What was Achilles, the Greek hero, most known for? What were the main points in his life?

Answer 1

Once again, Yahoo! Answers provides great entertainment in the form of patent ignorance, sophistry and bad grammar passed off as intelligent responses.

dunnowhat101: The movie "Troy" was not an historically accurate accounting of the Trojan War. There's a lot more Hollywood-unfriendly things for which Achilles was known.

Li S : "Weak" is the antonym of "strong"; "week" is about how long you've been literate.

jaske: That may be the most useless Web link ever posted to a question that actually kind of answered the question. Congratulations!

William G: Except for that arrow in the heel from Paris.

devora k: So close, but oh, so confused. And the bit about being "dipped completely ... however it was his heel that did not get into the potion" is pretty amusing, along the lines of "They're the same thing, only different."

G: You can't be 1/2 mortal, the same way you can't be a little pregnant or a little dead. You're either immortal or you're mortal. You can, however, be the son of an immortal and a mortal, which makes you a mortal, as even the most cursory of reviews of Greek mythology would have revealed.

Also, had Achilles had a "heal," he might have survived the wound to his "heel." It was also common for Greeks of that era to be homosexuals and pederasts, but you act as though it's shocking. (That's why "Greek" is a euphemism for "anal sex.")

bluefish787: Again, had Achilles been able to "heal," his "heel" injury wouldn't have been fatal. It makes you look foolish if you can't keep homonyms straight. And it never ceases to crack me up to read someone exhast the two or three facts they have on something, then write "just do a search."

If a simple Web search would answer the question better than you can, why are you bothering to answer the question? Speak to improve the silence, to paraphrase the Spanish proverb.

bribri75: If you're going to be lazy, just post the link to the Wikipedia article, not the first 500 words or so of an article. And cite your sources. In the unlikely event you ever have an original thought, I'm sure you're like to be credited for it; have the courtesy to do the same for others.

mony: Functionally illiterate and uninformed. Nicely done!

lura89 gets a big thumbs-up for a decent one-sentence executive summary; it's the best answer by far.

And waggy gets the thumbs-up for a decent, high-school-essay-length cribbing of the Wikipedia article; unfortunately, if the questioner just copies and pastes that answer into this questioner's homework assignment, and the teacher has any wit whatsoever, the fact that it's plagiarized would probably shine. Otherwise, expect a B.

Answer 2

The myth goes that when he was a baby, his mother dipped him in an immortality potion. His whole body was dipped in, except for his heel because his mother was holding him by the heel. So, as he grew older, he became a warrior and no matter what, he couldn't die from wouds, because he wouldn't get any. But, an other warrior found his weak spot, his heel, and shot an arrow there. Achilles died and the term "Achilles' heel" means a weak spot or a weak point.

Answer 3

He was the central character in Homer's 'Iliad'
The 'most handsome' warrior at Troy
His relationship with Patroclus - sometimes characterised as deep friendship or love.
The son of the mortal Peleus, king of the Myrmidons in Phthia and the sea nymph Thetis.
Alledgedly she tried to make him immortal by dipping him in the river Styx, but held onto his heels for safe keeping - thus being his only mortal part and the phrase 'Achilles heel' someone's point of vunrability!
The death of his friend Patroclus at the hands of Priam's son Hector led to Achilles' rage and desire for vengance.
A minor mirror of this is his love for Nestor's son Antilochus. When Memnon of Ethiopia killed Antilochus, Achilles is once again drawn out onto the battlefield to seek revenge.
As predicted by Hector with his dying breath, Achilles was killed by Paris — either by an arrow (to the heel according to Statius), or in an older version by a knife to the back while visiting Polyxena, a princess of Troy.

Answer 4

When Achilles was born, he was dipped into the river Styx and annointed invincable . . . except for his heal which his mother held onto as she dipped him head first into the river. So, no harm could come to him, but he was struck in the heal with an arrow and died. This was the one part of his body that was not protected. This is where we have the phrase "Achilles Heal", meaning a weak spot.

He was the son of a mortal and a sea nymph. He is a central character in Homer's the Illiad. He battled in the Trojan war.

Just do a search of his name, I am sure there are tons of websites with detailed information.

Answer 5

In Greek mythology, Achilles, also Akhilleus or Achilleus (Ancient Greek Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the central character and greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad, which takes for its theme, not the War of Troy in its entirety, but specifically the Wrath of Achilles.

He is known for being the most 'handsome' of the heroes assembled at Troy,[1] as well as the fleetest. Central to his myth is his relationship with Patroclus, characterized in different sources as deep friendship or love.

Achilles was the son of the mortal Peleus, king of the Myrmidons in Phthia (southeast Thessaly), and the sea nymph Thetis. Zeus and Poseidon had been rivals for the hand of Thetis until Prometheus the fire-bringer prophesied that Thetis would bear a son greater than his father. For this reason, the two gods withdrew their pursuit, and had her wed to Peleus.[2]

As with most mythology there is a tale which offers an alternate version of the above events. The tale goes that Zeus tried to have an affair with Thetis, but Thetis was so loyal to Hera that she coldly rejected him. Zeus was furious and decreed that she would never marry an immortal. So Hera recommended that she marry Peleus, as he was as near to an immortal as she was ever going to get.

According to the incomplete poem "Achilleis", written by Statius in the first century AD, and to no other sources, when Achilles was born Thetis tried to make him immortal by dipping him in the river Styx. However, she forgot to wet the heel she held him by, leaving him vulnerable at that spot. (See Achilles' heel, Achilles' tendon.) It is not clear if this version of events was known earlier. In another version of this story, Thetis anointed the boy in ambrosia and put him on top of a fire to burn away the mortal parts of his body. She was interrupted by Peleus and abandoned both father and son in a rage.[3]

However all other sources (before Statius) don't make any reference to this invulnerability. The same Homer in the Iliad, to the contrary, mentions Achilles being wounded. (In Book 21 the Paeonian hero Asteropaeus, son of Pelegon, challenged Achilles by the river Scamander. He cast two spears at once, one grazed Achilles' elbow, "drawing a spurt of blood.") Also in the greek poems in which we can find description of the hero's death, Kùpria (unknown author), Aithiopis by Arctinus of Miletus, Ilias Mikrà by Lesche of Mytilene, Iliou pèrsis by Arctinus of Miletus, there is no trace of any reference to his invulnerability or his famous heel; and in the pictures of that age presenting Achilles' death the arrow (in many cases arrows) hit him on the body.

Peleus entrusted Achilles to Chiron the Centaur, on Mt. Pelion, to be raised

Answer 6

His mother took him when he was a baby to a witch so he would be invincible she dipped him completely in this potion so it mwould be however it was his heel that did not get into the potion and it was so tender he could only wear a sandle He killed Hector who was Paris's brother and then Paris shot an arrow at his heel and killed him

Answer 7

he is actually known mostly for his downfall -- he was the child of a king and a sea nymph. so he was 1/2 mortal and his weak spot was his heal -- which he was killed by an arrow from a guy named paris. he defeated hector and claimed the city of troy in the book the illiad. he was major gay and had at least three boyfriends a lot younger than him. one was his cousin. wikipedia can handle it better than i can -- have fun --

Answer 8

What Is Achilles Known For

Answer 9

For helping the spartans defeat the trojans.
He was a magnificent fighter - undefeated.

Answer 10

He is most famous for his one weakness, his heel.