A character from the heroic tales of the ancient Greeks. The bravest of the heroes who went on a campaign against Troy under the leadership of the Mycenaean king. Son of Peleus and the sea nymph. Mentioned in the epic poem The Iliad.
Origin story
Researchers put forward the theory that initially in the mythology of the ancient Greeks, Achilles was considered a demon of the underworld. Other ancient Greek heroes, for example, also belonged to this category of characters. In defending this point of view, researcher Hommel refers to early classical Greek texts, where Achilles is already transformed into an epic hero, but still demonstrates the functions characteristic of demons of the underworld.
Myths and legends
Like other Greek heroes, Achilles was born from the marriage of a mortal and a goddess. Such characters in ancient Greek mythology have capabilities exceeding human ones, enormous physical strength, but are not endowed with immortality, like the gods. The hero's calling is to bring justice to people and fulfill the will of the gods. And heroes are often helped by divine parents in performing feats.
Achilles' mother, the sea nymph Thetis, wanted to make her son immortal. To do this, Thetis, according to different versions, either placed the baby in the forge of the god, then immersed him in fire, or in the waters of the Styx - the rivers of the kingdom of the dead. In all cases, the mother held the baby by the heel during dipping, so that the heel remained the hero’s only vulnerable spot. Later, the Trojan killed Achilles, hitting him in the heel with an arrow.
As a child, the hero had a different name, but after one incident when his lips were burned by fire, he received the name Achilles, which means “lipless.” The hero was raised on the slopes of Mount Pelion by the centaur Chiron. The centaur taught Achilles the art of healing. The hero found a certain herb with which he could heal wounds.
Achilles later joined the Greek campaign against Troy. The king of Ithaca persuaded the hero to do this. Achilles acted at the head of fifty ships. A childhood friend, whom some authors call Achilles' lover, went on a hike with the hero.
One of the myths says that Achilles’ mother, the nymph Thetis, wanted to protect her son from participating in the fatal war. To do this, the nymph hid the young man on the island of Skyros, with the local king Lycomedes. Achilles was dressed in women's clothes, and in this form the hero hid among the king's daughters.
The cunning Odysseus arrived there, pretending to be a merchant, and laid out jewelry in front of the girls, and laid out weapons along with the trinkets. Then the people, persuaded by Odysseus, made a noise and began to make war cries. Achilles grabbed his weapon and thereby gave himself away to the girls.
After this revelation, the hero had to go to Troy. When the campaign began, Achilles was only fifteen years old. The first shield for the hero was forged by the god Hephaestus himself.
The Trojan War lasted 20 years. The siege of the city was long, and during this time the hero managed to make many raids on neighboring cities. It was already the tenth year of the siege when Achilles captured the beautiful Trojan Briseis. The man quarreled with Agamemnon over her. The Mycenaean king demanded that Briseis be given to him; in response, Achilles became angry and refused to further participate in the battles.
The Greeks began to lose and began to beg the hero to return to battle, but this did not help. When the Trojans, led by Hector, invaded the Greek camp, the still angry Achilles did not enter the battle himself, but allowed Patroclus to come to the aid of the Greeks along with a detachment. To make the enemies afraid, Achilles ordered Patroclus to put on his Achilles armor. The Trojan hero Hector killed Patroclus and took Achilles' armor for himself as a trophy.
Only after this did Achilles appear on the battlefield in person. Seeing the hero, the Trojans began to flee. The next morning, the god Hephaestus forged new armor for the hero, and Achilles rushed into battle, burning with a thirst for vengeance. The hero was able to push the Trojans back to the city gates, and at the same time killed Hector and dragged the corpse to the Greek camp. After a magnificent funeral feast for Patroclus, the hero returned Hector’s body to the Trojans for a large ransom.
Achilles fell in a battle at the city gates, struck down by the archer Paris, whom he himself led. The shooter hit Achilles in the only vulnerable spot - the heel. According to another version, Apollo himself took on the appearance of Paris in order to defeat the hero. This is where the hero's life story ended.
Achilles did not have a wife, but he had several lovers, among whom was Deidamia, the daughter of King Lycomedes. From her the hero had a son, Neoptolemus.
Greek bas-reliefs depict Achilles as a muscular youth with curly hair. The hero can also be seen on vases, where he is depicted in armor.
Film adaptations
In 2004, the action adventure film Troy was released based on Homer's poem The Iliad. The role of Achilles in this film was played by the actor.
In the film, Achilles helps the Mycenaean king Agamemnon subjugate the cities of Greece. Agamemnon dreams of destroying the rebellious Troy, and then an opportunity arises. The king's brother, the Trojan Paris, stole his wife, and Menelaus appears to Agamemnon, demanding revenge.
To seduce Achilles to go to fight at Troy, the cunning Odysseus, king of Ithaca, comes to the hero. And the hero on his ship joins the Greek army, although his own mother predicted Achilles’ death under the walls of Troy.
Achilles' warriors are the first to land on the Trojan shore and enter the battle, completely destroying a detachment of Trojan warriors. King Agamemnon, however, publicly insulted Achilles when he saw that the hero released Hector, the leader of the Trojan detachment, without wanting to engage him in battle.
After this incident, Achilles and his men do not join the battle with the rest of the Greeks, but only watch the battle from the sidelines. Without Achilles, the Greeks are unable to defeat the Trojans in battle, and during negotiations they refuse to accept Agamemnon’s terms. The Trojan Hector nobly refuses to finish off the defeated Greeks and concludes a truce with them. Achilles is going to return home and start a family there and live peacefully.
Still from the film "Troy" Later, the Trojans attack the Greeks under the cover of darkness, and Achilles's squad also goes into battle, thinking that the leader is with them. It turns out, however, that it was Achilles’ brother Patroclus who entered the battle wearing Achilles’ helmet, so that at night both his own and his enemies mistook him for Achilles. Hector defeats Patroclus in battle and kills him.
