Paris and Achilles. Achilles (Achilles), the greatest Greek hero in the Trojan War

Achilles is a hero of ancient Greek mythology, best known for his episode of participation in Homer wrote about this character in his “Iliad.” And although the Iliad is considered an epic work describing the war against Troy, in fact, it is a story about the quarrel between Achilles and It was she who led to the events that decided the outcome of the ten-year siege of the city.

Origin of Achilles

Achilles was a hero. And initially not even thanks to his actions. It’s just that the heroic fate of Achilles was destined already at birth. After all, according to Greek myths, the offspring that appeared as a result of the connection of immortal gods with mortal people became a hero. He himself did not possess immortality, however, he could count on the protection of his heavenly relatives and, as a rule, had outstanding abilities, mainly in combat.

Achilles' mother was the sea nymph Thetis, and his father was Peleus, who reigned over the Myrmidons. Therefore, in the Iliad the hero is often called Pelid (which means son of Peleus). The unusual marriage between an earthly man and an immortal nymph is also explained in myths. Thetis was raised by Hera, and when Zeus tried to seduce the young nymph, she, in gratitude for the care that his legal wife showed her, refused the voluptuous Olympian. As punishment, Zeus married Thetis to a mortal.

Achilles' heel

Time passed and Thetis and Peleus had children. To check whether they were immortal or not, Thetis dipped the newborn into a cauldron of boiling water. This is how the first six sons died. The seventh was Achilles. It was his father who saved him from the unenviable fate of his brothers, taking his son away from his wife in time. After this, Thetis leaves her husband and returns to live at the bottom of the sea. But she continues to closely monitor her son's life.

According to another myth, Thetis lowered little Achilles into the waters of the sacred Styx, flowing in the kingdom of Hades. This gave the child invincibility. Only his heel, the place where his mother held him tightly, remained vulnerable. This is where the stable expression “Achilles’ heel” comes from, which conveys the idea of ​​a person’s weak point.

After his wife leaves, Peleus sends his young son to be raised by the centaur Chiron. He feeds him animal bone marrow instead of mother's milk. The boy grows up and diligently learns the science of using weapons. And according to some reports, the art of healing.

Visiting Lycomedes

Chiron, who, among other things, also had the gift of a fortuneteller, tells Thetis that if her son avoids participating in the upcoming Trojan War, then he is destined for a long life. If he goes there, the Greeks will win, but Achilles will die. This prompts Thetis to send her son to another island - Skyros, and hide him among the daughters of King Lycomedes. For greater safety, Achilles lives there dressed in women's clothing.

This behavior seems somewhat unusual for a hero thirsting for immortal glory. However, it is worth remembering that at that time the young man was barely fifteen years old. It was by the time described by Homer in the Iliad that Achilles became a fully formed, experienced warrior. After all, the siege of the impregnable city lasted twenty years. And all this time the Greeks did not sit idle. They attacked nearby cities and ravaged them. In the meantime, it was a young man. Bold, but obedient to the instructions of his divine mother.

Meeting with Odysseus

Meanwhile, a chain of events leads to the gathering of troops for war against Troy. The priest Kalkhant announces that if the son of Peleus does not participate in the campaign, the Greeks will face a crushing defeat. Then the Achaean leaders hastily equip Odysseus and send him after Achilles to the island of Skyros.

Realizing that going against the immortal celestials with brute force is more expensive for himself, Odysseus resorts to cunning. He introduces himself as an ordinary traveling merchant and enters the palace of Lycomedes. Having laid out his goods in front of the king’s daughters, Odysseus places richly decorated weapons among the jewelry.

At the appointed moment, Odysseus’s people, on his orders, sounded the alarm. All the girls scattered, only Achilles was not at a loss. This gave him away. The young man grabbed his weapon and ran towards his imaginary enemies. Declassified by Odysseus, Achilles agrees to join the military campaign and takes with him his beloved friend Patroclus, with whom he grew up together.

Sacrifice of Iphigenia

And now a huge Greek fleet, which now includes a detachment of Myrmidons on fifty warships led by Achilles, advances to Troy. The immortal inhabitants of Olympus also participate in all the unfolding events. Moreover, some of them support the Trojans, and some are on the side of the Greeks. Due to the next tricks of the gods supporting the defenders of Troy, the Greek fleet, immobilized by the lack of a fair wind, stands off the coast of the island of Aulis.

Kalkhant makes another prediction: a fair wind will blow only if Agamemnon, the leader of the Greek army who launched a campaign against Troy, sacrifices his daughter Iphigenia. This did not bother my father. The only problem he saw was how to get the girl to the island? Therefore, messengers are sent to Iphigenia with the message that she has been given as a wife to Achilles and must come to Aulis for the wedding. The description of the portrait of Achilles, the hero of ancient Greek mythology, does not leave her indifferent and the girl arrives on the island for the wedding. Instead, it goes straight to the altar.

