Achilles -
Achilles was the son of Peleus and Thetis, a sea nymph. He was the husband of Deidamia; father of Neoptolemus. He is the central figure in Homer's The Iliad, the story of the Trojan War. It had been prophesied that without the aid of Achilles the Greeks would never defeat the Trojans. Achilles fought valiantly and the war was won by the Greeks. He was indeed a hero in battle, and he has become a symbol of the fighting man who appears in all cultures throughout the ages, ddomed to die in war but glorying in the fulfillment of heroism and achievment. His character was given to rage and revenge, such as his ruthless treatment of the body of the Trojan hero Hector (Hektor).
Achilles' childhood was very unique. His mother Thetis was a sea nymph that had been wooed by the great Zeus and Poseidon. She had to marry Peleus who she left right after Achilles was born. She wanted the child to be immortal, so she bathed him the river Styx. She held the infant by his heel, which remained dry, which never became immortal, and later was the cause of his death. He grew up with the Centaur Chiron and was raised to be brave. When the time came to leave for war, his mother knew he would die and put him in the court of Lycomedes, disguised as a woman. He had to go as prophesied, so the hero Odysseus came to the court and found him, and took him to war. Achilles is still known for his Achilles Heel which brought on his death when Paris/Apollo shot an arrow at it and killed him.
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