Summary: The Legacy Of Achilles

Perhaps one of the most commonly known myths is that of Achilles. Knowledge about his strength and invulnerability, save for his heel, is something that is widespread and referenced about numerous times in today’s society. What many people may not know is that this legacy was made possible by the love that Achilles’ mother had for him. A sea nymph, Thetis was the object of Zeus’ affections. However, Prometheus foretold that Thetis’ child would be more powerful than their father and unable to accept this, Zeus arranged it so that Thetis would marry Peleus instead of having a relationship with her himself. It was from this union that Achilles was born and Thetis, also having been told that her child would die young, took it upon herself …show more content…
That is not something that is up for debate and not something that can typically be changed. People are born, they live their lives, grow old and then die. Thetis was not one to accept this fact. With each and every of her children, she tried to burn away their mortality and make them immortal, able to be with her forever. Although she ultimately ended up failing in her attempts, the fact remains that she was trying to change the natural order of things and keep her children with her for as long as time allowed. The love that she had for her children and her desire to keep them close overrode everything else in her life. Furthermore, Thetis was so single-minded in this endeavor that nothing was able to stop her from trying to achieve her goal. Peleus stopped her from using the same unsuccessful methods on Achilles at the last moment, but rather than giving up, Thetis then took him to the Styx and dipped him in the river. It is widely known that this was the method that worked; this is what made Achilles invulnerable. Through sheer determination and an unwillingness to give up on her endeavors, Thetis was able to change the nature of her child and in doing so, change the very way in which the world works. If one takes into consideration that the River Styx is also legendary and so would be quite difficult to locate and get close to, the feat that Thetis was able to achieve can be described as nothing less than incredible. Not only did she change the very fate of her child herself, but she was able to do so by using one of the most mythical and important parts of their culture. Despite being nothing more than a sea nymph, she made it possible to use the River Styx to her advantage and in doing so, made her mortal son almost as immortal and invulnerable as a God. Another show of how deep and powerful Thetis’ love for Achilles is can be found in The Iliad; more specifically, Book 18. It is in this poem that