After this, Achilles' plans change. Instead of sailing home, the hero goes to the walls of Troy and challenges Hector to battle. Having defeated him in a duel, Achilles rides to the Greek camp, and Hector’s body, tied by the legs, is dragged behind the chariot.
Hector’s father, the king, sneaks into the Greek camp and begs Achilles to give up his son’s body. Achilles agrees to this. Later, when Troy has already been captured, Achilles rushes around the city in search of the Trojan Briseis, daughter of Priam, with whom the hero is in love. Achilles saves his beloved from his own compatriots, but at this time Achilles himself is shot from a bow by the Trojan Paris.
The plot of the Iliad is greatly distorted in the film. Some heroes are missing, such as the Trojan prophetess Cassandra and the priest who tried to warn their compatriots. The costumes of the Greeks are not historical, as are the fighting techniques used by the heroes.
Many heroes die in the wrong place and in the wrong way. For example, Homer’s King Agamemnon was killed by his own unfaithful wife after returning from Troy. In the film, Agamemnon was stabbed to death by Briseis while the Greeks were plundering Troy.
Achilles himself in the Iliad does not run around the dying city in search of a girl and does not die ingloriously on a neat lawn. In Homer, Paris struck Achilles with an arrow at the city gates, and a terrible battle broke out for the hero's body. The Greeks did not want to leave the hero’s body to the enemies for desecration, and a real dump took place around Achilles until the dead hero was taken out of the battlefield.
In 2003, the two-part film Helen of Troy was released in the United States, also based on the Iliad, where the role of Achilles was played by actor Joe Montana. Here Achilles is a minor character who appears in the fight scene with Hector and pins him to a post with a spear. Achilles later attacks Paris, but Paris is shot in the heel by Achilles.
In 1997, the director shot in the United States a two-part film “The Odyssey” - a free interpretation of the Homeric poem of the same name, which deals with the return of the king of Ithaca home after the Trojan War. The supporting role of Achilles is played here by Richard Truett.
Achilles also appeared in Doctor Who, in an episode entitled "The Myth Makers", which aired in the autumn of 1965. The Doctor's TARDIS ship materializes beneath Troy at the exact moment Achilles fights Hector. The Trojan is distracted, and Achilles kills him, and the Doctor, who comes out of the TARDIS, mistakes him for the supreme god, who pretended to be an old beggar.
Still from the series "Doctor Who" Achilles calls the imaginary "Zeus" to go with him to the Greek camp. There, King Agamemnon demands that “god” help the Greeks against the Trojans, and the cunning Odysseus believes that he is not a god, but a Trojan spy. The role of Achilles is played by actor Cavan Kendall.
Quotes
“Go home, prince. Drink wine, caress your wife. Tomorrow we will fight."
“Do you love me, brother? Will you protect me from enemies?
“You asked me questions like this when you were nine and stole your father’s horse.” What have you done now?
“Last night was a mistake.
- And the night before that?
“I made a lot of mistakes this week.”
(Homer. Iliad. Cantos XVII–XIX)
Not having time to catch up with Automedon and take possession of Achilles' horses - the famous horses, a gift to Peleus' son from the immortal gods - Hector again returned to the place where the murdered Patroclus lay and where the Achaeans and Trojans fought around his corpse. Menelaus fought here closest to all the other Achaeans: raising a spear and holding a shield in front of him, he stood over the corpse, ready to tear out the soul from anyone who would attempt to take possession of the body of the fallen hero. Euphorbus, who had wounded Patroclus, approached his body; but fell lifeless, struck by the spear of Menelaus. Hector rushed at the Achaeans and drove them away from the body of Patroclus. He took off the armor of Achilles from the fallen man and put it on himself, but ordered his own to be taken to Ilion. From his high sky, the world-powerful Zeus saw how Hector put on the armor of the divine Aeacides, and, waving his head, thought in the depths of his heart: “Unfortunate! You don’t have a presentiment of imminent death, you put on the divine armor of a great man, before whom others tremble; you killed him a meek, valiant friend and with dishonor tore the armor from his head and shoulders! You are not destined to return from the battle, your Andromache will not accept from you the glorious armor of Pelida; but in return I will give you great strength in battle and once again crown you with victory.” This is what the father of immortals and mortals thought and filled Hector’s heart with the stormy warlike spirit of Ares, and the hero felt an irresistible strength in all his members. With a loud cry, Hector walked around the Trojan squads and called his comrades to him - he convinced them to strike the Danaans and take the body of Patroclus from them. On the other hand, Menelaus called the Danaans to him, and heroes gathered at his call: both Ajaxes, Idomeneo, Merion and others. The battle began to boil over the body of Patroclus again, the bodies of fighters fell in heaps on both sides, and the ground was stained with their blood. Finally, the Danaans were unable to resist Hector and his comrades and fled; even Ajax, the powerful son of Telamon, lost hope of success and, turning to Menelaus, who was fighting nearby, said: “Let’s quickly go tell Achilles that his faithful friend died in battle; see if you see Nestor’s son Antilochus: let him go quickly to Achilles ".
Menelaus with the body of Patroclus. 3rd century statue BC
Menelaus listened to him, began to look for Antilochus and found him at the left end of the battlefield: he walked around the ranks of the soldiers and encouraged them, rousing them to battle. Hearing from Menelaus about the death of Patroclus, Antilochus was horrified and speechless with horror, his eyes quickly filled with tears; but, obedient to the commands of Menelaus, he rushed to Achilles’ tent to convey to him the bitter news of the death of their friend Patroclus.
