Achilles Research Paper

As the ants go marching, so did Achilles and his army which is said to have morphed into great warriors from ants to serve Achilles grandfather Aiakos.(Achilles) The legend of Achilles is one of great battles and war. The purpose of this paper is to explore his strengths as well as his weaknesses. While Achilles fought and was undefeated in battle, his true weakness was not that of his undipped heel into the River Styx, but his loyalty to others. The legend of Achilles talks about a great warrior that was strong and courageous and extremely loyal. The myth also tells that he had one vulnerability which was his “Achilles heel.” (History) When Achilles was a baby his mother wanted to protect him by making him immortal. She would burn him every night and then rub him with ambrosial ointment. (History) She dunked his body into the River Styx that had waters that “conferred the invulnerability of the gods.” (History) She held onto his heel to dip him so his heel was the only part of him that was vulnerable. His one weakness. When he was 9 years old, there was a prediction that he would die as a hero in a great battle against the Trojans. The story of Achilles is about his battles in …show more content…
In the story of the Iliad (Greek Mythology) it does not explain what happened to Achilles. Other legends say that he returned to Troy after Hector’s funeral for more revenge. Apollo helped Hector’s brother Paris by telling him Achilles was coming and Paris hid and ambushed Achilles by shooting an arrow to place where Achilles was vulnerable which was his heel. Achilles died on the spot, still being the most fierce undefeated warrior. While stories say that Achilles died of his one weakness, his heel, he really died because of a series of events that began when he was loyal to his commander and gave up his wife. If he had not given her up and hid away in his tent, he would have continued the battle and won the war, so Achilles heel was his