One version of this story claims that Achilles himself knew nothing about the insidious plan. And when he found out, he rushed with weapons in his hands to defend the deceived princess. But earlier myths tell that the son of Peleus did not show any sentimentality, because he himself was eager to sail to Troy as quickly as possible. And if the gods demand sacrifices, then who will argue with them? In fairness, it is worth noting that Iphigenia was still saved. True, not a hero, but the one who replaced the girl with a doe.

Meeting with the Amazon

But be that as it may, the sacrifice was accepted, and the Greeks arrived safely at Troy. Thus began a long siege of the impregnable city. As already mentioned, Achilles did not sit idle. He became famous at the very beginning of the war, winning one after another glorious victories over the cities surrounding Troy and nearby islands. According to the son of Priam, who was subsequently killed by Achilles, during this time he did not meet with the daring and successful invader. And Achilles continued to hone his skill with weapons.

In one of the next raids, Achilles enters into battle with the queen of the Amazons, Penticelia, who at that time was hiding on the mainland from the revenge of her fellow tribesmen. After a difficult struggle, the hero kills the queen and, using the end of a spear to pry up the helmet, which hid the entire upper part of her face, throws it off the woman. Struck by her beauty, the hero falls in love with her.

Nearby is one of the Greek warriors - Thersites. According to Homer's unflattering descriptions, a very unpleasant subject. He accuses Achilles of lust for a dead woman and gouges out her eyes with a spear. Without thinking twice, Achilles turns around and kills Thersites with one blow to the jaw.

Briseis and Chryseis

In another campaign, the Greeks capture Briseis, whom Achilles keeps as his concubine. Mythology describes that a young woman is not at all burdened by her position. On the contrary, she is always loving and gentle.

At this time, Agamemnon also enjoys the fruits of the raids. Among other things, he is presented with a beautiful girl, Chryseis, as a share of the spoils. But her father comes to the camp, begging to be allowed to ransom his daughter. Agamemnon mocks him and throws him out in shame. Then the inconsolable father begged Apollo for help, and he sent an epidemic to the Greeks. The same soothsayer Kalkhant explains the cause of the misfortunes and says that the girl must be released. Achilles warmly supports him. But Agamemnon does not want to give in. Passions are running high.

Discord with Agamemnon

In the end, Chryseis is released. However, the vengeful Agamemnon, harboring a grudge, decides to take revenge on Achilles. Therefore, as compensation, he takes Briseis from him. The enraged hero refuses to continue taking part in the war. From this moment, events begin to develop rapidly, as the Iliad describes it. The duel between Achilles and Hector is inexorably approaching. As well as the tragic outcome to which it will lead.

Achilles' inaction

The Greeks suffer defeat after defeat. But the insulted Achilles does not give in to anyone’s persuasion and continues to be inactive. But one day the defenders of Troy pushed their opponents back to the very shore. Then, heeding the persuasion of his friend Patroclus, Achilles agrees for him to lead the Myrmidons into battle. Patroclus asks permission to take his friend's armor and receives it. In the subsequent battle, Hector, the Trojan prince, mistaking Patroclus in the armor of Achilles for the famous hero, kills him. This provokes a duel between Achilles and Hector.

Duel with Hector

Having learned of the death of Patroclus, grief-stricken Achilles intends to take brutal revenge. He rushes into battle and sweeps away all the mighty warriors one by one. The characterization of Achilles that Homer gives him in this episode is the apogee of the hero’s entire life. This was the moment of immortal glory that he had so dreamed of. Single-handedly he turns back his enemies and drives them to the very walls of Troy.

In horror, the Trojans hide behind the strong walls of the city. All except one. Noble Hector is the only one who decides to fight back against the son of Peleus. But even this battle-hardened warrior is horrified at the approach of his furious enemy and takes to flight. Achilles and Hector circled Troy three times before meeting in mortal combat. The prince could not resist and fell, pierced by the spear of Achilles. Tying the corpse to his chariot, Achilles dragged Hector’s body to his camp. And only the genuine grief and humility of Hector’s inconsolable father, King Priam, who came to his camp unarmed, softened the winner’s heart, and he agreed to return the body. However, Achilles accepted the ransom - as much gold as Prince Hector of Troy weighed.

Death of a Hero

Achilles himself dies during the capture of Troy. And this cannot happen without the intervention of the gods. Apollo, disgusted by the disrespect of a mere mortal towards him, invisibly guides the arrow fired by Paris, Hector’s younger brother. The arrow pierces the hero's heel - his only weak point - and turns out to be fatal. But even while dying, Achilles continues to defeat many more Trojans. His body is carried out from the thick of the battle by Ajax. Achilles was buried with all honors, and his bones were placed in a golden urn along with the bones of Patroclus.

