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Achilles

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Foremost Greek hero of the Trojan War, son of Thetis, whose near invulnerability and fatal heel symbolise heroic glory shadowed by human frailty and tragic destiny.

Detailed Definition
Achilles was the near-invincible hero of the Iliad, son of Peleus and the nymph Thetis, whose rage and pride defined his tragic arc. His heel—the only spot not dipped in the River Styx—became his fatal weakness. Poets reference Achilles to explore heroism, mortality, wrath, and the cost of glory.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Homer’s "Iliad," Achilles’ wrath drives the epic’s central conflict, showcasing heroic pride and mortality; In Alexander Pope’s "The Iliad," Achilles is rendered as both noble and tragically flawed; In W.H. Auden’s “The Shield of Achilles,” the hero’s armor symbolizes the bleakness of modern warfare versus Homeric glory; In Derek Walcott’s "Omeros," Achilles appears as a Caribbean fisherman, reimagining the myth in postcolonial context; In Matthew Arnold’s “Memorial Verses,” Achilles stands for vanished heroic ideals; In Tennyson’s “Ulysses,” Achilles is remembered as “strong in will” yet ultimately mortal.
Additional Notes
Achilles, the Greek hero of Homer’s Iliad, embodies martial prowess, tragic pride (hubris), and the tension between glory (kleos) and mortality; his vulnerability—his heel—has become proverbial for a single fatal weakness; in poetry, Achilles often symbolizes the cost of heroism, the fragility of human life, and the destructive power of wrath, and he is frequently juxtaposed with more contemplative or diplomatic figures like Odysseus.
Other Meanings of “Achilles”
Also Known As
Swift-Footed Hero Son of the Nereid Wrathful Warrior
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