempted him to go on the offensive, despite Achilles’ withdrawal from the game. The Achaeans fought bravely, but were forced to retreat. The Trojans, in the evening after the battle, did not even return to the protection of the city walls, but settled down for the night right in front of the Achaean camp, so that when daylight came, they could destroy it with one powerful blow. Seeing that things were bad, Agamemnon sent to inform Achilles that he was taking back his words, returning his beloved and, in addition to her, seven more virgins with rich gifts - if only Achilles would change his anger to mercy and take up arms again. This time Achilles went too far in his anger: he rejected Agamemnon's proposal and declared that he would not engage in battle until Hector attacked his camp directly; however, things will not come to this, since he, Achilles, will soon return with his army to his native Phthia.

The catastrophe seemed inevitable: in the morning attack, the Trojans broke through the ranks of the Achaeans, broke through the wall protecting the camp, and Hector was about to set fire to the ships to deprive the Greeks of the opportunity to escape. At that moment, his best friend Patroclus came to Achilles and asked permission to put on Achilles’ armor and help his Achaean friends who were in trouble. Patroclus hoped that the Trojans would mistake him for Achilles and retreat in fear of him. At first Achilles hesitated, but seeing that Hector was already setting fire to one of the Greek ships, he immediately complied with Patroclus’ request; In addition to armor, he gave him his entire army. Patroclus rushed into battle, and his cunning was a success: thinking that Achilles was in front of them, the Trojans were taken aback. Patroclus put out the fire, pushed the Trojans back to the city walls, but was then identified because he did not dare to take Achilles’ heavy spear with him. Then the Trojans dared to engage him in battle: the spearman Euphorbus, with the help of Apollo, mortally wounded Patroclus, and then Hector pierced him with a spear.

"Achilles at the Walls of Troy", Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, 1801

The news of the death of his friend struck Achilles and plunged him into grief. Forgetting about his grievances, he wanted to rush into battle to avenge Patroclus, but Hector had already received his armor. At the request of Thetis, the gunsmith of the gods himself, Hephaestus, made new ones for him in one night. Over the corpse of Patroclus, Achilles swore revenge on Hector. He reconciled with Agamemnon, who admitted his guilt in front of the entire army and returned Briseis to him, and in the first battle after the death of Patroclus he killed Hector.

It was a merciless battle: Achilles looked for Hector in the ranks of the Trojans and fought with him three times, but each time Hector was saved by Apollo, the faithful defender of Troy. Enraged, Achilles put the entire Trojan army to flight, killed many Trojans and their allies, and the rest took refuge behind the walls of the city. When the huge Skeian gates closed behind the last of the fugitives, only Hector remained in front of them. To save the honor of the army and his own, he challenged Achilles to a duel. In defiance, he proposed that the winner give the body of the vanquished to his friends so that they could bury him with dignity. But Achilles only accepted the challenge, not agreeing to any conditions, and rushed at the enemy like a lion at a defenseless victim. Despite all his courage, Hector became afraid and fled. He ran around the high walls of Troy three times, saving his life, but finally stopped and, at the instigation of Athena, who wanted the Trojans to die, crossed arms with Achilles. In a duel for life and death, which amazed even the gods, Hector fell, pierced by the spear of Achilles.

Achilles with Hector's body

Triumphant Achilles tied Hector's body to his war chariot and drove around the walls of Troy three times, and then dragged him to his camp to give him to be torn to pieces by the Achaean dogs. However, the gods did not allow the body of the fallen hero to be desecrated, and Zeus himself ordered Thetis to bring Achilles to reason. When, under the cover of darkness, the decrepit Priam made his way to Achilles’ camp to ransom his son’s body, Achilles, touched by the old man’s grief, voluntarily returned Hector’s corpse to him. He even suspended hostilities for twelve days so that the Trojans could solemnly bury their leader. Thus, Achilles defeated not only his opponent, but also his own passions, thereby proving that he is a true hero, moreover, that he is a man.

“Priam asking Achilles for the body of Hector”, Alexander Ivanov, 1821

Achilles was not destined to witness the fall of Troy: soon death awaited him. He still managed to defeat Penthesilea, who brought her female army to the aid of Troy, and then defeated in a duel the new leader of the Trojan army - King Memnon from distant Ethiopia. But when, after this victory, he decided to break into the city through the Skei Gate, he stood in his way. Achilles ordered him to get out of the way, threatening to pierce him with his spear. Apollo obeyed, but only to immediately take revenge for this insult. Climbing the city wall, he ordered Paris to send an arrow to Achilles. Paris willingly obeyed, and the arrow, whose flight was directed by Apollo, hit Achilles' heel, which was not protected by armor.