Achilles Achilles

or Achilles

(Aehilies, Άχιλλεύς). The main character of the Iliad He was the son of Peleus, king of the myrmidons, and; Nereids Thetis. His mother, wanting to make him immortal, dipped him when he was still a child in the River Styx, and only the heel by which she held him remained dry. His educators were Phoenix and the centaur Chiron, of whom the first taught him eloquence and the art of war, and the second the art of healing. When he was only nine years old, Calchas declared that Troy could not be taken without his help. But his mother, knowing that he had to die in this war, dressed him as a girl and sent him to the island of Skyros, to the court of King Lycomedes, where he lived with his daughters and was called Pyrrha, that is, red, due to the chestnut color of his hair. Seeing, however, that Troy could not be taken without his help, the cunning Odysseus went to Skyros, disguised as a merchant, and recognized Achilles when he laid out various women's jewelry in front of the girls, placing a shield and a spear between them. Achilles immediately grabbed the weapon and thus gave himself away. Odysseus took him to Troy, to the Greek army. At the court of Lycomedes, Achilles became the father of Neoptolemus, or Pyrrhus, whose mother was Deidamia. At Troy, Achilles performed great feats of military valor. Having killed many Trojans, he finally met with Hector, whom he forced to run three times around the walls of Troy, and then, having killed him, tied his body to his chariot and dragged him to the Greek camp. Achilles had invulnerable weapons forged by Hephaestus at the request of his mother. In the end, Achilles was killed by Paris, the son of Priam, who hit him with an arrow in the heel - the only vulnerable part of his body. Achilles is not only the main character of the Iliad, but was considered the bravest and most beautiful of the Greeks. After his death, Achilles became one of the judges of the underworld and lived on the islands of the blessed, where he was the husband of Medea or Iphigenia.

(Source: “A Brief Dictionary of Mythology and Antiquities.” M. Korsh. St. Petersburg, edition by A. S. Suvorin, 1894.)

See what "Achilles" is in other dictionaries:

Achilles, Albrecht This term has other meanings, see Achilles (meanings). Albrecht Adolf Konrad Achilles January 25, 1914 (19140125) September 27, 1943 (29 years old) ... Wikipedia

- (Greek Achilles). 1) male name: deified. 2) the bravest of the heroes of the Trojan campaign; Now Achilles is sometimes called a person with extraordinary courage. 3) beautiful day butterfly in Suriname. Dictionary of foreign words included in ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

- (ACHILLS) (the hero of Homer’s poem “The Iliad” (between the 10th and 8th centuries BC). In Greek mythology, A. is the son of the sea goddess Thetis and Peleus, king of the city of Phthia in Thessaly. Named after his father in the “Iliad” A . called Pelides or Peleus' son. Myths say that A ... Literary heroes

Noun, number of synonyms: 3 Achilles (3) butterfly (201) character (103) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms ... Synonym dictionary

See Achilios. Day Angel. Guide to names and birthdays. 2010… Dictionary of personal names

ACHILLES- (var. to ACHILLES; also in the meaning of vernacular) Would the sight separate Helen from Achilles? // Elena. Achilles. Name the sound more consonantly. (rfm. to the veil) Tsv924 (II,235); Only the rustle of the Myrtle trees, the sleep of the lyre: “Helen: Achilles: A separated pair.” RP... Proper name in Russian poetry of the 20th century: dictionary of personal names

ACHILLES, ACHILLES, a; m. [from Greek. Achilleus]. 1. [with a capital letter] In Greek mythology: the name of one of the bravest heroes who besieged the city of Troy. 2. In the speech of doctors: Achilles (Achilles) tendon. Damage, injure a. Leave the race from... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

ACHILLES- (achilles) Albrecht (January 25, 1914, Karlsruhe - September 27, 1943, northeast of Bahia, Brazil), submariner officer, captain 3rd rank (posthumously, April 5, 1945). In April 1934 began service in the navy. Trained at the naval school in Schleswig Holstein... Navy of the Third Reich

Or Achilles (Greek) in the heroic tales of the Greeks is the bravest of the heroes who undertook a campaign against Troy under the leadership of Agamemnon. The legends unanimously call him the son of the mortal Peleus, king of the Myrmidons (the people of southern Thessaly), ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Ephron

I m.; = Achilles The name of one of the bravest heroes who besieged the city of Troy, whose only weak point was the heel by which his mother held him when, wanting to make him immortal, she dipped him into the sacred waters of the River Styx. II m. Title... ... Modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language by Efremova

Books

• Achilles. Son of the sea goddess. A novel in two books. Book 1. Part 1-3, Kolobova N.. The gods gave him a choice: a long, calm and unremarkable life or a short life, but full of exploits and glory. He chose the second one. The son of a goddess and a mortal, one of the outstanding heroes...

