Achilles was born to the sea-nymph Thetis and King Peleus (the couple from the Golden Apple wedding). The Fates spun a terrifying prophecy for the baby: "He will have a short life full of glory, or a long life forgotten by history." His mother, Thetis, wanted him to live forever.
To cheat death, Thetis took baby Achilles to the Underworld. She dipped him into the black waters of the River Styx. The magical water made his skin invulnerable—no sword or arrow could pierce it. But she made one mistake: she held him by his tiny heel.
Because his mother held him tight, the water did not touch his heel. Every part of him was god-like and unbreakable, except for that one small spot on his foot. This origin of the Achilles heel is one of the most famous facts in Greek mythology stories.
Achilles grew up wild and strong. His father sent him to be trained by Chiron, the wise Centaur (who also trained [Jason] and Hercules). Chiron fed him lion intestines and bear marrow to make him fierce. Achilles became the fastest runner and the deadliest fighter in Greece.
When the Trojan War began (after the Golden Apple incident), Thetis tried to hide her son. She knew the war meant his death. She dressed him as a girl and hid him on the island of Skyros. But the clever Odysseus tricked him into revealing himself by showing him weapons. Achilles couldn't resist picking up a sword.
Achilles led his army, the Myrmidons (Ant-men), to the beaches of Troy. He was terrifying. When he stepped onto the sand, the Trojans fled behind their walls. For nine years, Achilles was the champion of the Greeks. No one could stand against him.
But Achilles had a temper. In the tenth year, he got into a huge fight with Agamemnon, the High King of the Greeks, over a war prize (a girl named Briseis). Feeling disrespected, Achilles did the unthinkable: he quit. He sat in his tent and refused to fight.
Without their champion, the Greeks began to lose. The Trojan prince, Hector, led an attack that pushed the Greeks all the way back to their ships. He threatened to burn the fleet. The Greek army was on the brink of destruction, but Achilles was too proud to help.
Achilles’s best friend (and soulmate), Patroclus, couldn't watch his countrymen die. He begged Achilles: "If you won't fight, let me wear your armor. The Trojans will think I am you and run away." Reluctantly, Achilles agreed but warned him: "Do not chase them to the walls."
Patroclus fought bravely, pushing the Trojans back. But he forgot the warning. He chased them to the walls of Troy. There, he faced Prince Hector. Hector, thinking he was fighting Achilles, killed Patroclus and stripped him of the divine armor.
When Achilles heard the news, he fell to the ground, clawing at the earth. His scream was so loud that his mother heard it from the bottom of the sea. The grief turned into cold, white-hot rage. He didn't care about glory anymore; he only wanted revenge.
Achilles had lost his armor, so Thetis asked Hephaestus (the blacksmith god) to make a new set. He forged a shield that contained images of the entire universe. When Achilles put on this new armor, he looked like a god of war descended to earth.
Achilles returned to the battlefield. He didn't just fight; he slaughtered. He filled the river with so many Trojan bodies that the River God attacked him. Achilles fought the river itself until the gods intervened. Nothing could stop him from reaching Hector.
The two greatest warriors met outside the Gates of Troy. Hector fought for his family; Achilles fought for hate. They ran around the city walls three times. Finally, they clashed. Despite Hector's bravery, he could not pierce Achilles's skin. Achilles found a gap in Hector's armor (his old armor) and struck the killing blow.
Achilles was not satisfied with death. In a moment of madness, he tied Hector’s body to his chariot and dragged it through the dust around the city walls, right in front of Hector’s weeping parents. It was a shocking act of cruelty in Greek mythology.
That night, King Priam of Troy sneaked into the Greek camp. He knelt before the man who killed his son and kissed his hands. "Think of your own father," Priam whispered. Achilles wept. His rage finally broke. He returned Hector’s body for a proper burial.
But the war wasn't over. Paris (the prince who started it all with the Golden Apple) was watching from the walls. He was not a strong fighter, but he had a bow. And he had help. The god Apollo, who knew Achilles's secret, guided Paris’s aim.
Paris released the arrow. It flew across the battlefield, guided by the god. It didn't hit Achilles in the chest or head. It struck the one spot where the water of the Styx had never touched: his heel.
Achilles felt the poison of the arrow spread. His invulnerable skin couldn't save him. The greatest warrior in history fell into the dust, killed by a "coward's weapon" (an arrow from afar). The prophecy was fulfilled: a short life, but eternal glory.
After his death, the Greeks fought over his armor (leading to the despair of Ajax). But without Achilles, they could not take the city by force. They needed a trick. And so, the stage was finally set for Odysseus and his [Trojan Horse].