The fall of Achilles caused the earth to tremble and the city wall to crack. However, he immediately stood up and pulled the fatal arrow out of his heel. At the same time, the hooks of the tip tore out a large piece of meat, tore the veins, and blood gushed out of the wound like a river. Seeing that strength and life were leaving him with the flow of blood, he cursed Apollo and Troy in a terrible voice and gave up the ghost.

“Chiron, Thetis and the dead Achilles”, Pompeo Batoni, 1770

A brutal slaughter began to boil around Achilles’ body. Finally, the Achaeans snatched his body from the hands of the Trojans, brought it to their camp and with honors set it on fire on a high funeral pyre, which was set on fire by the god Hephaestus himself. Then the ashes of Achilles were mixed with the ashes of Patroclus and a high clay mound was poured over their common grave so that it would proclaim the glory of both heroes for centuries.

According to many researchers of ancient legends, Achilles is the most magnificent image of all created by Greek literature. And since these creations of Homer are the pinnacles of Greek literature, which to this day have not been surpassed in the epic poetry of any other people, Achilles can safely be classified as one of the most magnificent images in all world literature. Therefore, it is clear that none of the paintings or sculptures of Achilles can stand comparison with the literary image.

Apparently, ancient artists were aware of this limitation of their capabilities: they depicted Achilles with some timidity, and sculptors completely avoided him. But about four hundred images of Achilles have been preserved in vase paintings. The most famous is “Achilles” on an Attic amphora, ser. 5th century BC e. (Rome, Vatican Museums), “Achilles plays dice with Ajax” (84 copies in total, including the Exekius vase, c. 530 - also in the Vatican Museums), “Achilles bandages the wounded Patroclus” (Attic bowl, c. 490 BC . e., the only copy is in the State Museums in Berlin). The fights of Achilles with Hector, Memnon, Penthesilea and other subjects were also often depicted. The National Museum in Naples contains Pompeian frescoes “Chiron the Centaur teaches Achilles to play the lyre”, “Odysseus identifies Achilles among the daughters of Lycomedes”, etc.

Among the major artists of modern times, P. P. Rubens was one of the first to risk depicting Achilles (“Achilles kills Hector,” ca. 1610). Let us also name D. Teniers the Younger (“Achilles and the Daughters of Lycomedes”), F. Gerard (“Thetis Brings Armor to Achilles”) and E. Delacroix (“The Education of Achilles,” National Gallery in Prague).

Among the playwrights of modern times, Corneille was the first to turn to the image of Achilles (Achilles, 1673), in the 20th century. - S. Wyspianski (“Achilleid”, 1903), Achille Suarez (“Achilles the Avenger”, 1922), M. Matkovich (“The Legacy of Achilles”). Handel brought Achilles to the stage in the opera Deidamia (1741), Cherubini in the ballet Achilles on Skyros (1804). Only two poets tried to create the “missing link” between the Iliad and the Odyssey: Statius (1st century AD) and Goethe took on the epic poem Achilleid, but neither of them completed the job.

Lapteva Anna

Achilles

Summary of the myth

Achilles (Greek) or Achilles (Latin) - in the heroic tales of the ancient Greeks, he is the bravest of heroes, the son of King Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis.
Zeus and Poseidon wanted to have a son from the beautiful Thetis, but the Titan Prometheus warned them that the child would surpass his father in greatness. And the gods wisely arranged the marriage of Thetis with a mortal, the son of the king of the Myrmidons, Peleus. In an effort to make her son invulnerable and thus give him immortality, Thetis tempered him in fire at night and rubbed him with ambrosia during the day. One night, Peleus, seeing his young son on fire, snatched him from his mother’s arms. According to another version, Thetis bathed Achilles in the waters of the underground river Styx in order to make him invulnerable, and only the heel by which she held him remained vulnerable. Insulted by Peleus' interference, Thetis left her husband, and he gave Achilles to be raised by the wise centaur Chiron, who fed him with the entrails of lions, bears and wild boars, taught him to play the sweet-sounding cithara and sing.