Achilles (Achilles), Greek - the son of the Phthian king Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis, the greatest Achaean hero in the Trojan War.

None of the hundred thousand Achaeans who came under the high walls of Troy could compare with him in strength, courage, agility, speed, as well as directness of character and courageous beauty. Achilles had everything that adorns a man in abundance; fate denied him only one thing - happiness.

Achilles was born from a marriage that was forced on his mother. Initially, Zeus himself courted her, but then he learned from the titan Prometheus that, according to the prophecy, the son of Thetis would surpass his father - and then, protecting his interests, Zeus married her off to a mortal, to Peleus. When her son was born, she dipped him into the waters of the Styx, an underground river in the kingdom of the dead, and his entire body (except for the heel by which she held her son) was covered with an invisible shell. But, obviously, these are legends of later origin, since Homer knew nothing about it. He only said that Thetis rubbed Achilles with ambrosia and tempered him over fire so that he would become invulnerable and immortal. But one day Peleus found her doing this. Seeing his son on fire, he got scared, decided that Thetis wanted to kill Achilles, and rushed at her with a sword. The poor goddess had no time for explanations; she barely managed to hide in the depths of the sea and never returned to Peleus. Peleus found a teacher for his abandoned son. First he was the wise old man Phoenix, then the centaur Chiron, who fed him bear brains and roasted lions. This diet and education clearly benefited Achilles: as a ten-year-old boy, he killed a wild boar with his bare hands and caught up with a deer while running. He soon learned everything that a hero of that time was supposed to: behave like a man, wield weapons, heal wounds, play the lyre and sing.

"Achilles between the Daughters of Lycomedes", Gerard de Leresse(many paintings of Achilles-Achilles by different artists have been collected on).

Thetis was told that her son would be given a choice: to live long, but without glory, or to live a short, but glorious age. Although she wished him glory, as a mother she naturally gave preference to a long life. Having learned that the Achaean kings were preparing for war with Troy, she hid Achilles on the island of Skyros with King Lycomedes, where he had to live in women's clothing among the king's daughters. But Agamemnon, with the help of the soothsayer Calhant, found out his whereabouts and sent Odysseus and Diomedes after him. Disguised as merchants, both kings entered the palace and laid out their goods in front of the king's daughters. Among the expensive fabrics, jewelry and other products in which women have been interested since time immemorial, it was as if a sword happened to be there. And when, according to a conventional sign, the companions of Odysseus and Diomedes uttered a war cry and their weapons rang, all the girls ran away in fear - and only one hand reached for the sword. So Achilles gave himself away and, without much persuasion, promised to join the Achaean army. Neither Lycomedes' daughter Deidamia, who was expecting a son from him, nor the prospect of a long and happy reign in her homeland kept him on Skyros. Instead of Phthia, he chose glory.

Achilles led five thousand men to the harbor of Aulis, where the Achaean army was concentrated, the core of the detachment being the brave Myrmidons. His father Peleus, due to his advanced years, could not participate in the campaign, so he gave him his armor, a huge spear made of solid ash and a war chariot drawn by immortal horses. These were wedding gifts that Peleus received from the gods when he married Thetis, and Achilles was able to use them. He fought for nine years at Troy, took twenty-three cities in its vicinity, and terrified the Trojans with his very appearance. All the Achaeans, from the leaders to the last ordinary warrior, saw in him the most courageous, skillful and successful warrior - everyone except the commander-in-chief, Agamemnon.

He was a mighty king and a good warrior, but Agamemnon lacked the nobility to accept the fact that his subordinate surpassed him in merit and popularity. He hid his hostility for a long time, but one day he could not resist. And this led to a strife that almost destroyed the entire Achaean army.

This happened in the tenth year of the war, when deep discontent and disappointment reigned in the Achaean camp. The warriors dreamed of returning home, and the generals lost hope of gaining glory and booty by taking Troy. Achilles went with his Myrmidons to a neighboring kingdom to supply the army with provisions and raise its spirit with rich booty. Among the prisoners brought was the daughter of Chryses, a priest of Apollo, who, during the division of the spoils, went to Agamemnon. Achilles had nothing against it, since she was not interested in him; he fell in love with the beautiful Briseis, captured during one of the previous expeditions. However, soon Chris also appeared in the Achaean camp; he wished the soldiers a quick victory and asked Agamemnon to return his daughter to him for a rich ransom. The Achaeans were satisfied with this proposal, but Agamemnon was against it: he, they say, likes the girl and he will never give her up, and Chris, they say, let him go where he came from. Then the priest turned to his god Apollo with a prayer to avenge him. Apollo heeded his plea, descended from Olympus and began scattering pestilence throughout the Greek camp with arrows from his silver bow. The soldiers died, but Agamemnon did not try to appease the angry god - and then Achilles decided to intervene. He called a meeting of warriors to decide together what to do. This once again hurt Agamemnon’s pride, and he decided to take revenge. When the soothsayer Kalkhant announced to the army that in order to reconcile with Apollo, it was necessary to return his daughter to Chris (but now without any ransom, and even to apologize), Agamemnon cut him off and angrily attacked Achilles, who stood up for the soothsayer. After unheard-of insults that disgraced Achilles in front of the entire army, Agamemnon declared that in the interests of the army he was abandoning Chryseis, but would take another from one of the commanders - and chose Briseis, Achilles’s beloved.

A still from the 2004 film Troy. Actor Brad Pitt plays Achilles.

As a disciplined soldier, Achilles obeyed the commander’s decision, but also drew his own conclusions from this. He swore that he would not participate in battles until Agamemnon asked him for forgiveness and restored his trampled honor. Then he retired to the seashore, called his mother from the deep waters and asked her to put in a good word for him before Zeus: let the Almighty help the Trojans push back the Achaean army, so that Agamemnon would understand that he could not do without Achilles, and come to him with an apology and a request about help.

Thetis conveyed her son's request to Zeus, and he did not refuse her. He forbade the other gods to interfere in the war, and he himself encouraged the leader of the Trojans, Hector, to take advantage of the absence of Achilles and push the Achaeans back to the sea itself. At the same time, he sent a deceptive dream to Agamemnon, which tempted him to go on the offensive, despite Achilles’ withdrawal from the game. The Achaeans fought bravely, but were forced to retreat. The Trojans, in the evening after the battle, did not even return to the protection of the city walls, but settled down for the night right in front of the Achaean camp, so that when daylight came, they could destroy it with one powerful blow. Seeing that things were bad, Agamemnon sent to inform Achilles that he was taking back his words, returning his beloved and, in addition to her, seven more virgins with rich gifts - if only Achilles would change his anger to mercy and take up arms again. This time Achilles went too far in his anger: he rejected Agamemnon's proposal and declared that he would not engage in battle until Hector attacked his camp directly; however, things will not come to this, since he, Achilles, will soon return with his army to his native Phthia.

The catastrophe seemed inevitable: in the morning attack, the Trojans broke through the ranks of the Achaeans, broke through the wall protecting the camp, and Hector was about to set fire to the ships to deprive the Greeks of the opportunity to escape. At that moment, his best friend Patroclus came to Achilles and asked permission to put on Achilles’ armor and help his Achaean friends who were in trouble. Patroclus hoped that the Trojans would mistake him for Achilles and retreat in fear of him. At first Achilles hesitated, but seeing that Hector was already setting fire to one of the Greek ships, he immediately complied with Patroclus’ request; In addition to armor, he gave him his entire army. Patroclus rushed into battle, and his cunning was a success: thinking that Achilles was in front of them, the Trojans were taken aback. Patroclus put out the fire, pushed the Trojans back to the city walls, but was then identified because he did not dare to take Achilles’ heavy spear with him. Then the Trojans dared to engage him in battle: the spearman Euphorbus, with the help of Apollo, mortally wounded Patroclus, and then Hector pierced him with a spear.

"Achilles at the Walls of Troy", Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, 1801

The news of the death of his friend struck Achilles and plunged him into grief. Forgetting about his grievances, he wanted to rush into battle to avenge Patroclus, but Hector had already received his armor. At the request of Thetis, the gunsmith of the gods himself, Hephaestus, made new ones for him in one night. Over the corpse of Patroclus, Achilles swore revenge on Hector. He reconciled with Agamemnon, who admitted his guilt in front of the entire army and returned Briseis to him, and in the first battle after the death of Patroclus he killed Hector.

It was a merciless battle: Achilles looked for Hector in the ranks of the Trojans and fought with him three times, but each time Hector was saved by Apollo, the faithful defender of Troy. Enraged, Achilles put the entire Trojan army to flight, killed many Trojans and their allies, and the rest took refuge behind the walls of the city. When the huge Skeian gates closed behind the last of the fugitives, only Hector remained in front of them. To save the honor of the army and his own, he challenged Achilles to a duel. In defiance, he proposed that the winner give the body of the vanquished to his friends so that they could bury him with dignity. But Achilles only accepted the challenge, not agreeing to any conditions, and rushed at the enemy like a lion at a defenseless victim. Despite all his courage, Hector became afraid and fled. He ran around the high walls of Troy three times, saving his life, but finally stopped and, at the instigation of Athena, who wanted the Trojans to die, crossed arms with Achilles. In a duel for life and death, which amazed even the gods, Hector fell, pierced by the spear of Achilles.

