One of the greatest heroes of the Greek mythology is Achilles. Those who watched the blockbuster Troy will certainly know this outstanding character that coined the Greek mythology like no other. In the movie, Achilles was played by no less a person than the magnificent Brad Pitt. For this reason, I am certain that upon seeing the action-loaded film, we were all a bit infatuated with Achilles who was portrayed as beautiful, muscular and heroic.
However, the original Achilles is a bit different than Troy’s interpretation of the hero. Let’s take a look at Homer’s portrayal of Achilles.
Just like Siegfried, the hero of the Songs of the Nibelungs, Achilles was known as invulnerable as his mother bathed him in the magical river Styx that almost made him unkillable. However, his achilles’ heel stayed untouched by the river. So he wasn’t immortal in the end. To this point, everything I said is actually general knowledge. Nothing spectacular.
But let’s look at his habits which he developed when he went to war. When he fought in the Troyan war, he killed many enemies, he literally slaughtered them because he liked killing people. Achilles was also known for his hot temper. To be precise, he was a choleric throwing fits upon the slightest mistakes the people around him made.
Furthermore, he liked women, he liked them a lot, so much that he raped numerous women in his life. When he killed the Queen of the Amazons, the passionate warrior even, let’s say, made love with the Queen’s remnants. But it seems that he also liked men a lot as the hero did have a soft spot for his best friend, cousin and lover Patroklos. When his beloved Patroklos died in the Troyan war, Achilles was therefore angry, so angry that he brutally killed his enemy Hector of Troy and mutilated his corpse.
What a psycho, most of you would think.
Nonetheless, Achilles who was a diva beyond comparison was a much admired character in the Greek Mythology because he was not entirely good and not entirely bad. But this is why the Greek Mythology is still extremely popular to this day. The heroes in Greek and Roman legends are often full of flaws, which makes them appear human.
I still think that to some extent the Greek should be glad that, in the end, the Prince Paris killed Achilles with an arrow that went straight into his weak spot, the achilles’ heel.