Achilles sat alone at the courts, reflecting on what was happening before him. Seeing that the Achaeans ran to the ships, he sighed and said to himself: “What is the reason that the Achaeans are running back to the ships in confusion? Surely the gods have sent upon us the misfortune that my mother foreshadowed to me: she said that "Even before me, the bravest of the Myrmidon army will fall at Troy?" Thus Achilles pondered and languished, and at that time the son of Nestor approached him and, shedding tears, exclaimed: “Woe to us, Pelid! From me you will hear news of something that should never have happened. Our Patroclus has fallen, and the Achaeans are fighting now for his naked body; Hector has already removed all the armor from the fallen one.” Gloomy sorrow seized the soul of Pelid. Quickly grabbing ashes from the ground in both hands, he sprinkled them on his head and face, and all his fragrant clothes, then fell to the ground and began to tear the hair on his head. The captives of Achilles and Patroclus ran out of the tent and, hearing the bitter news and seeing Pelidas prostrate on the ground, raised a loud cry, beat themselves in the chest and broke their hands in despair; Antilochus stood next to Achilles, shedding tears, holding his hands, fearing that he, stricken with grief, would kill himself with a sword.
From the deep depths of the gray sea, from the underwater palaces of her father, Thetis heard the moans and cries of her son and sobbed loudly herself; All her sisters, the Nereids, gathered to her, and, seeing the desperate grief of the goddess, beat themselves in the chest and sobbed with her. “Woe to me, poor thing,” exclaimed Thetis. - Woe to me, the unfortunate one who gave birth to a hero, the first among all. I raised him, raised him with great care, and sent him to fight in Ilion against the Trojans. I will never see him in his father’s house, in the bright palaces of Peleus. And while my son is still alive, while he sees the shine of the sun, he must suffer, and I cannot give him help. I’ll go and look at my dear son, I’ll find out what grief has struck him, who was not involved in the abuse.” With these words, Thetis left the underwater palaces of Nereus, followed by her sisters; Having reached Troy, the Nereids, one after another, quietly went to the shore where the ships of the Myrmidons stood. Thetis approached her bitterly weeping son, clasped his head in her hands and, sobbing bitterly herself, said to him: “Why are you crying, my son? What sorrow has visited your heart? Do not hide anything from me, reveal everything to me! Zeus fulfilled everything he asked you: the Danaan armies are repulsed in disgrace to their very courts, they are suffering great disasters and are ready to beg you for help.” Sighing heavily, Achilles answered her: “I know everything: Zeus the Olympian fulfilled everything that I asked; but what joy is it for me when I lost Patroclus, whom I valued as my own head. Hector, having killed him, took from him those wondrous the armor that the gods gave to my father Peleus on the day of your marriage! Oh, I don’t want to live on earth among people unless Hector falls under my spear and pays me for the murder of Patroclus!” Weeping bitterly, Thetis said: “It won’t be long before you, my son, see the radiance of the sun: after the death of Hector, death will soon be sent to you too!” “I’m ready to die now,” answered Achilles, stricken with grief. “What do I have in life if I couldn’t save my dear friend from the murderer! Far from his homeland, he fell, ill-fated, and, truly, he called on me in trouble for help! Oh, cursed be the enmity and hateful anger that destroys even the wise: it is sweeter than honey when it arises in the chest, but soon, growing, it smothers and destroys like a smoky, smokey flame. So my anger has deprived me of my reason: I did not save. from the death of neither Patroclus nor other friends who fell at the hands of Hector, I sat idly in front of the courts, uselessly burdening the earth with myself.
Achilles mourns the murdered Patroclus. Painting by N. Ge, 1855
But let everything that has already passed be forgotten; I will tame the anger of the offended heart and go to look for Hector, who destroyed my dear Patroclus! I am always ready to accept death when Kronion and the other gods do not decide to send it to me. I will force many Trojan women to tear their chests with sighs, to wipe bitter tears from their blooming cheeks with both hands; The enemies will soon find out that I have rested from battle for a long time! No, I'll go into battle! Don’t hold me back, I won’t listen to you!” “You are right, my son,” Thetis said to this. – It is noble to be a defense for oppressed friends; but remember, you have no armor: Hector now owns it. But he won’t boast for long: his death is near! Don’t engage in battle until I come here again: tomorrow at dawn I will return to you and bring you armor from Hephaestus.”
Thus spoke the goddess and quickly rushed to the bright, multi-hill Olympus, to the glorious artist Hephaestus; her sisters, the Nereids, again plunged into the bosom of the ceaselessly rustling sea. That time, on the battlefield, the Achaeans lifted the body of Patroclus and carried it to their camp; Crowds of Trojans, led by Hector and Aeneas, chased after them with loud shouts. Three times Hector grabbed the body of Patroclus by the legs, three times they reflected him from the body of Ajax; but they would not have defeated the Trojan and would not have driven him away from the body if Hera had not sent Iris to Achilles and ordered the hero to go through her to the trench and frighten the Trojans with her cry. Athena clothed Pelid's powerful shoulders with the aegis of Zeus and overshadowed his head with a fiery, luminous cloud. Going beyond the wall, he stood over the moat and exclaimed loudly three times - those screams were deafening, like the sound of a trumpet announcing the attack of formidable enemies to the city; indescribable horror seized the Trojans, everyone’s heart trembled, the frightened horses rushed back. Here, amid general confusion, twelve strong Trojan fighters died under the wheels of their own chariots. Meanwhile, the Achaeans, taking advantage of the confusion of their enemies, took possession of the body of Patroclus and placed him on a bed. His friends surrounded the murdered man in a sad crowd; Achilles also came and wept bitterly when he saw his friend lying on his deathbed - a friend whom he himself had recently sent into battle in his chariot, on his horses.
