Who did Achilles have an affair with?
While living as a woman, Achilles had an affair with Deidamia, a daughter of King Lykomedes. He impregnated her and she gave birth to a son named Neoptolemos. Neoptolemos was also known as “Pyrrhos,” which means “fiery,” on account of his flaming red hair. Eventually, the Greeks came to Skyros to recruit Achilles.
Was Achilles a real person?
The truth is, we do not know if Achilles was a real man or purely a myth. Roles and Responsibilities of Achilles He was said to be the greatest warrior of Homer’s Illiad. He killed Hector and dragged him in his chariot. Appearance and Personality of Achilles He was said to be supremely handsome and had supernatural strength.
Who was Achilles ' mother and father?
Like most mythological heroes, Achilles had a complicated family tree. His father was Peleus, the mortal king of the Myrmidons–a people who, according to legend, were extraordinarily fearless and skilled soldiers. His mother was Thetis, a Nereid.
Did Achilles' sons name?
'new warrior'), also called Pyrrhus (/ ˈ p ɪ r ə s /; Πύρρος, Pýrrhos, 'red', for his red hair), was the son of the warrior Achilles and the princess Deidamia, and brother of Oneiros in Greek mythology, and also the mythical progenitor of the ruling dynasty of the Molossians of ancient Epirus.
How many kids did Achilles have?
Hidden on Skyros With Lycomedes' daughter Deidamia, whom in the account of Statius he raped, Achilles there fathered two sons, Neoptolemus (also called Pyrrhus, after his father's possible alias) and Oneiros.
Did Achilles ever have a son?
Neoptolemus, in Greek legend, the son of Achilles, the hero of the Greek army at Troy, and of Deïdamia, daughter of King Lycomedes of Scyros; he was sometimes called Pyrrhus, meaning “Red-haired.” In the last year of the Trojan War the Greek hero Odysseus brought him to Troy after the Trojan seer Helenus had declared ...
Who was Achilles son?
His son Neoptolemus was sent into battle and, as Helenus foretold, the Greeks were able to capture Troy. The Aeneid reports that Neoptolemus killed Priam and many others in retribution for the death of Achilles. Neoptolemus survived the Trojan War and lived to marry three times.
Did Achilles have a family?
Like most mythological heroes, Achilles had a complicated family tree. His father was Peleus, the mortal king of the Myrmidons–a people who, according to legend, were extraordinarily fearless and skilled soldiers. His mother was Thetis, a Nereid.
Who did Achilles get pregnant?
Despite the fact that Achilles and Deidamia could have been as young as eight years old, the two soon became romantically involved to the point of intimacy. Achilles raped her, for which she forgave him, and she became pregnant.
Did Achilles have a male lover?
Did Achilles have a male lover? As a boy, Achilles develops a close relationship with another boy named Patroclus, who joins Achilles' household as an exile, having accidentally killed another child.
Who kills Achilles son?
There are two versions of Neoptolemus' death. One has it that he attempted to take Hermione from Orestes; the latter killed him. The other says that he denounced the god Apollo because it was him that had killed his father; and Apollo eventually killed Neoptolemus as well.
Did Achilles have a wife and child?
We know Achilles wasn't much of a family man. He spent much of his life out in the battlefields, and he never married or settled in any one place. Some stories even suggest he might have been gay. However, we do know that Achilles had one son, a boy named Pyrrhus Neoptolemus.
Did Achilles have a son ac3?
Achilles eventually married Abigail and fathered a son, Connor Davenport.
Who did Achilles love the most?
The idea that Patroclus and Achilles were lovers is quite old. Many Greco-Roman authors read their relationship as a romantic one—it was a common and accepted interpretation in the ancient world. We even have a fragment from a lost tragedy of Aeschylus, where Achilles speaks of his and Patroclus' “frequent kisses.”
Did Achilles love his wife?
Even though she was a war prize, Achilles and Briseis fell in love with each other, and Achilles may have gone to Troy intending to spend much time in his tent with her, as was portrayed in the movie.
Is Achilles a twin?
Patroclus and Achilles are not twins, however much their story is viewed through the prism of Nestor's twin myth. The category of “intelligence” illustrates the limits of the twin myth as a paradigm for this pair of Iliadic comrades.
Did Achilles have a wife and child?
We know Achilles wasn't much of a family man. He spent much of his life out in the battlefields, and he never married or settled in any one place. Some stories even suggest he might have been gay. However, we do know that Achilles had one son, a boy named Pyrrhus Neoptolemus.
Who was the mother of Achilles son?
ThetisPeleusAchilles/Parents
What happened to Achilles as a baby?
