The uncertain nature of Achilles is apparent in
the story of his birth. Both ZEUS and
POSEIDON wanted to have a son by the beautiful
Thetis, but PROMETHEUS, the fire god, had
warned them that her offspring would be greater than
his father. Anxious to avoid the emergence of a power
superior to themselves, the gods carefully arranged
the marriage of Thetis to a mortal. Because she was
so attached to Achilles, Thetis tried to make him
immortal by various means. The best known was dipping
the new-born baby in the Styx, the river that ran
through HADES, the world of the dead. Since
Thetis had to hold him by the heel, this one spot was
left vulnerable and at Troy brought about Achilles'
death from a poisoned arrow shot from the bow of
PARIS.
Achilles learned the skills of warfare from CHIRON, leader of the CENTAURS, who also fed him on wild game to increase his ferocity. Under Chiron's care Achilles became renowned as a courageous fighter, but his immortal mother knew that he was doomed to die at Troy if he went on the expedition. So Thetis arranged for him to be disguised as a girl and hidden at the palace of King Lycomedes on the island of Scyros. The Greeks felt that without Achilles their chances of beating the Trojans were slim, but no one could identify the hidden hero. At last, cunning ODYSSEUS was sent to discover Achilles, which he did by means of a trick.
Having traced the young man to Scyros, Odysseus placed weapons among some jewelry in the palace. While Achilles' female companions were admiring the craftsmanship of the jewels, a call to arms was sounded and the warrior reached for the weapons, giving himself away. Unmasked, Achillles had no choice but to sail for Troy.
There he bitterly quarrelled with Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks. It may be thatangered by Agamemnon's use of his name to bring IPHIGENIA to Aulis, for she had been told she was to marry Achilles, whereas Agamemnon intended to sacrifice her to the goddess ARTEMIS, to ensure a fovorable wind for the Greek fleet. For a long time Achilles stayed in his tent and refused to fight the Trojans. He even persuaded his mother to use her influence with Zeus to let the tide of war go against the Greeks. But Achilles was roused to action by the death of Patroclus, his squire and lover, at the hands of the Trojan HECTOR. Patroclus had borrowed Achilles' armor, which had been forged by the smith god HEPHAISTOS, and entered the fray, but he came up against Hector who easily defeated him.
Back in the fight, Achilles struck fear into the Trojans, of whom he killed hundreds. But his own life was coming to an end, which he had been warned about by his steed XANTHUS, before the FURIES struck the divine creature dumb. An arrow from the bow of Paris, guided by the god of prophecy APOLLO, gave Achilles a mortal wound. Heroic yet also arrogant, Achilles was the mythical figure most admired by Alexander the Great. Asian campaign against the Persians, the youthful Alexander participated in funeral games that were held at Troy in memory of Achilles.