Achilles at the court of King Lycomedes
Greek bas-relief, 240

Achilles grew up to be a fearless warrior, but Thetis, knowing that her son was still destined to die at Troy, sought to save him and, for this purpose, hid him in the palace of King Lycomedes on the island of Skyros. There Achilles lived dressed in women's clothing among the daughters of Lycomedes. Here, from the secret marriage of a young man with the daughter of Lycomedes, Deidamia, a son, Pyrrhus, was born, later nicknamed Neoptolemus. When the Achaean leaders learned the prediction of the priest Kalkhant that without the participation of Achilles the campaign at Troy was doomed to failure, they sent an embassy to Skyros led by Odysseus. Arriving at the king disguised as a merchant, Odysseus laid out women's jewelry mixed with weapons in front of those gathered. The inhabitants of the palace began to look at the jewelry, but suddenly, at a sign from Odysseus, an alarm sounded - the girls ran away in fright, and the hero grabbed his sword, giving himself away completely. After the exposure, Achilles, willy-nilly, had to sail to Troy.

During the long siege of Ilion, he repeatedly launched raids on various neighboring cities. According to version, he wandered the Scythian land for five years in search of Iphigenia. In the tenth year of the siege of Ilion, during one campaign he captured the beautiful Briseis. According to one version, she served as a bone of contention between Achilles and Agamemnon, who laid claim to the possession of Briseis.

Fresco "Achilles and Briseis"
1st century National Museum
Naples

Inflamed with anger, Achilles refused further participation in battles. Thetis, wanting to take revenge on Agamemnon for the insult inflicted on her son, begged Zeus to grant victory to the Trojans. Neither the disaster of the Greeks, nor the pleas and promises of the embassy, ​​which, on the advice of Nestor, Agamemnon sent to him, could soften the hero’s anger. Only when the Trojans, led by Hector, invaded the Greek camp itself, did he allow his friend Patroclus to lead the Myrmidons to their aid and, to further intimidate the enemies, ordered him to put on his armor. But Patroclus fell at the hands of Hector, and only his naked corpse was recaptured by the Greeks from the Trojans, while the armor of Achilles went to Hector as a spoil. Then Achilles, unarmed and accompanied by Athena, appeared on the battlefield, and one formidable appearance of the hero put the enemies to flight.

The next morning, burning with vengeance, the hero rushed into battle and drove the Trojans to the city walls; Hector alone dared to oppose him here; Pursuing the killer of his friend, Achilles drove him around the walls three times, finally killed him and, tying his naked corpse to his war chariot, dragged him with him to the camp. Having magnificently celebrated the funeral feast for his fallen friend Patroclus, he returned Hector’s corpse for a rich ransom to his father, King Priam, who entered his tent with a prayer.

Training of Achille Pompeo Batoni, 1770

After the battles in which Achilles defeats the Amazon queen Penthesilea and the Ethiopian leader Memnon, who came to the aid of the Trojans, he breaks into Troy and here, at the Scaean Gate, dies from two arrows from Paris, directed by the hand of Apollo: the first arrow, hitting the heel, deprives Achilles of the opportunity rush at the enemy, and Paris kills him with a second arrow in the chest. For seventeen days, Achilles was mourned by the Nereids led by Thetis, the muses and the entire Achaean army. On the eighteenth day, the hero's body was burned, and the ashes in a golden urn made by Hephaestus were buried along with the ashes of Patroclus at Cape Sigei. The soul of Achilles, according to the beliefs of the ancients, was transferred to the island of Levka, where the hero continued to live the life of the blessed.

Images and symbols of myth

Achilles, first of all, appears as an invulnerable, fearless hero who brought death to his enemies, largely thanks to his mother. But on the other hand, his image can be interpreted without attaching importance to invulnerability as such, but presenting him as the bravest and strongest of the heroes solely because of his personal qualities. And then he appears in the form of a warrior, knowing that he is destined for a short life, and striving to live it in such a way that the glory of his unparalleled valor will be preserved forever among his descendants.

Achilles kills Penthesilea
OK. 540-530 BC e.

Since the myth of Achilles relates to battles and conquests, the symbols associated with it also relate to military themes. The main symbol of the myth is Achilles' heel, the only unprotected place of this hero, in which he was mortally wounded by Paris. Currently, the expression “Achilles' heel” means a weak side, a “sick”, vulnerable spot of something.