Another non-Homeric episode relates that Thetis dipped Achilles as a child in the waters of the River Styx, by which means he became invulnerable, except for the part of his heel by which she held him—the proverbial “Achilles' heel.”
Who kills Achilles son?
There are two versions of Neoptolemus' death. One has it that he attempted to take Hermione from Orestes; the latter killed him. The other says that he denounced the god Apollo because it was him that had killed his father; and Apollo eventually killed Neoptolemus as well.
How many ships did Achilles have?
According to the Iliad, Achilles arrived at Troy with 50 ships, each carrying 50 Myrmidons. He appointed five leaders (each leader commanding 500 Myrmidons): Menesthius, Eudorus, Peisander, Phoenix and Alcimedon.
Who was Achilles in Greek mythology?
In Greek mythology, Achilles ( / əˈkɪliːz / ə-KIL-eez) or Achilleus ( Ancient Greek: Ἀχιλλεύς, [a.kʰilˈleu̯s]) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and is the central character of Homer 's Iliad.
How did Thetis make Achilles immortal?
According to the Achilleid, written by Statius in the 1st century AD, and to non-surviving previous sources, when Achilles was born Thetis tried to make him immortal by dipping him in the river Styx; however, he was left vulnerable at the part of the body by which she held him: his left heel (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 in order to burn away the mortal parts of his body. She was interrupted by Peleus and abandoned both father and son in a rage.
What is the Greek name for Achilles?
In Greek mythology, Achilles ( / əˈkɪliːz / ə-KIL-eez; Latin: [äˈkʰɪlːʲeːs̠]) or Achilleus ( Ancient Greek: Ἀχιλλεύς, romanized : Akhilleús, [a.kʰil.lěu̯s]) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and is the central character of Homer 's Iliad. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, king of Phthia .
Why did Thetis hide Achilles?
Some post-Homeric sources claim that in order to keep Achilles safe from the war, Thetis (or, in some versions, Peleus) hid the young man at the court of Lycomedes, king of Skyros. There, Achilles was disguised as a girl and lived among Lycomedes' daughters, perhaps under the name "Pyrrha" (the red-haired girl).
Why was Achilles invulnerable?
Later legends (beginning with Statius ' unfinished epic Achilleid, written in the 1st century AD) state that Achilles was invulnerable in all of his body except for one heel, because when his mother Thetis dipped him in the river Styx as an infant, she held him by one of his heels.
Why did Telephus ask Achilles to heal his wound?
According to other reports in Euripides ' lost play about Telephus, he went to Aulis pretending to be a beggar and asked Achilles to heal his wound. Achilles refused, claiming to have no medical knowledge. Alternatively, Telephus held Orestes for ransom, the ransom being Achilles' aid in healing the wound. Odysseus reasoned that the spear had inflicted the wound; therefore, the spear must be able to heal it. Pieces of the spear were scraped off onto the wound and Telephus was healed.
Who is Achilles' son?
PYRRHUS - SON OF ACHILLES. Pyrrhus, or Neoptolemus, was Achilles' only son. His mother is Deidamea, the daughter of the king of Scyros. Pyrrhus fought in Troy and killed ruthlessly. He killed King Priam, his daughter Polyxena, and Hector's son Astyanax.
Who is the father of Achilles?
PELEUS - FATHER OF ACHILLES. Peleus was the father of Achilles. He was the son of Aeacus, who was the King of Aegina. Once, Peleus and his brother, Telamon, killed their half-brother Phocus before fleeing to Phtia, where Eurytion purified Peleus for killing him.
Where did Peleus flee to?
He fled to Iolcus, where the king Acastus purified him of the second murder. Astydameia, Acastus' wife, caused Peleus a lot of trouble. She fell in love with him, but he refused her, and she became very angry. She told Antigone that Peleus would marry Acastus' daughter, and that caused Antigone to hang herself.
Who gave Peleus his sword back?
He would have been killed, but Chiron, one of the Centaurs, gave Peleus his sword back. Peleus 'repulsed the attack' and got revenge, attacking and robbing Iolcus. He also killed Astydameia, dismembering her body and marching his army between the pieces. Peleus then married Thetis, and they had a son - Achilles.
Who was the daughter of Nereus?
Thetis was one of 50 Nereids- the daughters of the sea-god Nereus and sea-goddess Doris. Zeus desired her, but she rejected him. Themis, a goddess, revealed that Tetis would have a son more powerful than his father. Afraid of being controlled, Zeus gave Thetis as a bride to Peleus, and all the gods attended their wedding. Thetis had one son, Achilles, whom she attempted to make immortal by dipping him in the river Styx.
