00:11In Greek mythology, Achilles was the son of the mortal Phithian king, Peleus, in Thessaly,
00:19and the immortal sea nymph, Thetis, daughter of Messias. Achilles is often described in all
00:26of Hellenic mythology, as the greatest warrior of the Trojan War. When Achilles was born,
00:32the Fates revealed a prophecy that he would die an early death in battle. Thetis was worried
00:39about her newborn son and his defenselessness, due to his half-mortal parentage, so she thought
00:45of a way to make him indestructible, and came up with one idea. She took the newborn Achilles
00:52to the river Styx, and dipped the baby into the water, which had the power to make him
00:58invincible. But unknown to Thetis, the heel by which she was holding the baby was not
01:04touched by the magical water. In a slightly different version, a large leaf stuck to his
01:11heels and kept the water from touching them. As a result, Achilles' heel remained vulnerable.
01:17Still wanting to ensure her son's invincibility, Thetis rubbed the baby, Achilles' each day
01:25with godly ambrosia, and each night laid him on the hearth fire. One day, his father, Peleus,
01:32came upon Thetis holding their baby in the flames and cried out in alarm. He told Thetis to abandon
01:40that routine, Thetis was offended and returned to the sea, leaving Achilles to his mortal world.
01:47When the Trojan War began, Mycenaean king, Agamemnon, commander of the Greek forces, sent Odysseus
01:56and a group of soldiers to recruit the strong Achilles. Thetis was afraid for her son and sent
02:02him, disguised as a woman, to king like Omedes, on the island of Skyros to live among the king's
02:10daughters. There, Achilles spent nine years, during which time, he begets a son called,
02:18Neptolemus, with one of the king's daughters. When the clever Odysseus arrived at Skyros,
02:24he saw through the disguise, tricked Achilles into revealing his identity, and convinced him
02:31to join the army of the Greeks in the war against the Trojans. Achilles proved to be a formidable
02:38warrior, who within a short while, caused fear in the hearts of the Trojans. Achilles also displayed
02:46one notable flaw, he had a terrible temper. During the last years of the Trojan War, Achilles quarreled
02:54with Agamemnon over possession of Brises, a young woman Achilles had captured as a prize of war.
03:01When Agamemnon claimed her, Achilles took it as a deadly insult, he fought, and would have killed the
03:08commander if not for Athena's intervention. Thereafter, he swore an oath that he would withdraw from the
03:15fighting and that the Greeks would appeal to him in vain in their hour of need. True to his word,
03:22Achilles withdrew from the army, and stayed in his tent. His mother, Thetis, in the meanwhile,
03:30complained to Zeus, who in turn, assured her that he would turn the tide of battle against the Greeks
03:37precisely to make them understand how much they need Achilles and how much his loss means to them.
03:43And it came to happen. The Greek forces began to lose the battle, because Achilles was not with them.
03:51The Greeks sent an embassy to Achilles to persuade him to return to battle, offering to return Brises
03:58to him and to give him other magnificent gifts in addition, yet he still refused. Unfortunately, Achilles' best
04:07friend, Achilles, borrowed his armor to go into battle and was killed by Hector, Prince of Troy, the
04:15greatest Trojan warrior. Deeply enraged, Achilles returned to the battlefield. He filled the Trojans
04:23with terror, choked the rivers with blood, and even battled a river god. At last, with the help of Athena,
04:31he met Hector face to face and defeated him in one-to-one combat. At that point, the extremity
04:39of Achilles' temper once again manifested itself. He refused to return Prince Hector's body, and instead
04:47abused it, dragging it around the walls of Troy behind his chariot. It was only when Apollo guided a
04:54man named, Priam, to his tent, under the cover of darkness, that Achilles agreed to return
05:01the body. It was said that Achilles insulted and disrespected Apollo, and so the god turned
05:08his anger towards the Greek, towards Achilles in particular. Apollo appeared to Hector's brother,
05:15Paris, and promised to guide him in his revenge against Achilles, for the death of his brother
05:21and under the abuse of his corpse. On a fateful day, on the battlefield, guided by Apollo, Paris,
05:29shot a poisoned arrow into Achilles' one mortal spot, his heel. The powerful poison went into his body
05:37and did its work. Within seconds, Achilles succumbed to death. Oh, how wonderful a news it was, to the Trojans.
05:47The mighty Achilles had fallen. To this very day, the phrase Achilles' heel refers to a vulnerable spot.
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