Shield of Achilles
(silver dish)
Late 4th - early 5th century

Achilles shield- a wonderful shield that Hephaestus forged for Achilles, it was not only intended to protect against enemies, but was a real work of art. The shield had a center with a slight elevation, which symbolized the firmament of the earth, which, according to the ancients, had the shape of a shield with a middle mountain, the “navel of the earth.” On the shield, Hephaestus depicted the earth, sky, stars, as well as numerous episodes of urban and rural life and the Ocean River on the rim. According to myths, no one had such a shield: neither the Trojan and Achaean warriors, nor the deities who descended from Olympus. Using his shield, Achilles could find any place: the land of the Myrmidons, whose ruler was his father Peleus, and Troy, where he, at the head of a detachment, defended the honor of Menelaus.

The myth of Achilles features river Styx. It was its waters that made Achilles invincible and, therefore, can be a symbol of divine miraculous power, granting invulnerability. In ancient Greek mythology, Styx is the personification of primeval horror and darkness from which the first living beings arose. The River Styx flows in Hades, and in historical times it was seen in a stream near Nonacris (in northern Arcadia). According to legend, Alexander the Great was poisoned with water from this river.

Communicative means of creating images and symbols

Achilles among the daughters of Lycomedes
Sarcophagus, III century.
St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum

Achilles was widely known among the ancient Greeks, as evidenced by the large number of references to him in various sources. That is why there are many options for the ending of the myth of Achilles, about how his life ended, and where he ended up after death. The Greeks erected a mausoleum for him on the banks of the Hellespont, and here they, in order to pacify the shadow of the hero, sacrificed Polyxena to him. According to the Odyssey, Achilles is in the underground kingdom, where Odysseus meets him, and he is buried in a golden amphora, which Dionysus gave to Thetis, which was also written about by the Greek poet Lycophron and the Western Greek poet Stesichorus. But another ancient Greek epic poem, “Ethiopida,” tells that Thetis took her son away from the burning fire and transferred him to the island of Levka (Snake Island at the mouth of the Istra Danube), where he continues to live in the company of other idolized heroes and heroines. This island served as the center of the cult of Achilles, as well as the mound that rises on the Sigean hill in front of Troy and is still known as the tomb of Achilles. There were also his temples in Elis, Sparta and other places. The great popularity of Achilles is evidenced by the fact that he is called “reigning over the Scythians,” and people believed that the ghost of Achilles appeared in Troy, hunting animals.

The spear of Achilles was kept in Phaselis in the temple of Athena. His funerary monument was in Elis. And the statues of naked ephebes with spears began to be called Achilles. By origin, Achilles was originally a local Thessalian hero, whose cult also spread to various regions of Greece. In the Laconian city of Prasia there was a temple of the hero, in which an annual celebration took place. His cult was also brought to the Greek colonies in Sicily in Southern Italy (Tarentum, Croton and other cities). The burial mound of Achilles and Patroclus at Cape Sigei was revered as a place of worship. Alexander the Great, and later the Roman Emperor Caracalla, held funeral games here. Thus, there are a huge number of temples, altars and sites dedicated to Achilles. In addition, he was the ideal of the great commander of antiquity, Alexander the Great. Up to the present day, based on the myth of Achilles, artists have painted paintings, composers have composed musical works, and playwrights have also turned to his image. There are also feature films in which we meet this hero. All this made Achilles one of the most popular characters in ancient art.

Social significance of the myth

Chiron teaches Achilles to play the lyre
Fresco in Pompeii. 1st century BC.

Achilles personifies greatness, invulnerability, strength given by the gods and reinforced by his own strong-willed character, zeal for glory, desire to accomplish great deeds and clear ideas about honor, goodness and devotion. But in ancient Greek mythology there are many similar images, because in almost every myth you can find a valiant hero who defends goodness and justice. Nevertheless, Achilles can be called one of the most famous, because despite his invincibility, he still has one weak spot - his heel, which distinguishes him from other mythological heroes and sets him apart from the general series. It is this feature that makes his image extraordinary and memorable, thanks to which even today there are hardly many people who have not heard this name.

The story of Achilles may be the personification of the fact that even the strongest and most fearless heroes have weaknesses and therefore have no right to consider themselves invincible. On the other hand, by performing great deeds, you can ensure the eternal memory of your descendants and thus extend your life into infinity.

This ancient Greek hero, who came with a hundred thousand army under the walls of Troy, and became the central character of Homer’s poem Iliad, had in abundance everything that from time immemorial has been the pride of a real man. The gods generously rewarded him with strength, courage, beauty and nobility. He was deprived of only one thing in life - happiness.