The sun quietly disappeared into the waves of the ocean, and the army of the Achaeans rested from the fearful anxiety, from the long, destructive battle. But Patroclus’s friends did not close their eyes all night - they spent the whole night over his body, sobbing and groaning; Achilles grieved and grieved more than anyone else. “Gods, gods!” he said. “I spoke an idle word that day, as I tried to console Menoetius. I told him that I would bring to him a son from near Troy, crowned with glory, enriched with booty! Mortals plan many things, but not everything what was conceived by man is allowed by Zeus to take place! Both of us are destined to stain the same earth with our blood: and the aged Peleus will not meet me in his palace, and the earth will hide me here, at the walls of Troy. But since I will go to the grave after you, my dear. Patroclus, then I will bury you with honor: but not before I lay down here, before you, the armor and head of Hector, your murderer. Around your fire I will put to death twelve of the most glorious Trojans - so I will take revenge on the sons of Troy for your death Until that time. rest, friend, here, before my courts! So spoke Achilles and ordered that his friend’s body be quickly washed from dried blood and dust and anointed with expensive oil; Then they laid the body on an ornamented bed and covered it with a thin shiny cover.
That time, Thetis reached the bright house of Hephaestus, which he himself built on high Olympus from brightly shining copper. When Thetis entered the house of the artificer god, he was working in the forge; The goddess was met by Charita, the young wife of Hephaestus: she affectionately took the guest by the hand, sat her on a magnificent, elegantly decorated seat and called her husband. “Come here, Hephaestus!” she called in a loud voice. “Thetis has something to do with you.” The lame Hephaestus rejoiced when he heard that Thetis had visited him. “How!” he cried. “A noble goddess, revered by me, came to my house, who saved my life at a time when my mother Hera threw me, a poor baby, from the sky! If not for the daughters of Ocean, Thetis and Eurynome, - not I wish I had enough then. I lived for nine years in their underwater abode, at the bottom of the stormy sea; not a single Olympian or mortal could see me there. So this is the guest in my house. I must repay her for saving my life: Honor the goddess, Kharita, I’ll go out now: I’ll only pick up the bellows and other shells.” Having tidied up the work equipment, Hephaestus wiped his face, hands and hairy chest with a sponge, got dressed and, limping and leaning on his staff, left the forge; he was supported by two servants, forged by him from gold - young, completely similar to living maidens, gifted with strength, intelligence and voice. Approaching Thetis, Hephaestus sat down next to her and, taking her hand, said to her: “Noble, dear goddess! What made you visit my house? You never visit us; tell me what your need is before me - I I will fulfill your desire, if I can and if it can be fulfilled."
And, bursting into tears, Thetis told Hephaestus about what had happened under the walls of Troy, and she asked him to make a shield and a helmet, greaves and armor for her son; the artisan god willingly agreed to make the armor and immediately set to work. He first made a huge and strong shield for Achilles: he made that shield out of five sheets, surrounded it with a triple shiny rim and attached a silver belt to it. In the middle of the shield, Hephaestus represented the earth, sea and sky with the stars, month and sun crowning it; He immediately imagined two cities: in one a wedding feast was taking place, and in one of the squares a people’s court was taking place - people, heralds and judges crowded around the litigants; another city was besieged by enemy armies - women, children and elders stood on the walls, and adult men gathered and lined up in ranks, ready to engage in a bloody battle with the enemies. In addition, Hephaestus depicted on the shield many pictures from peaceful rural life: a wide field, rich arable land plowed by oxen, a field on the day of harvest, a dense grape garden with jubilant young men and maidens gathering grapes, a herd of oxen being attacked by two thick-maned lions, a flock of sheep and a cheerful round dance. At the top of the shield, above all these images, Hephaestus represented the powerful force of the Ocean River. Having finished and decorated the shield, the artificer god crafted armor that shone brighter than the flame; He also made a heavy helmet with a golden crest and, finally, tin greaves. And when the cunning Olympian artist had finished all this armor, he took it and laid it on the ground in front of Thetis; She, picking up her shining armor, quickly rushed with them from Olympus silvered with snow to the camp of the Achaeans.
Ruddy-fingered Eos, bringing light to both immortals and mortals, emerged from the waves of the Ocean when Thetis came to her son: surrounded by a crowd of friends, he wept over the body of Patroclus. She placed in front of her son shining armor, such as no mortal had ever donned. The Myrmidons shuddered, blinded by the immense power of the brilliance, and could not look at the armor directly; Achilles, looking at them, became even more angry: his eyes sparkled with fire from under his frowning eyebrows. He joyfully took the shining armor in his hands, admired the gift of God for a long time, and when his heart was satisfied, he turned to his mother with the following speech: “A great miracle is your gift to me, I will immediately put on this armor and go into battle; one thing only confuses and It torments me - lest the flies penetrate into the deep wounds of the murdered Patroclus and breed worms in them: they will distort the image of the deceased, and then the body will quickly decay." And Thetis answered him: “Don’t worry about that, my son: I will take care of the body of your friend, I will drive away flies from him, and even if he lay for a year, his body will be unharmed - I will anoint him with ambrosia and nectar; Go and call the Achaean heroes to a meeting, make peace with Agamemnon and quickly take up arms for battle.”
Thetis brings Achilles armor forged by Hephaestus
Achilles quickly walked along the seashore and with a loud voice called the Achaeans to a meeting. Everyone hurried to the call of Peleus’s son, even those who had previously always remained at the courts went; came, leaning on spears, and Odysseus and Diomedes, suffering from wounds, and King Agamemnon, wounded by the spear of Koon Antenorida. And when the Achaeans came together and sat down, Achilles stood between them and began to speak: he repented of having entered into hostility with Agamemnon and allowed the enemies to take the lives of so many valiant Achaean warriors, he expressed his readiness to put an end to the hostility and immediately go into battle on the Trojans. Hearing such speeches from Pelidas, the Achaeans rejoiced; Agamemnon stood up from his seat and spoke thus before the whole assembly of the Achaeans: “Listen to my word, Danaan heroes, fearless servants of Ares! You often blamed me for starting enmity with the son of Peleus; but I am not guilty of this enmity - you created it Zeus and Moira, and Erinyes wandering in the darkness: they confused my mind on that ill-fated day when I stole the reward from Pelida. I paid dearly for my guilt! But now I am ready to make amends for it and atone for it at any cost, Valiant Achilles. go into battle; and as for the gifts, I will provide you with everything that Odysseus told you about yesterday. If you want, my servants will immediately bring you gifts from my ships: I will not stand behind anything.” Achilles answered him: “Son of Atreus, glorious leader Agamemnon! Whether you give me the gifts of reconciliation or withhold them, it is your will. Now, without delay, let us think about the battle: a great deed has not yet been accomplished, much is not yet ready for battle. What should we do? delay? Whoever wants to follow me, let him quickly prepare for battle: my heart draws me to quickly enter into battle with the sons of Troy! To this Odysseus objected: “No, Pelis, do not lead the hungry Achaeans into battle with the Trojans: the battle will not break out for a short time now; it is better for you to tell the Achaeans to strengthen their forces with bread and wine. Let Agamemnon present the gifts to the assembly of the people: let everyone see them and you yourself will delight your heart with them.”
Agamemnon willingly agreed to everything. The gifts of reconciliation were presented to the assembly of the people, and then taken to the tent of Achilles. Seven captive virgins were taken there, and with them Briseis. Seeing the body of Patroclus, Briseis sobbed loudly: he was her good friend and comforter in those days when she, orphaned, was taken from her native land to a distant foreign land. At that time, the Achaean elders came to Achilles and began to invite him to a feast prepared for him by King Agamemnon; but Achilles refused the feast, because he did not want to touch the food until he took revenge on the Trojans. Odysseus, both Atrides, Nestor, Idomeneo and Phoenix went with Achilles to his tent and tried to console the sad one; but as soon as the hero looked at the body of his murdered friend, grief again seized his heart and he began to sob again. Zeus was touched by the hero’s grief and sent Pallas to him - he ordered him to irrigate his chest with nectar and ambrosia, so that he would not be overcome by weakness in the upcoming battle, who was not refreshed with food.
Having had their fill of food, the Achaeans began to arm themselves and leave their tents and ships. Like thick wisps of snow driven by the wind, they rushed in countless crowds into the field; The shine from their armor and weapons rose to the skies, the shore thundered under their feet. At that time, the great Achilles was also armed and he burned with indescribable anger at the Trojans: he gnashed his teeth in anger, his menacing eyes glowed with fire and glowed. Having put on the shiny armor of Hephaestus, Achilles began to test them: did they fit him, did his limbs feel easy and free in them; and like wings they lifted the hero, giving him lightness and strength. He finally took his father’s spear - ash, huge, heavy; None of the Danaan heroes except Achilles could wield that spear. The centaur Chiron, to the detriment of the heroes, made that spear from an ash tree cut from the top of Pelion, and gave it to Achilles’ father Peleus. Meanwhile, Automedon and Alcimus harnessed the horses to a war chariot, Automedon, taking the reins in his hands, stood on the chariot; after him, Achilles jumped up, his armor shining like the sun, and in a loud, menacing voice shouted at the fast horses: “My Xanthos and Balius! Try to safely deliver the riders back when we are satisfied with the battle; do not leave me, like Patroclus, dead on the battlefield.” ". And then Achilles received a wondrous sign from Hera: bowing his head, touching the ground with his lush mane, the horse spoke and proclaimed the prophetic word: “Today we will carry you, Pelid, out of the living battle, but your last day is approaching! And then it will not be we who are to blame, but the powerful God and autocratic fate. Patroclus did not die from our slowness: he was struck down by the powerful Phoebus, who gave Hector the glory of victory. And you are destined to die at the hands of a powerful god and a mortal man.” So he preached and, at his last words, the Erinyes took his voice away. Gloomy and angry, Achilles turned to his faithful horse: “Why are you, my Xanth, prophesying death for me? I myself know that I am destined to die on a foreign land, far from my father’s home. But I will not give up, I will not leave the chariot until I will not take revenge on the Trojans!"
Thus spoke Achilles, and with a loud cry he urged on his fleet-footed horses.
Based on materials from the book by G. Stoll “Myths of Classical Antiquity”
Achilles (lat. Achilles) is one of the most striking and valiant characters in the ancient epics about the Trojan War. He was not just a hero and the son of the majestic King Peleus, but also half a god. He was given birth to the incredible beauty of Thetis, one of the goddesses of the sea. Prometheus predicted that the son of Thetis would become stronger and more powerful than his father. The gods were afraid of competition and gave Thetis in marriage to the Myrmidon king. They had a wonderful son, who was named Ligiron. But later he burned his lips with the flame of a fire and was nicknamed Achilles, “lipless.”
Achilles grew up to be a real hero, possessed superhuman capabilities and had enormous strength. But like all demigods, he did not have the gift of immortality.
Thetis loved her son very much and tried to make him immortal. She bathed him in the waters of the underground stormy river Styx, which flows through the world of the dead, rubbed him with the food of the gods - ambrosia and tempered him in healing fire. During these procedures, his mother held his heel. So he became practically invulnerable to enemy arrows and swords, but with the only dangerous place for himself - the fifth. This is where the expression “Achilles' heel” came from, as a symbol of special vulnerability. This is what they say about a person’s weakest point.
The hero's father was against the mother's rituals over her son. He insisted on placing Achilles in the care and education of the valiant centaur Chiron. Chiron fed the boy the entrails of boars, bears and lions, taught him the basics of medicine, warfare and even singing.