Who did Zeus give Thetis as a bride to?
Afraid of being controlled, Zeus gave Thetis as a bride to Peleus, and all the gods attended their wedding. Thetis had one son, Achilles, whom she attempted to make immortal by dipping him in the river Styx.
Who was Achilles' father?
Like most mythological heroes, Achilles had a complicated family tree. His father was Peleus, the mortal king of the Myrmidons–a people who, according to legend, were extraordinarily fearless and skilled soldiers. His mother was Thetis, a Nereid.
What is the story of Achilles?
Achilles: The Trojan War. Achilles: The Illiad. Achilles: The Fate of Achilles. The warrior Achilles is one of the great heroes of Greek mythology. According to legend, Achilles was extraordinarily strong, courageous and loyal, but he had one vulnerability–his “Achilles heel.”. Homer’s epic poem The Iliad tells the story ...
How did Apollo punish the Greek army?
Enraged, Apollo punished the Greek armies by sending a plague to kill the soldiers one by one. As his ranks thinned, Agamemnon finally agreed to allow Chryseis to return to her father. However, he demanded a replacement concubine in exchange: Achilles’ wife, the Trojan princess Breseis.
Where did Achilles bury Hector?
Hector had begged for an honorable burial in Troy, but Achilles was determined to humiliate his enemy even in death. He dragged Hector’s body behind his chariot all the way back to the Achaean camp and tossed it on the garbage heap. However, in the poem’s last section Achilles finally relents: He returns Hector’s body to his father for a proper burial.
What does Achilles heel mean?
Did you know? Today, we use the phrase “Achilles heel” to describe a powerful person’s fatal weakness.
Why did Apollo return to Troy?
According to later legends (and bits and pieces of Homer’s own Odyssey), the warrior returned to Troy after Hector’s funeral to exact further revenge for Patroclus’ death. However, the still-vengeful Apollo told Hector’s brother Paris that Achilles was coming.
When did Homer write the Iliad?
When Homer wrote the Iliad in about 720 BCE, however, readers and listeners would not have known any of this. They only knew that Achilles was a great hero, that he had superhuman strength and courage and that he was supremely handsome. Homer painted a more nuanced picture: In addition to these qualities, his Achilles was vengeful and quick to anger and could be petulant when he did not get his way. He was also deeply loyal and would sacrifice anything for his friends and family.
Who is Achilles' mother?
In a non-Homeric version of the story, Achilles' mother Thetis foretold many years before Achilles' birth that there would be a great war.
Who was the Greeks' response to the prophecy?
In response to the prophecy, the Greeks took steps to retrieve the arrows of Heracles and bring Neoptolemos to Troy. Odysseus was sent to retrieve Neoptolemos, then a mere teenager, from Scyros. The two then went to Lemnos to retrieve Philoctetes. Years earlier, on the way to Troy, Philoctetes was bitten by a snake on Chryse Island. Agamemnon had advised that he be left behind because the wound was festering and smelled bad. This retrieval is the plot of Philoctetes, a play by Sophocles. Euripides, in his play Hekabe (also known as Hecuba ), has a moving scene (ll 566–575) which shows Neoptolemos as a compassionate young man who kills Polyxena, Hekabe's daughter with ambivalent feelings and in the least painful way.
Who begat Amphialus?
NEOPTOLEMUS Neoptolemus, son of Achilles and Deidamia, begat Amphialus by captive Andromache, daughter of Ēëtion. But after he heard that Hermione his betrothed had been given to Orestes in marriage, he went to Lacedaemon and demanded her from Menelaus.
How many men did Neoptolemos kill?
Neoptolemos was held by some to be brutal. He killed six men on the field of battle. During and after the war, he killed Priam, Eurypylus, Polyxena, Polites and Astyanax (Hector and Andromache's infant son) among others, captured Helenos, and made Andromache, then a widow, his concubine.
Who is Achilles' son?
In most stories, Achilles’s son Neoptolemos is portrayed as an exceptionally brutal warrior. He is often credited with the killing of Hektor’s infant son Astyanax. In Greek vase paintings, Neoptolemos is often portrayed bludgeoning King Priamos of Troy (Hektor’s father) to death with Astyanax’s corpse. In other portrayals, however, Neoptolemos is portrayed as noble and even caring, such as in Sophokles’s tragedy Philoktetes.
What is the oldest surviving account of Achilles and Patroclus?
When it comes to Achilles and Patroclus, the obvious place to start is Homer’s epic poem the Iliad. It is the oldest surviving, most definitive account of their lives, as well as the source material that most of the later interpretations and representations were based on. It is the gold standard when it comes to the mythology of Achilles and Patroclus.
