Did Achilles really exist?

Question

did achilles or someone like achilles really exist? obviously if he did he wasnt part god or invulnerable, but was he realy a great warrior?

Answer 1

Achilles was the son of the mortal Peleus, king of the Myrmidons in Troy (southeast Thessaly), and the immortal sea nymph Thetis. Zeus and Poseidon had been rivals for the hand of Thetis until Prometheus, the fire-bringer, warned Zeus of a prophecy 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.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.

Homer’s famous Iliad, written sometime around 800 B.C., was probably one of the greatest stories ever written and still considered a masterpiece. It centered on the siege of Troy, which until 1870 when the ruins were discovered, was believed to have been a mythical place. Until then, almost everyone thought the Iliad was fiction. Since Troy is now considered to have been a real place, the overwhelming consensus of archaeologists, what else about the Iliad could be factual? We cannot know for sure if Achilles or Hector really existed, or if they were indeed as powerful as Homer depicted.Good question for which I have no perfect answer but from what these early Greeks accomplished, and with their passionate beliefs in gods, goddesses, oracles and the muse, I suspect there is more truths to the Iliad and Greek mythology that modern man is willing to accept.

Answer 2

Did Achilles Exist

Answer 3

Just like your statement that we don't know if he really existed, and if he did, we could not know what kind of warrior he was, we can only rely on our instinct to believe or not, this part myth, part non fiction story.
Homer who wrote the story, actually two books, one of the war
with Troy called the Illiad, and the other of Odeseus, returning to his country,called thhe Odysey, which is believed to be an island called Ithaki,
Scientists have found remains of a city, that they believe may have been Troy, where the war took place, and Achilles being part of that war, was eventually slain as he was hit on the heel, that his only vonruable spot, and was killed by Paris, the person who stold the Queen Helena, and caused the war, as the Greeks went to get the beautiful Helena back.
Homer and many other Greek writers, of his time, used too much fiction mixed with facts, and You can make your own decision on what you believe. Achilles heel comes from this.
If I misspelled Odysey, no insult intended.
EDIT- Jita, you have your stories mixed up, Achilles heel, had nothing to do with birds, or women flying to others, but it should make a good story, but has no connection with this one.

Answer 4

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RE:
Did Achilles really exist?
did achilles or someone like achilles really exist? obviously if he did he wasnt part god or invulnerable, but was he realy a great warrior?

Answer 5

Nobody knows for sure. Many would agree that some person named Achilles probably did exist and was probably a great warrior in battle. His exact role in the war and history is widely debated of course, and very little can be proven about him.

Answer 6

achilles did indeed exist but the whole thing about him being invulnerable was a myth. he was strong and a good warrior, he happened to die by getting shot in the ankle, so people made up a legend about that being his only weakness, seeing as how it's uncommon to die from a shot to the ankle

Answer 7

I'm not a historian, but as far as I know the only historical reference to Achilles was in the epic poem The Illiad by Homer, which is considered by historians to be part fact and part fiction. It talks about the Trojan war (fact), but talks about the involvement of many gods (probably fiction). So to answer your question, he is probably a myth.

Answer 8

Yes, Achilles was a great greak warrior that was known for is brutality in war. He was the hero in the Trojan war. He was so great, people claimed he was a half god. He died when an arrow was shot threw his ankle (achilles tendon) and injured him so bad, someone killed him.

Answer 9

Achilles had a foot affliction that was meant to signify that as long as birds were being consumed on Earth there would be no ethical flying. Also there is more to the myth: the flight from one man to the other by women is not indicative of devotion, which is necessary for true flying. Hegar the witch threw a bird at his feet to show her anger at this truth. Also Achilles showed his fear of God in his quick running and his dislike of people thinking he was God because of his positive traits

Answer 10

Of course he existed, he would have been just very gifted enough to be special.
humans will always think of him forever, just like he wanted.

remember there was far fewer people then, which does affect things.
that brad pitt movie gets me in tears every time. be aware there are many scenes that
were cut out of the original release!

(mostly scenes of abusing priests haha, jews love to rip it out of god boys.)