Mortal descendants of the inhabitants of Olympus

We know who Achilles is from the works of many ancient authors, the most famous and authoritative of which is Homer. From the pages of his immortal poem we learn that those who inhabited the top of Olympus used to descend to earth and marry mortal people who had earned this honor in one way or another.

If you believe the ancient legends, only heroes were born from such unions, combining an endless list of virtues that placed them above all other inhabitants of the earth, into whose lives they brought order and harmony. And only one problem deprived them of complete happiness - they were born mortals.

Son of the earthly king and the sea goddess

It so happened that the Phthian king Peleus once turned the head of the sea goddess Thetis. He found his way to the heart of the queen of the depths, and the fruit of her momentary weakness became the legendary Achilles, who inherited from his mother all the virtues inherent in the gods, but remained mortal through his father.

Wanting to fill this gap, Thetis resorted to an old and proven remedy, lowering him immediately after birth into the waters flowing in the underworld. As a result, the baby’s entire body was covered with an invisible but impenetrable shell that no weapon could hit. The only exception was his heel, by which his mother held him, lowering him into the water.

She became his only weak point, and it was kept secret. But looking ahead, it should be said that the one who killed Achilles, and he ended his life, despite all the efforts of Thetis, like a mere mortal, knew about this. The name of the killer will be named only at the end of the story, so as not to violate the laws of the genre and not reduce the severity of the plot intrigue.

Mentors of the young prince

To raise the future hero, his father selected two mentors for him. One of them was the old and wise Phoenix, who taught the boy decent manners, medicine and the composition of poems, without which in those days one could be considered ignorant and boorish. The second was a centaur named Chiron.

Unlike his fellow tribesmen - cunning and treacherous creatures, he was distinguished by his openness and friendliness. His whole pedagogy, however, boiled down to the fact that he fed Achilles bear brains and roasted lions. But such a diet clearly benefited the boy, and at the age of ten he could easily kill wild boars with his bare hands and overtake deer.

Escape to Skyros Island

When the war began, in which the Greeks with their many allies approached the walls of Troy, where Queen Helen reigned, recognized as the most beautiful woman of all times and peoples, our hero was fifteen years old. By the way, this detail allows us to determine with certain accuracy what year Achilles lived. Historians date the beginning to the turn of the 13th and 12th centuries BC, which means he was born around 1215 BC. uh or so.

The goddess Thetis, despite the fact that by lowering her son into the waters of Six, made him almost immortal, nevertheless allowed the possible death of Achilles. She decided not to take risks and protect him from the campaign in which he was obliged to take part. For this purpose, the goddess, by the power of magic, transported her son to the island of Skyros, where he, in women's clothing, hid from being drafted into the army among the daughters of the local king Lycomedes, who naively hoped for his chastity.

Odysseus's trick

However, soon the leader of the Greeks, Agamemnon, found out the whereabouts of Achilles and sent Odysseus after him. His envoy was faced with a rather piquant task - to recognize among the young beauties the one who hid his masculine nature under a woman's attire. And Odysseus coped with it brilliantly.

Disguised as a merchant, he laid out luxurious fabrics, jewelry, and other things for which women have always had a weakness in front of the princesses, and between them, as if by chance, he left a sword. When, at his command, the servants issued a battle cry, all the girls ran away screaming, and only one of them grabbed a weapon, revealing herself to be a man and a warrior.

They escorted the new recruit on a hike throughout the island. King Lycomedes sincerely grieved, and his young daughter Diedamia shed tears, in whose womb the son of Achilles (a hero is a hero in everything) had been gaining strength for the sixth month.

A hero who brings terror to the enemy

Achilles arrived at the walls of Troy not alone, but accompanied by a hundred thousand army sent with him by his father, King Peleus, who, due to his old age, was deprived of the opportunity to personally take part in the siege of the city. He gave his son his armor, which had once been forged for him and had magical properties. A warrior dressed in them became invincible.

In his poem “The Iliad,” Homer tells how, taking advantage of his father’s gift, his son fought for nine years, terrifying the Trojans and capturing one city after another. Thanks to the magical powers bestowed upon him by the waters of the Styx, as well as his father’s armor, he was invulnerable to the enemy, but the one who killed Achilles in the Trojan War (which will be discussed below) knew his weak point, and until time remained in the shadows.

