Achilles

American  

[uh-kil-eez] / əˈkɪl iz /

noun

Classical Mythology.

1. the greatest Greek warrior in the Trojan War and hero of Homer's Iliad. He killed Hector and was killed when Paris wounded him in the heel, his one vulnerable spot, with an arrow.

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Achilles British  

/ ˌækɪˈliːən, əˈkɪliːz /

noun

1. Greek myth Greek hero, the son of Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis: in the Iliad the foremost of the Greek warriors at the siege of Troy. While he was a baby his mother plunged him into the river Styx making his body invulnerable except for the heel by which she held him. After slaying Hector, he was killed by Paris who wounded him in the heel

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Achilles Cultural  

1. In classical mythology, the greatest warrior on the Greek side in the Trojan War (see also Trojan War). When he was an infant, his mother tried to make him immortal by bathing him in a magical river, but the heel by which she held him remained vulnerable. During the Trojan War, he quarreled with the commander, Agamemnon, and in anger sulked in his tent. Eventually Achilles emerged to fight and killed the Trojan hero Hector, but he was wounded in the heel by an arrow and died shortly thereafter.

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Discover More

Achilles is the hero of Homer's Iliad.

People speak of an “Achilles' heel” as the one weak or sore point in a person's character.

The phrase “wrath of Achilles” refers to the hero's anger, which caused so much destruction that Homer refers to it as his main theme in the first line of the Iliad.

The Achilles tendon runs from the heel to the calf.

Other Word Forms

• Achillean
  adjective

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Achilles

The 24-year-old's game-time for the north London outfit was managed at the end of last season, as well as with England at the World Cup, because of an Achilles injury he picked up in March.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

Watson last played in October 2024, when he tore an Achilles that he later reinjured.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

He finished 10th in the 5,000m final, having lined up as the two-time defending champion despite his Achilles issue preventing him from competing during the outdoor season.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

When the rumor mills incorrectly assumed Page was playing Achilles, heads exploded.

From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026

But Achilles had a spear, the one Athena had recovered for him.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton