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

For the vibration condition, the device was strapped to the Achilles and knee tendons and activated for 10 minutes before cycling began.

From Science Daily

Looking back, Paik sees his Achilles injury as a turning point.

From The Wall Street Journal

I stood up to shake off the pain and tweaked my right Achilles tendon, so I headed for the medicine cabinet, bent over like an ape because of a stiff back.

From Los Angeles Times

Calf injuries, even the most minor, have been major concerns for the NBA since three stars suffered Achilles tendon tears during last season’s playoffs.

From Los Angeles Times

The Colts came calling after starter Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon last Sunday and rookie backup Riley Leonard sustained an undisclosed knee injury.

From Los Angeles Times