Envy that captivated the warrior's soul

The countless feats accomplished by Achilles earned him great fame among ordinary warriors and became the reason for the envy that consumed their commander-in-chief Agamemnon. It is known that this low feeling has always pushed people to meanness, and sometimes even to crimes. The Greek military leader was no exception.

One day, returning from another raid, Achilles, among other booty, brought a beautiful captive, whose father Chris was a priest of Apollo. Agamemnon, taking advantage of his position, took her away from Achilles, to which he did not object, since he was then carried away by another slave named Briseis.

Soon the unfortunate priest appeared at the Greek camp and offered a rich ransom for his daughter, but was refused. In desperation, he called on Apollo himself for help, and he, taking the position of his servant, sent a pestilence to the offenders of his daughter. The Greeks did not have time to bury the dead. The soothsayer Kalkhant, who was among them, communicated with the gods and said that death would not recede until Chris received his daughter, and Apollo received rich sacrifices.

Agamemnon had to obey, but in revenge, he took his beloved Briseis from Achilles and sacrificed her to the deity. The hero himself was vilely cursed and insulted in the presence of the soldiers subordinate to him. This act came as a surprise to everyone, since previously the commander-in-chief had a reputation not only as a brave, but also as a completely noble man. There is no doubt that there was some magic here too. Moreover, it is possible that the evil spell was cast on him by the very one who killed Achilles at the end of the poem we are retelling. But his name will be named a little later.

The shamed envious man

Innocently insulted and deprived of his best slave, Achilles refused to continue participating in the war, which brought incredible joy to the Trojans, who trembled at the very sight of him. Appearing on the seashore, he summoned his mother, the sea goddess Thetis, from its depths, and, having heard his story, she begged the supreme god Zeus to help the Trojans defeat the army of Agamemnon and show him that without Achilles, inevitable death awaited them.

That's how it all happened. The accommodating Zeus gave strength to the Trojans, and they began to mercilessly crush their enemies. The catastrophe seemed inevitable, and the vile envious man had no choice but to publicly, in the presence of the same warriors, apologize to Achilles and, as compensation for the ruined Briseis, give him several beautiful slaves.

The Last Labors of Achilles

After this, the magnanimous Achilles forgave his offender and, with even greater frenzy, began to smash the defenders of the city. One of his most famous feats dates back to this period - victory in a duel with the leader of the Trojans, Hector. Achilles not only managed to put him to flight, but forced him to run around the walls of Troy three times, and only after that he pierced him with a spear.

But the gods did not want to make Achilles a witness to the fall of Troy, and it was their will that was carried out by the one who killed Achilles. Shortly before his death, he accomplished his last feat - he defeated an army of beautiful, but treacherous and evil Amazons, who came to the aid of the Trojans, led by their leader Penthesilea.

Death of Achilles

Ancient authors, who contradict each other in many ways, in their biography of Achilles are nevertheless unanimous in their depiction of his last hour. According to their testimony, one day he tried to break into the besieged city through its main gate. Unexpectedly, his path was blocked by none other than Apollo himself, who had not yet fully reconciled with the Greeks after the story with the daughter of his priest.

Apollo, of course, knew who Achilles was. The fact is that, crowned with the glory of the most beautiful of the celestial beings, he harbored shameful envy and jealousy towards a mortal man, who, like him, was considered the standard of beauty. The harmfulness of this low feeling among people has already been discussed in our story, but in this case the name of the deity was tarnished by it.

Having blocked Achilles's path, but, nevertheless, expecting respectful treatment, he instead received a rude shout and a threat of being pierced with a spear if he did not get out of the way immediately. Insulted, Apollo stepped aside, but only to immediately take his revenge.

Further, the authors differ somewhat in their description of what happened. According to one version, Apollo himself fired the fatal arrow after the offender, and it was he who killed Achilles. According to another, an envious god entrusted this vile deed to Paris, the son of the Trojan king, who happened to be nearby. But since the arrow hit Achilles in his only vulnerable spot, which only Apollo knew about, there is no doubt that it was he who directed its flight. The one who killed Achilles in the heel could not have known his secret. Therefore, the murder of the hero is attributed to Apollo - the most beautiful of the gods, but who was unable to overcome his low and petty feelings.

The story of Achilles inspired a whole galaxy of ancient poets who dedicated their works to him, some of which have survived to this day. Many of them are recognized as the best examples of ancient Greek poetry. There is no doubt that Homer gained the greatest fame among them with his famous poem “The Iliad.” The very death of Achilles gave rise to the popular expression “Achilles’ heel,” meaning a weak, vulnerable spot.

