Medusa Mythology Exam 2013
Achilles
Mr. Vader
Achilles, Almost Immortal, Disguised
as Girl, Destined
• Son of Peleus, an Argonaut, and Thetis, a Sea-Nymph
– Thetis aided many gods, including Zeus, himself
– Thetis was fated to give birth to a song, greater than his father
– Peleus, king of Phthia, Argonaut, and Participant in the Calydonian Boar Hunt
• Dipped by Thetis in River Styx or Fire, to immortalize, but failed, after
Peleus stopped her
• Raised by Chiron, the wise centaur
• Calchas prophesized that Troy could not be taken without him
• Fearing his fate at Troy, Thetis took him to Scyros and disguised him as a
girl among the king’s daughters
– Had son, Pyrrhus or Neoptalemus with Deidamia (king’s daughter)
– Found out by Odysseus, who blasted horn, the girls scared, he, not
• Another prophecy stated that he could have long, boring life or be famous,
but have a short life; he obviously chose the latter
Achilles, Preparing for War
• Volunteered for war, unlike many others, who
had to hold to the Oath of Tyndareus
• Unknowingly used as bait to get Iphigenia,
daughter of Agamemnon, to be human-sacrifice
• Killed King Tenes of Tenedos and thus was fated
to die by the hand of Apollo
• Achilles plunders much of the area, surrounding
Troy – Tenedos, Lesbos, Thebe, et cetera
Achilles in the Iliad
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Agamemnon took daughter of priest of Apollo as prize
This angers the priest and Apollo
Agamemnon finally agrees to give girl back, but claims Achilles’s prize in light of this (Briseis)
Achilles contemplated killing Agamemnon, but Athena stopped him
Achilles instead threatened to leave with his army
Patroclus, closest friend and cousin, and others convince Achilles to stay, but not fight
Thetis convinces Zeus to cause grief for Greeks due to Achilles’s mistreatment
Immortals allow Trojans, especially Hector, to push Greeks all the way back to the beaches
Seeing this, leaders convince Agamemnon that they need Achilles
Agamemnon offers Briseis and many other things, but Achilles refuses
Patroclus (with Achilles’s permission) returns to battle with Myrmidons
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Achilles in rage returns to battle with new armor made by Hephaestus himself, procured by Thetis
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Achilles kills many Trojans and even fights the river, Simois, killing Hector
Achilles holds funeral games in honor of Patroclus and gives out great prizes
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Patroclus killed with Achilles’s armor by Hector – Hector takes armor
Whenever overwhelmed, Achilles would drag Hector’s body around the city (the gods protect the body)
Priam, king of Troy, sneaks into Greek camp and begs Achilles’s for the body back
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Overwhelmed by a god, Achilles returns the body of Hector to Priam
Death of Achilles
• Not long after death of Hector (who foretold
Achilles’s own death), Achilles killed
– Shot in “heel” with a quiver by Paris, aided by
Apollo
• Odysseus meets Achilles in Underworld,
where he seems unhappy to be dead
– May have married Helen or Iphigenia in the
Underworld
Achilles, Names and Epithets
• Breaker of Horses
• Pyrrha (when disguised as girl)
• Peleides (son of Peleus)