Achilles with Hector's body

Triumphant Achilles tied Hector's body to his war chariot and drove around the walls of Troy three times, and then dragged him to his camp to give him to be torn to pieces by the Achaean dogs. However, the gods did not allow the body of the fallen hero to be desecrated, and Zeus himself ordered Thetis to bring Achilles to reason. When, under the cover of darkness, the decrepit Priam made his way to Achilles’ camp to ransom his son’s body, Achilles, touched by the old man’s grief, voluntarily returned Hector’s corpse to him. He even suspended hostilities for twelve days so that the Trojans could solemnly bury their leader. Thus, Achilles defeated not only his opponent, but also his own passions, thereby proving that he is a true hero, moreover, that he is a man.

“Priam asking Achilles for the body of Hector”, Alexander Ivanov, 1821

Achilles was not destined to witness the fall of Troy: soon death awaited him. He still managed to defeat Penthesilea, who brought her female army to the aid of Troy, and then defeated in a duel the new leader of the Trojan army - King Memnon from distant Ethiopia. But when, after this victory, he decided to break into the city through the Skei Gate, he stood in his way. Achilles ordered him to get out of the way, threatening to pierce him with his spear. Apollo obeyed, but only to immediately take revenge for this insult. Climbing the city wall, he ordered Paris to send an arrow to Achilles. Paris willingly obeyed, and the arrow, whose flight was directed by Apollo, hit Achilles’ heel, which was not protected by armor.

The fall of Achilles caused the earth to tremble and the city wall to crack. However, he immediately stood up and pulled the fatal arrow out of his heel. At the same time, the hooks of the tip tore out a large piece of meat, tore the veins, and blood gushed out of the wound like a river. Seeing that strength and life were leaving him with the flow of blood, he cursed Apollo and Troy in a terrible voice and gave up the ghost.

“Chiron, Thetis and the dead Achilles”, Pompeo Batoni, 1770

A brutal slaughter began to boil around Achilles’ body. Finally, the Achaeans snatched his body from the hands of the Trojans, brought it to their camp and with honors set it on fire on a high funeral pyre, which was set on fire by the god Hephaestus himself. Then the ashes of Achilles were mixed with the ashes of Patroclus and a high clay mound was poured over their common grave so that it would proclaim the glory of both heroes for centuries.

According to many researchers of ancient legends, Achilles is the most magnificent image of all created by Greek literature. And since these creations of Homer are the pinnacles of Greek literature, which to this day have not been surpassed in the epic poetry of any other people, Achilles can safely be classified as one of the most magnificent images in all world literature. Therefore, it is clear that none of the paintings or sculptures of Achilles can stand comparison with the literary image.

Apparently, ancient artists were aware of this limitation of their capabilities: they depicted Achilles with some timidity, and sculptors completely avoided him. But about four hundred images of Achilles have been preserved in vase paintings. The most famous is “Achilles” on an Attic amphora, ser. 5th century BC e. (Rome, Vatican Museums), “Achilles plays dice with Ajax” (84 copies in total, including the Exekius vase, c. 530 - also in the Vatican Museums), “Achilles bandages the wounded Patroclus” (Attic bowl, c. 490 BC . e., the only copy is in the State Museums in Berlin). The fights of Achilles with Hector, Memnon, Penthesilea and other subjects were also often depicted. The National Museum in Naples contains Pompeian frescoes “Chiron the Centaur teaches Achilles to play the lyre”, “Odysseus identifies Achilles among the daughters of Lycomedes”, etc.

Among the major artists of modern times, P. P. Rubens was one of the first to risk depicting Achilles (“Achilles kills Hector,” ca. 1610). Let us also name D. Teniers the Younger (“Achilles and the Daughters of Lycomedes”), F. Gerard (“Thetis Brings Armor to Achilles”) and E. Delacroix (“The Education of Achilles,” National Gallery in Prague).

Among the playwrights of modern times, Corneille was the first to turn to the image of Achilles (Achilles, 1673), in the 20th century. - S. Wyspianski (“Achilleid”, 1903), Achille Suarez (“Achilles the Avenger”, 1922), M. Matkovich (“The Legacy of Achilles”). Handel brought Achilles to the stage in the opera Deidamia (1741), Cherubini in the ballet Achilles on Skyros (1804). Only two poets tried to create the “missing link” between the Iliad and the Odyssey: Statius (1st century AD) and Goethe took on the epic poem Achilleid, but neither of them completed the job.

Some blond " originally Scythian“, according to one of the legends, he was born on the shores of the Kerch Strait.

Strabo, "Geography", VII, 4: " On the left side, if you sail from the sea into the Cimmerian Bosporus, twenty stadia from Panticapaeum, is the town of Myrmekium. Further on, at twice the distance from Myrmekia, lies the village of Parthenium. Opposite it lies the narrowest part of the strait for about twenty stadia. Here, on the opposite Asian shore of the strait, there is a village called Achilleus.»