The sea goddess Thetis sought to make her son Achilles invulnerable and tempered him in fire at night and rubbed him with ambrosia during the day. According to another version, she bathed him in the waters of the underground river Styx, which flowed in the kingdom of gloomy Hades. And only the heel by which she held him remained unprotected. Achilles was raised by the wise centaur Chiron, who fed him the entrails of lions, bears and wild boars. He taught him to sing and play the cithara.

Achilles grew up to be a powerful, strong young man; he was not afraid of anyone. At the age of six he killed ferocious lions and wild boars, without dogs he caught up with deer and knocked them to the ground. The goddess Thetis, who lived in the ocean, did not forget about her son, sailed to him, and gave practical advice.

At that time, the hero Menelaus began to gather brave warriors throughout Greece for a campaign against Troy. Thetis, knowing that her son was destined to participate in the Trojan War and die, tried with all her might to resist him. She sent her son to the island of Skyros to the palace of King Lycomedes. There, among the royal daughters, he hid in girlish clothes.

But the Greek soothsayers knew that one of the heroes of the Trojan War would be the young warrior Achilles, they told the leader Menelaus that he was hiding on the island of Skyros with King Lycomedes. Then the leaders Odysseus and Diomedes equipped a merchant ship, disguised themselves as merchants, collected various goods and arrived at Skyros. There they learned that only daughters lived with King Lycomedes. Where is Achilles?

Then Odysseus, famous for his cunning, figured out how to recognize Achilles. They came to the palace of Lycomedes and laid out decorations, fabrics, household utensils, battle swords, shields, daggers, bows and arrows in the hall. The girls looked at the product with interest. Noticing this, Odysseus went out and asked his soldiers standing at the entrance to the palace to issue a battle cry. The warriors knocked on their shields, blew their trumpets, and shouted in inviting voices. It seemed like a war had begun. The princesses fled in fear, but one of them grabbed a sword and shield and ran to the exit.

So Odysseus and Diomedes recognized Achilles and invited him to participate in the Trojan War. He happily agreed. He had long wanted to throw off his girlish dress and do real work worthy of a man.

Achilles became famous in the very first days of the battles. He proved himself to be a fearless, skilled warrior, and luck accompanied him everywhere. He accomplished many feats. Together with others, he participated in the destruction of the outskirts of Troy, conquered the population of the cities of Lyrnessos and Pedas, and captured the beautiful Briseis. But the leader Agamemnon took the girl away from him, which caused a terrible offense in Achilles. He was so angry with Agamemnon that he refused to fight against the Trojans. And only the death of his friend Patroclus forced Achilles to take up arms again and join the ranks of the Greeks.

Achilles died in the most ridiculous way: he burst into Troy and headed towards the royal palace, but the Trojan prince Paris, who did not love him, took a bow and begged the god Apollo, who favored him, to direct arrows at Achilles. One of his two arrows hit Achilles's only weak spot, his heel. This is how one of the most famous heroes of the Trojan War died. His death was mourned by the entire army.

The Greek hero Achilles is one of the most dazzling and at the same time most attractive figures in the myths of the Trojan War. His life, love and death, like no other hero of Greek mythology, have been sung throughout the centuries to this day, be it in literature, music, theater or the visual arts.

Like no other hero of Greek mythology, he is always viewed on the one hand as a praised hero, and on the other as an unbridled stubborn man.

Each era has its own understanding of the hero Achilles and it is discussed again and again according to current interests and social discourses.

Achilles in art

This is especially noticeable when depicting Achilles in painting, which at one time or another is at the forefront of exhibitions: depending on the era and culture, the paintings always show different episodes of Achilles’ life, emphasizing various aspects of his heroism, giving a new flavor and different qualities and the shape of his body and figure, evaluating him differently in discussions.

At the same time, images of Achilles are sought in new contexts of aspects of life: for example, in ancient Greece, the image of Achilles is found mainly on outstanding canvases depicting men's feasts.

Here the hero can be noted as an outstanding warrior who is equally distinguished by his strength and courage, and he is also distinguished by his cruelty, which transcends all human and divine barriers.

They always decorated their homes and tombs with paintings of Achilles. However, unlike, in the foreground in these paintings Achilles was depicted much less often as a warrior; rather, episodes from his childhood and youth were chosen here, which show him as a young beautiful boy or as a desired lover in a dazzlingly masculine image.