Achilles grew up to be a fearless and skillful young man, but when the Trojan War began, he was only fifteen years old. The priest Kalkhant prophesied that Achilles would die in this war, but would bring victory to the Greeks. Thetis was afraid to send her son to certain death, and hid him in the palace of King Lycomedes, dressing him in a girl’s dress.
At this time, the cunning Greeks sent the wise Odysseus, disguised as a merchant, to find Achilles. Odysseus invited the palace young ladies to see his goods. Among the many decorations, a sword was also offered. While all the girls were admiring the jewelry, an alarm suddenly sounded. In fright, the court ladies fled, and only one grabbed a sword and took a fighting stance. It was Achilles! He gave himself away, and he still had to go to war. He was a very brave, dexterous, strong warrior and relied only on his skills. Achilles knew that he had a short life ahead and tried to live in such a way that the glory of his valor would reach his descendants. On the way to Troy, on the island of Tenedos, he defeated the local king. And already under the walls of Troy, in the very first battle he killed Cycnus, the Trojan hero.
There was a period when, during the Trojan military campaign, Achilles stopped fighting. The reason for this was Agamemnon, who took the Trojan princess Briseis from him. It was given to Achilles as a reward, as an honorary trophy. After Achilles refused to fight, the Greeks began to noticeably lose. Achilles returned to the battlefield only when his friend Patroclus, who had donned the armor of Achilles, fell in battle at the hands of the Trojan prince Hector. The hero vowed to avenge his friend and did so.
In new battle armor created by the god Hephaestus, Achilles mercilessly defeats many opponents, including Hector. He kept the body for twelve days, and only Thetis was able to convince him to return the remains to the relatives of the deceased.
Achilles himself died from Apollo’s arrow, which hit him in the very heel that was unprotected by Thetis’ spells. Some myths say that his ashes are buried at Cape Sigei, near the tomb of Patroclus, and the soul of the hero is on the island of Levka. In other stories, his mother took his body. In fact, where exactly the ancient hero Achilles rests for many centuries is unknown. Only tales of his legendary military exploits have survived to this day.
With a loud cry of joy, Hector tore the armor from the lifeless body and quickly left to put it on. Rumors about the death of Patroclus quickly spread throughout the Greek camp and reached the ears of Achilles, who, upon learning that his beloved friend, who had recently left him full of strength and energy, was no more, began to sob with grief. His sobs were so loud that Thetis heard them in the depths of the ocean and hurried to her son to find out what was the matter.
Achilles told his mother about his grief, and she tried to convince him to do something safer than war. But all her efforts were in vain, for Achilles’ soul yearned for revenge, and he never tired of repeating that he would certainly take revenge on the murderer of his friend.
...For even my heart does not tell me
To live and be human in society, if Hector,
The first one struck by my spear will not spew out his soul
And he won’t pay me for the robbery of my dear Patroclus!
Armor of Achilles
Then suddenly, afraid that Hector would be killed by someone else or that he would no longer appear on the battlefield and thereby escape his revenge, Achilles almost jumped out of the tent without armor, but his mother convinced him to wait until the morning. She promised to bring him new armor, made by the hand of Vulcan himself. Without thinking twice, she was transported from the shores of Asia Minor to Mount Etna, where Vulcan’s forge was located.
God, covered with sweat, is found in labors, before the wineskins,
Rotating rapidly: twenty tripods suddenly he worked,
Place the utensils against the wall of your splendid home.
Appearing before him, Thetis stated her request, and the god of fire promised her that the armor would be ready by morning, and immediately set to work. His skillful hands forged wonderful armor, and when dawn broke over the horizon, he gave it to Thetis, who hurried to her son’s tent, where she found him still mourning the death of Patroclus.
While Thetis was away, messengers came to Achilles, who informed him that the body of his friend was still in the hands of the enemy, and begged him to rescue the corpse dear to his heart from captivity. Remembering the promise made to his mother, Achilles refused to join the battle, but, climbing onto the rampart, he issued his mighty battle cry, from which the enemies trembled in horror. Then Ajax and Diomedes attacked them and, throwing back the Trojans, took possession of the body of Patroclus, which they respectfully carried to the tent of Achilles.
Hoping to console her son, Thetis showed him the luxurious armor that she had obtained for him, helped him put it on and told him to go and defeat the Trojans.
My son! Let's leave the dead, no matter how sad it is to our hearts,
Lie in peace; He was defeated by the will of the almighty gods.
Rise and accept, Peleion, magnificent armor from Hephaestus,
Marvelous, the likes of which never shone around a person.
Death of Hector
Putting on his armor, Achilles got into a chariot harnessed to his favorite horses, and the driver was Automedon, devoted to him, and rushed into battle. Seeing Hector, with whom he sought to fight, Achilles rushed towards him with a furious cry. Seeing the burning hatred burning in the eyes of Achilles, the Trojan hero began to run. Achilles pursued him, loudly mocking his cowardice. Finally Hector stopped and, with the mad courage of despair, attacked him.
The blows rained down like hail, a cloud of dust enveloped the fighters, and the warriors surrounding them heard only the dull sounds of blows and the metallic ringing of armor. Suddenly there was a loud scream, followed by silence. When the dust cleared, the Trojans, gathered on the ramparts, where they awaited the outcome of the battle in horror, saw how Achilles tore off the armor of their leader, tied his body to a chariot and rode nine times around the city walls, while Hector’s proud head beat against the stones of the road. Priam, Hecuba and Andromache, Hector's wife, distraught with grief, looked at the desecration of the body of their beloved son and husband. Finally, Achilles drove up to the place where the funeral pyre of Patroclus was built, and threw the body of his killer nearby.
Achilles returned to his tent and mourned his friend for a long time, not listening to anyone’s consolations.
