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

But instead of helming “Troy,” starring a glistening Brad Pitt as Achilles, Nolan embarked on a genre-shifting Batman trilogy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Kobe Bryant’s sneakers from the game in which he tore his Achilles tendon — and hit two free throws before he left the court — fetched $660,000.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

The early evidence suggests it will not be long before Saka, who is managing an Achilles injury, and Marcus Rashford take England's the wide positions.

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026

Madueke's Arsenal team-mate Bukayo Saka had been expected to be England's starting right winger at the World Cup but the 24-year-old is dealing with an Achilles issue he has been carrying since March.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

Then the prophet Calchas stood up and said he knew why the god was angry, but that he was afraid to speak unless Achilles would guarantee his safety.

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