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Definition: Achilles from Philip's Encyclopedia

In the Greek epic tradition, a formidable warrior, the most fearless Greek fighter of the Trojan War and the hero of Homer's Iliad. Legend held him invulnerable from weapons because he had been dipped by his mother, Thetis, in the River Styx at birth, except for the heel by which he was held. Achilles sought glory fighting at Troy, but an arrow shot by Paris struck his heel and killed him.


ACHILLES

From Gods, Goddesses, and Mythology
According to Homer's Iliad , Achilles was the Greeks' best fighter in the Trojan War, famed for his strength and courage. The story of Achilles is dominated by prophecies about the future, and by desperate attempts to avoid fate—common themes in Greek mythology. As in other tales, the prophecies come true: despite the efforts of his mother, Achilles dies at Troy while still a young man. Achilles was the son of the sea goddess Thetis and the mortal Peleus, king of Phthia. Long before his birth, the earth goddess Themis predicted that Thetis would give birth to a son who would be more powerful than his father. Zeus, king of the gods, and his brother, the sea god Poseidon, had both wanted to marry Thetis, but the prophecy put them off, since neither wanted to be overthrown. Instead, Themis said that Thetis should marry a mortal, Peleus, so that her son would be half mortal and thus no threat to the gods. Other versions say that Zeus's wife, Hera, helped to raise Thetis, and the sea…
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Full text Article Achilles

From The Classical Tradition
Translated by Deborah Lucas Schneider Achilles (Greek Achilleus ) occurs as a common masculine name in Greek documents as far back as the late Bronze Age. At that time a man so named may have become one of the main figures of the story of Troy, the outlines of which we know mainly from post-Homeric…
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Full text Article Achilles

From Dictionary of Classical Mythology
Achilles.
The greatest of the Greek heroes who fought at Troy. His anger with AGAMEMNON is the main theme of Homer's Iliad , an anger which almost lost the Greeks the war and which brought about the deaths of Achilles’ beloved comrade PATROCLUS , of the great Trojan warrior HECTOR , and finally of Achilles…
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Full text Article Achilles

From Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World
Also known as: Achilleus; Akhilleus This preeminent Greek hero in the legend of the Trojan War was the son of the hero Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis. He figured in many tales, often times referred to as Achilleus (meaning “grief”), but received his everlasting portrait as the protagonist of…
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Full text Article Achilles

From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
The great hero of the iliad , the son of peleus , king of the myrmidons in Thessaly, and grandson of Aeacus. Brave and relentless, his quarrel with agamemnon , the Greek commander-in-chief, caused him to withdraw from the struggle. The Trojans prevailed and Achilles allowed patroclus to lead the…
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Full text Article Achilles

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(Әkĭl'ēz), in Greek mythology, foremost Greek hero of the Trojan War, son of Peleus and Thetis. He was a formidable warrior, possessing fierce and uncontrollable anger. Thetis, knowing that Achilles was fated to die at Troy, disguised him as a girl and hid him among the women at the court of King…
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Full text Article Achilles

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
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…
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Full text Article Achilles

From The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Houghton Mifflin
In classical mythology , the greatest warrior on the Greek side in the Trojan War . When he was an infant, his mother tried to make him immortal by bathing him in a magical river, but the heel by which she held him remained vulnerable. During the Trojan War, he quarreled with the commander, …
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Full text Article Achilles

From The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization
Achilles An Athenian clay water jar (late 6th...
son of Peleus and Thetis; greatest of the Greek heroes in the Trojan War; central character of *Homer 's Iliad . His name may be of Mycenaean Greek origin, meaning ‘a grief to the army’. If so, the destructive Wrath of Achilles, which forms the subject of the Iliad , must have been central to his…
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Full text Article Achilles tendinosis

From The Gale Encyclopedia of Fitness
Achilles tendinosis is a condition marked by degeneration of the tissue in the Achilles tendon at the cellular level. The Achilles tendon, the thickest and strongest in the human body, is located in the back of the lower leg and serves to attach three muscles in the lower leg (the plantaris, soleus, …
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Full text Article Achilles Achilleus

From Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities
Also known as: Pyrrha (Greek). Achilles, the principal character of the Homeric epic of the lliad , is the son of Peleus, king of the Myrmidons in Thessaly, and of Thetis, a sea goddess. He is thought to be the father of Neoptolemus (Pyrrhus) by Deidamia. There are various accounts of his youthful…
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