The gods in their heavenly abode also watched this heartbreaking scene, and Jupiter sent Iris to Thetis to tell Achilles’ mother to rush to her son and force him to give Hector’s body to the grief-stricken family. Jupiter also ordered Mercury to quietly bring Achilles Priam into the tent so that he would pick up the mutilated body of his son and take him home. Thetis, appearing in Achilles' tent, conveyed to him the order of Jupiter:
Listen to the word I proclaim to you from Zeus:
The gods, he says, are angry with you; he is the lord
Most indignant is that you, in a frenzy of anger
You hold Hector near the ships, not accepting ransom.
Give him over, Achilles, and accept atonement for the body.
Mercury appeared to Priam, led him through the Greek camp to the tent of Achilles, where the elderly king fell at the hero’s feet and began to beg him to give up his son’s body, promising a rich ransom for him.
Achilles, touched by the old man’s grief, could not refuse and gave up Hector’s body, proposing to conclude a truce for fourteen days so that both sides could bury their heroes with honor. The Iliad ends with a description of Hector's funeral.
Two weeks later the war resumed. An army of Amazons, led by Queen Penthesilea, arrived to help the Trojans. However, she died in the very first battle, struck by the hand of Achilles.
But he, too, was destined to die in the prime of his youth and beauty, since the goddesses of fate had almost finished spinning the thread of his life. In one of the skirmishes, while pursuing the Trojans, the son of Thetis noticed Polyxena, the daughter of Priam, and was struck by her maiden beauty. He tried to persuade both sides to end the war, hoping after peace was concluded to obtain her consent to the marriage.
Death of Achilles
However, all his efforts to make peace came to nothing. Nevertheless, he obtained Priam's consent to his engagement to Polyxena, with the condition that they would marry as soon as the war ended. The engagement ceremony took place outside the walls of the city, and when Achilles was about to part with his betrothed, Paris insidiously crept up from behind and shot a poisoned arrow at the hero’s heel. This is how Achilles died, having killed so many brave warriors in battle.
So Achilles, who destroyed so many,
Died from a wound in the heel.O.U. Holmes
Ulysses and Ajax started a heated dispute over the possession of his armor, forged by Vulcan himself. The armor went to Ulysses, and Ajax was so upset that he lost his mind and killed himself. Polyxena, unable to survive the death of her groom, committed suicide on his majestic tomb, built on the plain, spread out near the walls of Troy. According to another version, Polyxena was torn from the hands of Hecuba and sacrificed at the grave of Achilles by his son Pyrrhus.
Philoctetes
The oracle, silent for so long, predicted that Troy would not be able to be taken without the poisoned arrows of Hercules, which he left with Philoctetes. Ten years ago, this hero, along with everyone else, went to the walls of Troy, but, having received a wound in the leg, was left on the island of Lemnos. The wound greatly annoyed him and looked so disgusting that no one wanted to tolerate Philoctetes’ presence on the ship.
Ten long years have passed since then, and although a special detachment was sent in search of Philoctetes, there was very little hope of finding him. Nevertheless, when the Greeks reached the cave where they had left their comrade, they, to their amazement, saw that he was alive, although his wound had not healed. He existed by killing game that came within arm's reach of him.
He was his own neighbor, without legs.
He did not know a comrade in distress around him,
In whom would the groan emitted by the gnawing wound find a response,
Unhealed wounds
Whoever the blood pressure, hot stream
gushing from swollen veins
Weary leg, good potion
The desired force put him to sleep, lifting him up
From the bosom of the all-giving earth.Sophocles (Translated by F. Zelinsky)
Insulted by the fact that he was mercilessly thrown into a cave to certain death, Philoctetes did not want to succumb to any persuasion to go under the walls of Troy, until one day Hercules dreamed of him and ordered him to go there without delay, for Machaon, the son of Aesculapius, who was capable of heal his wound.
Death of Paris
The dream turned out to be prophetic. Philoctetes, having recovered from his wound, joined the Greek army and caused great commotion in the enemy camp with his poisoned arrows. One of these arrows hit Paris, the poison entered his blood, causing him incredible suffering. Paris remembered his first love, the nymph Oenone, who knew how to heal any wounds and illnesses. One day she told him that if he was wounded, he would have to send for her immediately. Paris ordered Oenone to be brought to him, but she, offended by the fact that he abandoned her for Helen and did not remember her existence until he needed it, refused to help him, and Paris died in terrible agony. As soon as he died, Oenone regretted her cruel decision and, when the flames of the funeral pyre engulfed his body, she threw herself into the fire and burned, clinging to her unfaithful lover.
Priam's two sons had already died, but Troy still resisted. Now the oracle predicted to the Greeks that it would not be possible to take possession of it as long as the Palladium - the sacred statue of Minerva, which was said to have fallen straight from the sky - stood in the city temple. Then Ulysses and Diomedes, disguised, entered the city at night and, after many adventures, brought the precious statue to the Greek camp.
Achilles pursued the god Apollo for a long time. Finally, the arrow god stopped and revealed to Achilles who he was pursuing. Anger took possession of Achilles. How gladly would he take revenge on Apollo if he could! The son of Peleus abandoned the pursuit and again rushed to the walls of Troy. Achilles rushed across the field towards the walls of Troy, like a sparkling star, that star that burns brightly in the autumn sky. People call her Sirius, she promises misfortune to mortals. Elder Priam saw Achilles approaching the walls of Troy and in fear began to pray to Hector:
O my beloved son! Come into the city quickly! Do not fight the son of Peleus, he is more powerful than you! Enter Troy! After all, in you lies all the hope for the salvation of all Trojans and Trojan women. Think how many of my sons Achilles killed. At least have pity on me, an unfortunate old man. Zeus sent me terrible troubles at the end of my life. I must see the death of my sons, see how my daughters will be taken into captivity, how innocent babies will be killed. I myself will be killed on the threshold of my house, and those dogs that I myself have fed will lick my blood. Have pity on me, Hector!