The predecessors of the Cimmerian Bosporus Strait at different times were: the Akmonai ditch from Feodosia to Kamenka at the base of the Arabat Spit, then the Uzunlar (Assandra) shaft from Mount Opuk to the village. Novootradnoe. Already in early antiquity, a convenient passage for sea vessels from the Black Sea to the Azov Sea existed from the current lake-estuary Churbash to Lake Chokrak.

We can only talk about the extremely high dynamics of tectonics, relief, river network and coastal strip of the Kerch Peninsula. This is due, first of all, to the fact that plastic clays lie at the base of the Kerch limestones, which are quite dense and heavy. Each catastrophic earthquake (and, on average, this happened hundreds of times over historical time with a periodicity of approximately 80 years), in addition to tectonic disturbances, led to the fact that the clays were moistened by sea and river waters. At the contact of limestone and clay, so-called “slip mirrors” were formed: on the wet surface of the clay, under the influence of gravity and the Coriolis force (the rotation of the Earth), large blocks of limestone, sandstone and other dense rocks slid, shifted down and to the west, and were torn by cracks and faults. Simultaneously with these processes, the Black Sea plate is constantly moving under the base of the Russian Plain from the south. This determines the rise of blocks of the earth’s crust with dense sedimentary rocks: cliffs form in the south, and the northern slopes smoothly turn into plains or into the bottom of the Azov Sea.

The Don and Kuban rivers carry huge amounts of sediment, which put pressure on the earth's crust and cause subsidence of the continental shelf.

Data on the early period of colonization of the shores of the Kerch Strait and the Kerch region in general can be obtained mainly from underwater archeology. At the same time, we must be aware that ancient artifacts have long been destroyed by earthquakes and underwater landslides.
In the myth of Achilles, something else is more important:

Achilles was not Greek. His blond hair attracted attention to the same extent as his special fighting techniques, unknown to either the Achaean Greeks or the Trojans.

Achilles was not a Scythian, since during the Trojan War (the very main one) there were still several hundred years before the Scythians appeared in the Northern Black Sea region. Achilles did not ride a horse - thus, it cannot be argued that he belonged to the Aryan (North Iranian) peoples of the south of the Russian Plain, where horse riding was first mastered in the world. The Scythians have never distinguished themselves in history as skilled sailors. From the history of the Middle Ages it is known that the indigenous population of both banks of the Kerch Strait provided sea transportation for the Goths, Alans, Huns, and Rosses for raids on the cities of Asia Minor and the Mediterranean Sea. It makes sense to consider Achilles to come from the indigenous community of Circumpontic peoples (Thracians, Taurians, Colchians).

The Scandinavian sagas claim that the legendary Viking homeland of Asgard was located near the southern sea. The famous experimental researcher of ancient sea routes, Thor Heyerdahl, proved that the country of Asgard was located in the lower reaches of the Don River near the Sea of ​​Azov. The word “as” itself means a professional warrior in the Germanic, Turkic, and Adyghe-Abkhaz languages.

The blond Siraks (one of the Azov tribes) were mentioned by reliable historical sources already at the beginning of the Middle Ages. Modern genetics also claims that it was in the Northern Black Sea region, as a result of a powerful mutational impact (possibly coinciding with the so-called Black Sea, or Deucalion Flood), about 7 thousand years ago that blue-eyed blonds first appeared on Earth about 7 thousand years ago.

The most important thing: economic, or rather transport-geographical reasons for the allied relations between Achilles with his northern warriors and the Hellenes. As the reliable history of the Bosporan kingdom and its relations with Athens shows, the basis of centuries-old cooperation was the trade in grain, primarily durum wheat. From the Iliad it is quite clear that the mentality of Achilles was sharply different from the cultural and psychological stereotypes of his Greek allies. But Achilles was sent by his people to eliminate the “extra link” in the person of Troy on the route of wheat supplies to the Mediterranean countries. The role of the Cunning Odysseus from the resource-poor island of Ithaca is also quite understandable. Both the Greeks and the “Scythians” of Achilles needed “victory, one for all.”

Achilles takes part in the Achaean war against Troy (1156-1136 BC.). The Trojan Wars actually constituted a huge era in the development of Hellenic civilizations in the Balkans and Asia Minor. If we take into account the actual artifacts from the archaeological site of Troy (mound Ghisarlik in Turkey), the capital of the Trojans was destroyed at least 9 times. Sometimes for seismic reasons, but the main reasons were that the Trojans were enriched by trade duties on the supply of durum wheat from the black soil zone of the south of the Russian Plain to the regions of the Mediterranean Sea. The destruction of Troy (Ilium) around 1140 archaeologically corresponds to the seventh layer, that is, it Troya-7. Troy-1 was destroyed 5 thousand years ago, even then the southern Russian black soils produced the best wheat in the world, and high duties for its transportation to the Mediterranean gave rise to war.