Later eras once again emphasized the completely different sides of Achilles: in the court culture of the Middle Ages, due to the fact that many ruling dynasties referred to their supposed origins with the Trojans, they showed Achilles as a cruel opponent of Troy, images of the overthrown image of the noble knight were especially favorite.

In the Baroque period, Achilles, first of all, appears before us as a courageous lover and hero, beautiful in his hour of death. The 18th and 19th centuries presented him as a reasonable, sentimental, almost tragic and unforgotten hero. This story of continuous reinterpretation of Achilles continues today: to this day we present him through the prism of our own views. But unlike the ancient Greeks, for whom their hero Achilles was neither good nor bad, but everything he did was simply outstanding for them, we need accuracy. This is how we see Achilles today in movies, comics or computer games. In the modern world, they pay special attention to his appearance and figure.

Birth and early life of Achilles

Achilles was the son of Peleus and the sea nymph Thetis. Since little Achilles, like his father, was a mortal, his divine mother dipped him into the River Styx to make him invulnerable and grant him eternal life. But there was a place on his leg where his mother held him, and which was not exposed to water and therefore remained vulnerable - this is the heel: as a result, this place was called the notorious “Achilles heel”.

Achilles was delighted to be trained by the Centaur Chiron, who taught the young hero horse riding, hunting and the use of weapons, as well as playing the lyre and the healing arts.

Since it was predicted that Achilles would either die before Troy or live a long but very glorious life, Thetis hid her son, disguised as a girl, on the island of Skyros. There he hid among the daughters of King Lycomedes and fell in love with one of the girls named Deidamia. However, the cunning Odysseus discovered the hero hiding on Skyros and asked him to follow him to war. So Achilles came to Troy, where he became the most outstanding hero of Greece.

Trojan War

Already at his parents' wedding, Achilles' fate was sealed. The goddess of discord, Eris, was not invited and, getting angry, caused a quarrel among the goddesses, Hera and Aphrodite.

The young Trojan prince Paris had to choose the most beautiful of the three goddesses. Finally, he chose Aphrodite as the most beautiful woman on earth. However, Paris was in love with Elena, and promised her the title of the most beautiful woman on earth. He turned to Aphrodite with a request to sell her title of beauty, which greatly angered the goddess.

Since Helen was already married to Menelaus, the king of Sparta, he kidnapped her and took her with him to Troy, and thereby summoned her, in which Achilles then took part and died.

Achilles and Penthesilea

In the fight against the Greeks, the Trojans are supported by the Amazons. While participating in the “Battle of the Amazons,” he meets Queen Penthesilea and falls in love with her, a beautiful warrior. He kills her with a sword, and is left with his love, which will remain unfulfilled.

Wrath of Achilles

After almost ten years of war and countless exploits, a dispute broke out between Achilles and King Agamemnon about the beautiful slave Chryseis. Agamemnon eventually won, and Achilles refused to obey, even though he lost his slave and his honor suffered.

The withdrawal of Achilles from the fight and the victory of the Greeks occurred, as it was predicted that only with the participation of Achilles the city of Troy would be conquered. For this reason, Agamemnon sends an envoy to Achilles, who must convince him to return to battle - this was not successful, and the problem remained. Only the death of Patroclus returns Achilles to the battlefield.

When Patroclus, Achilles's closest confidant and close friend, was killed by the son of the king of Troy, Hector, in battle, the Greek hero returned to the war and challenged Hector to a duel. Achilles is victorious in a fierce battle between two equal opponents and finally kills the Trojan heir. Filled with hatred for the man who is the murderer of his friend, Achilles dragged Hector's body around the impenetrable city wall of Troy.

He dragged the body to the Greek camp, where it was denied a proper burial. But when Priam, king of Troy and father of Hector, came to Achilles and begged him to give him the body of his son, Achilles changed his mind and gave the body to his father so that he could be buried with full honors.

Death of Achilles

Soon after Achilles killed his greatest enemy Hector, fate prepared a blow for him. Paris, Hector's brother and the main culprit of the Trojan War, struck the hero in his weak point - the heel. Since the arrow sent by the intervening god Apollo was poisoned, it immediately led to the death of the hero. Thus the prophecy was fulfilled, and Achilles died after a glorious battle, having lived an outstanding but very short life.