His mother, the elderly Hecabe, also begged Hector to take refuge in Troy. She reminded her son how she fed him as a child, how she caressed him. Will Hector really be killed before her eyes and neither she nor Andromache will mourn him, and his corpse will be torn to pieces by dogs near the ships of the Myrmidons?
But Hector firmly decided to wait for Achilles; leaning his shield on the ledge of the tower, he waited for his doctor. Hector could not avoid a fight with Achilles. The son of Priam was afraid that the Trojans would accuse him of destroying Troy, relying on his own strength. After all, Polydamas advised him to take refuge with his army in Troy before Achilles entered the battle. Now only one thing remains for Hector - to engage in battle with Achilles and either win or die. Hector also had the following thought: to meet Achilles halfway without weapons and promise him to return the beautiful Helen and all the treasures stolen from Menelaus, and with them to give half of all the riches of the great Troy. Hector immediately rejected this idea. He knew that Achilles would not enter into an agreement with him, that he would kill him unarmed, like a powerless woman.
Achilles was getting closer and closer. Fear took hold of Hector, and he set off to flee from the formidable son of Peleus around Troy. Behind him, like a hawk chasing a weak dove, stormy Achilles rushed. The heroes ran around Troy three times.
The heroes rushed in a stormy run. Several times Hector wanted to take cover against the wall to give the Trojans the opportunity to repel the son of Peleus with arrows, but Achilles did not let him near the wall. The great Achilles would have overtaken the son of Priam long ago if the god Apollo had not breathed strength into Hector. When the heroes ran past the keys of Scamander for the fourth time, the thunder god threw two lots of death onto the golden scales, one for Achilles, the other for Hector. Hector's lot fell to the kingdom of gloomy Hades. The god Apollo left Hector, and the goddess Pallas Athena approached Achilles. She ordered the hero to stop and promised him victory over Hector. The goddess herself, taking the form of Hector’s brother, Deiphobus, appeared to Hector. She convinced him to fight the son of Peleus, promising to help. Hector stopped. The heroes came together. Hector was the first to exclaim:
I will no longer, son of Peleus, seek salvation in flight! Let us fight and see whether you will kill me or whether I will win. But let us call the gods as witnesses before the battle! I promise not to dishonor your body if the Thunderer gives me victory. Fulfill this agreement too.
But Achilles answered him menacingly:
No! Do not offer me treaties, hated enemy! Just as an agreement is impossible between a lion and people or between wolves and sheep, so it is impossible between us. No! Gather your strength, remember all your skill in military affairs. There is no salvation for you! You will pay me for the blood you shed of my friend Patroclus and my other friends you killed.
With a mighty hand, Achilles threw his spear at Hector. Hector fell to the ground and thereby avoided the fatal blow. Pallas Athena quickly grabbed the spear of Achilles and handed it back to the hero. Hector hit the middle of Achilles' shield with his spear. But, like a light cane, the spear bounced off the shield forged by the god Hephaestus. Hector had no other spear. He lowered his eyes and loudly began to call Deiphobus for help. But he was no longer there. Hector realized that Pallas Athena had deceived him, and he realized that he was destined to die. Drawing his sword, Hector rushed at Achilles. He rushed at Hector and Achilles; With a mighty hand he struck him in the neck with a spear. Hector fell to the ground, mortally wounded. He could only say a few more words to the triumphant Achilles:
I conjure you, Achilles, with your life and your family, do not give my body to be torn to pieces by the Myrmidon dogs, return my body to my father and mother, for it they will give an incalculable ransom.
No! In vain you, despicable dog, beg me! - Achilles answered. “I would have torn your body apart myself if I had submitted to the anger burning within me.” No one will drive the dogs away from your body, even if they offered me the most magnificent, rich gifts for this, even if they gave me as much gold as you weigh. Priam and Hecabe will never mourn your corpse!
Oh, I knew you wouldn't be moved by my plea. There is an iron heart in your chest. But fear the wrath of the gods! It will happen to you too! Paris will strike you down with an arrow with the help of the god Apollo at the Scaean Gate.
Hector died with these words. His soul flew off, lamenting his bitter fate, into the kingdom of gloomy Hades.
Achilles summoned all the Greeks to celebrate his victory. They marveled at the mighty height and beauty of Hector stretched out on the ground. Each of those who approached pierced Hector’s corpse with a spear. Now it was easy to hit him; It was not so at the time when Hector set fire to the Greek ships.
The triumphant Achilles planned a terrible deed. Having pierced the tendons in Hector’s legs, he threaded a strong belt through the tendons and tied the corpse by the legs to the chariot. He jumped on it, raising high the armor taken from Hector, and drove the horses across the field. Hector's body was dragging along the ground behind the chariot. Dust rose on the field. Hector’s beautiful head has turned black from the dust and is beating on the ground.
Hecuba saw from the walls of Troy how Achilles dishonored the corpse of her son. In grief she tears out her gray hair and beats herself in the chest, tearing off the coverlet. Priam weeps bitterly. He asks to be allowed into the field, he wants to beg the conqueror Achilles to take pity on him, the old man, to remember his father Peleus, an old man like himself. I heard the sorrowful cries of the Trojans and Andromache. In fear, she dropped the shuttle from her hands. Andromache ran to the walls and from there she saw the body of her husband dragging through the dust behind Achilles’ chariot. Hector's unfortunate wife fell senseless into the arms of the Trojan women. The precious veil, a gift from Aphrodite, fell from her, and her hair fell apart. When she came to her senses, she sobbed loudly. Now she has no one left in the world. Her beautiful son Astyanax was also orphaned. He will grow up an unhappy orphan; no one will protect him from insult. Inexpressible grief tore Andromache's heart. All the Trojan women wept loudly around her. The great defender of Troy died.