Leo Deacon Kaloisky in “History”, referring to Flavius ​​Arrian, writes: “Peleus’s son Achilles was a Scythian from the small city of Myrmikion, located near Lake Meotis (Sea of ​​Azov), and later, expelled by the Scythians for unbridledness, cruelty and arrogance of spirit, he settled in Thessaly. Clear proof of this is the cut of his cloak with a buckle, his habit of fighting on foot, his light brown hair, his blue eyes, his unconditional courage, his temper and cruelty.” Further, Leo the Deacon calls Achilles a Tauro-Scythian. Even in the time of Ovid at the turn of the new era, the Northern Black Sea region was called Achilles' land. Describing the events of the Russian-Byzantine war, Leo the Deacon reports the burning of corpses in the army of Svyatoslav Igorevich and says that the Russians “received... these Hellenic sacraments from the comrades of Achilles.” And Homer, when describing this hero, constantly emphasizes: “not cutting his hair,” “long-curled” - this is a characteristic feature in the description of the northern “barbarians” by Greek and later Roman authors. It is clear that this feature is attributed to the fact that Achilles dedicated his hair to Spercheus and had to cut it at a certain time, but, nevertheless, such a point of view exists.

Achilles (lat. Achilles) is one of the most striking and valiant characters in the ancient epics about the Trojan War. He was not just a hero and the son of the majestic King Peleus, but also half a god. He was given birth to the incredible beauty of Thetis, one of the goddesses of the sea. Prometheus predicted that the son of Thetis would become stronger and more powerful than his father. The gods were afraid of competition and gave Thetis in marriage to the Myrmidon king. They had a wonderful son, who was named Ligiron. But later he burned his lips with the flame of a fire and was nicknamed Achilles, “lipless.”

Achilles grew up to be a real hero, possessed superhuman capabilities and had enormous strength. But like all demigods, he did not have the gift of immortality.

Thetis loved her son very much and tried to make him immortal. She bathed him in the waters of the underground stormy river Styx, which flows through the world of the dead, rubbed him with the food of the gods - ambrosia and tempered him in healing fire. During these procedures, his mother held his heel. So he became practically invulnerable to enemy arrows and swords, but with the only dangerous place for himself - the fifth. This is where the expression “Achilles' heel” came from, as a symbol of special vulnerability. This is what they say about a person’s weakest point.

The hero's father was against the mother's rituals over her son. He insisted on placing Achilles in the care and education of the valiant centaur Chiron. Chiron fed the boy the entrails of boars, bears and lions, taught him the basics of medicine, warfare and even singing.

Achilles grew up to be a fearless and skillful young man, but when the Trojan War began, he was only fifteen years old. The priest Kalkhant prophesied that Achilles would die in this war, but would bring victory to the Greeks. Thetis was afraid to send her son to certain death, and hid him in the palace of King Lycomedes, dressing him in a girl’s dress.

At this time, the cunning Greeks sent the wise Odysseus, disguised as a merchant, to find Achilles. Odysseus invited the palace young ladies to see his goods. Among the many decorations, a sword was also offered. While all the girls were admiring the jewelry, an alarm suddenly sounded. In fright, the court ladies fled, and only one grabbed a sword and took a fighting stance. It was Achilles! He gave himself away, and he still had to go to war. He was a very brave, dexterous, strong warrior and relied only on his skills. Achilles knew that he had a short life ahead and tried to live in such a way that the glory of his valor would reach his descendants. On the way to Troy, on the island of Tenedos, he defeated the local king. And already under the walls of Troy, in the very first battle he killed Cycnus, the Trojan hero.

There was a period when, during the Trojan military campaign, Achilles stopped fighting. The reason for this was Agamemnon, who took the Trojan princess Briseis from him. It was given to Achilles as a reward, as an honorary trophy. After Achilles refused to fight, the Greeks began to noticeably lose. Achilles returned to the battlefield only when his friend Patroclus, who had donned the armor of Achilles, fell in battle at the hands of the Trojan prince Hector. The hero vowed to avenge his friend and did so.

In new battle armor created by the god Hephaestus, Achilles mercilessly defeats many opponents, including Hector. He kept the body for twelve days, and only Thetis was able to convince him to return the remains to the relatives of the deceased.

Achilles himself died from Apollo’s arrow, which hit him in the very heel that was unprotected by Thetis’ spells. Some myths say that his ashes are buried at Cape Sigei, near the tomb of Patroclus, and the soul of the hero is on the island of Levka. In other stories, his mother took his body. In fact, where exactly the ancient hero Achilles rests for many centuries is unknown. Only tales of his legendary military exploits have survived to this day.