What does the Iliad say about Achilles and Patroclus?
So what does the Iliad say? Simply put, it says they are incredibly close companions. It does not state or, as far as I can tell, even imply that Achilles and Patroclus are lovers. But don’t take my word for it. Here are a couple moments and quotes that proponents of the “lover” argument often cite:
What happened to Achilles in Cypria?
In Cypria, Achilles sails to Scyros after a failed expedition to Troy, marries princess Deidamia and has Neoptolemus, until Achilles is called to arms again.In a non-Homeric version of the story, Achilles' mother Thetis foretold many years before Achilles' birth that there would be a great war. She saw that her only son was to die if he fought in the war. She sought a place for him to avoid fighting in the Trojan War, disguising him as a woman in the court of Lycomedes, the king of Scyros. During that time, he had an affair with the princess, Deidamea, who then gave birth to Neoptolemos. In a non-Homeric version of the story, Achilles' mother Thetis foretold many years before Achilles' birth that there would be a great war. She saw that her only son was to die if he fought in the war. She sought a place for him to avoid fighting in the Trojan War, disguising him as a woman in the court of Lycomedes, the king of Scyros. During that time, he had an affair with the princess, Deidamea, who then gave birth to Neoptolemos.
What does Patroclus say to Achilles?
Patroclus returns as a ghost and has one final conversation with Achilles: “A last request - grant it, please. Never bury my bones apart from yours, Achilles, let them lie together…So now let a single urn, the gold two-handed urn your noble mother gave you, hold our bones - together.” Book 23.
Why did the Greeks come to Skyros?
Eventually, the Greeks came to Skyros to recruit Achilles. Achilles apparently made a very convincing wo
Who holds the funeral of Patroclus?
Later, Achilles holds an elaborate and emotional funeral ritual for Patroclus and even places a lock of his own hair in Patroclus’ hands (Book 23).
Overview
In the Trojan War
According to the Iliad, Achilles arrived at Troy with 50 ships, each carrying 50 Myrmidons. He appointed five leaders (each leader commanding 500 Myrmidons): Menesthius, Eudorus, Peisander, Phoenix and Alcimedon.
When the Greeks left for the Trojan War, they accidentally stopped in Mysia, ruled by King Telephus. In the resulting battle, Achilles gave Telephus a wound that would not heal; Telephus consulte…
Etymology
Linear B tablets attest to the personal name Achilleus in the forms a-ki-re-u and a-ki-re-we, the latter being the dative of the former. The name grew more popular, even becoming common soon after the seventh century BC and was also turned into the female form Ἀχιλλεία (Achilleía), attested in Attica in the fourth century BC (IG II² 1617) and, in the form Achillia, on a stele in Halicarnassus as the nam…
Description
In the account of Dares the Phrygian, Achilles was described having ". . .a large chest, a fine mouth, and powerfully formed arms and legs. His head was covered with long wavy chestnut-colored hair. Though mild in manner, he was very fierce in battle. His face showed the joy of a man richly endowed."
Birth and early years
Achilles was the son of the Thetis, a nereid, and Peleus, the king of the Myrmidons. Zeus and Poseidon had been rivals for Thetis's hand in marriage until Prometheus, the fore-thinker, warned Zeus of a prophecy (originally uttered by Themis, goddess of divine law) that Thetis would bear a son greater than his father. For this reason, the two gods withdrew their pursuit, and had her wed P…
Worship and heroic cult
The tomb of Achilles, extant throughout antiquity in Troad, was venerated by Thessalians, but also by Persian expeditionary forces, as well as by Alexander the Great and the Roman emperor Caracalla. Achilles' cult was also to be found at other places, e. g. on the island of Astypalaea in the Sporades, in Sparta which had a sanctuary, in Elis and in Achilles' homeland Thessaly, as well as in the Magna …
Reception during antiquity
The Greek tragedian Aeschylus wrote a trilogy of plays about Achilles, given the title Achilleis by modern scholars. The tragedies relate the deeds of Achilles during the Trojan War, including his defeat of Hector and eventual death when an arrow shot by Paris and guided by Apollo punctures his heel. Extant fragments of the Achilleis and other Aeschylean fragments have been assembled to produce a workable modern play. The first part of the Achilleis trilogy, The Myrmidons, focused …
In modern literature and arts
• Achilles appears in Dante's Inferno (composed 1308–1320). He is seen in Hell's second circle, that of lust.
• Achilles is portrayed as a former hero who has become lazy and devoted to the love of Patroclus, in William Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida (1602).