ELA - 10A - Greek Mythology Blog: Hi, My Name Is Achilles

ACHILLES

Hi, my name is Achilles and you all might know me as being the greatest warrior and hero that ever lived in Greece. My Roman name is Akhilleus and if you write it in Greek it would be "Ἀχιλλεύς". You may know much other facts about me such as me being the most handsome Greek warrior and being the hero of the Trojan War.

I was born in mortal Farsala, Thessaly. My father was the mortal Peleus, king of the Myrmidons and the sea nymph Thetis.

Many people know some characteristics of me such as being invunerable in any part of my body except my heel. The reason for this is that when I was little, my mother dipped me in the river Styx. Nevertheless, she forgot to uncover my heel from where she was holding me so that part kept forever unprotected.

People also say that I held a love relationship with my cousin Patroclus. He, was killed by the Trojan Prince Hector. In my hatred and revenge I went to seek Hector out and held with him an epic one-to-one man battle in the outsides of Troy. I defeated him and tied his body to a chariot and dragged him around the city for nine days. Along with this, many people say that I was a ruthless and hateful person. I completely deny this since I gave back Hector's body to his father, Priam, in a demostration of mercy.

Then, the Trojan War continued and with the help of Odysseus' Trojan Horse, we invaded the city and took it over. Nevertheless, Hector's brother, the coward Paris, shot me with an arrow exactly in my heel. There, in the middle of Troy, I died.

Although I died, my legacy is remebered forever mainly due to a book that was written describing my wrath: my adventures and problems. This book was the "Illiad" written by Homer where he also includes my interactions and troubles with the gods such as Aphrodite and Apollo.