This ancient Greek hero, who came with a hundred thousandth army under the walls of Troy, and became the central character of Homer's poem Iliad, had in abundance everything that from time immemorial has been the pride of a real man. The gods generously rewarded him with strength, courage, beauty and nobility. He was deprived of only one thing in life - happiness.
Mortal descendants of the inhabitants of Olympus
We know who Achilles is from the works of many ancient authors, the most famous and authoritative of which is Homer. From the pages of his immortal poem, we learn that those who inhabited the top of Olympus used to descend to earth and marry mortal people who, in one way or another, deserved this honor.
According to ancient legends, only heroes were born from such unions, combining an endless list of virtues that placed them above all other inhabitants of the earth, into whose lives they brought order and harmony. And only one problem deprived them of the fullness of happiness - they were born mortal.
Son of an earthly king and a sea goddess
It so happened that the Phthian king Peleus once turned the head of the sea goddess Thetis. He found a way to the heart of the mistress of the depths, and the legendary Achilles became the fruit of her momentary weakness, who inherited from his mother all the virtues inherent in the gods, but remained mortal by his father.
Wanting to fill this gap, Thetis resorted to an old and proven remedy, dropping him immediately after birth into the waters flowing in the underworld. From this, the entire body of the baby was covered with an invisible, but impenetrable shell, which no weapon could hit. The only exception was the heel, for which the mother held him, lowering him into the water.
She became his only weak point, and this was kept secret. But looking ahead, it should be said that the one who killed Achilles, and he ended his life, despite all the efforts of Thetis, as a mere mortal, knew about this. The name of the killer will be named only at the end of the story, so as not to violate the laws of the genre and not reduce the sharpness of the plot intrigue.
The tutors of the young prince
To educate the future hero, his father picked up two mentors for him. One of them was the old and wise Phoenix, who taught the boy decent manners, medicine and the composition of poems, without which in those days one could be considered ignorant and boorish. The second was a centaur named Chiron.
Unlike his fellow tribesmen - cunning and treacherous creatures, he was distinguished by openness and friendliness. All his pedagogy, however, boiled down to the fact that he fed Achilles with bear brains and fried lions. But such a diet clearly benefited the boy, and at the age of ten he already easily killed wild boars with his bare hands and overtook deer.
Escape to Skyros
When the war began, in which the Greeks with their numerous allies approached the walls of Troy, where Queen Helen ruled, recognized as the most beautiful woman of all times and peoples, our hero was fifteen years old. By the way, this detail allows us to determine with a certain accuracy in what year Achilles lived. Historians date the beginning at the turn of the 13th and 12th centuries BC, which means that he was born around 1215 BC. e or so.
The goddess Thetis, despite the fact that by lowering her son into the waters of Six, made him almost immortal, nevertheless allowed the possible death of Achilles. She decided not to risk and save him from the campaign in which he was obliged to take part. To this end, the goddess, by the power of magic, transferred her son to the island of Skyros, where he women's clothing he was hiding from being drafted into the army among the daughters of the local king Lykomed, who naively hoped for his chastity.
Cunning Odysseus
However, soon the leader of the Greeks, Agamemnon, found out the whereabouts of Achilles and sent Odysseus after him. His envoy faced a rather piquant task - to recognize among the young charmers the one who hid his masculine nature under a woman's outfit. And Odysseus handled it brilliantly.
Disguised as a merchant, he laid out in front of the princesses luxurious fabrics, jewelry, and other things for which women have always had a weakness, and between them, as if by accident, he left a sword. When, at his command, the servants issued a battle cry, all the girls fled with a screech, and only one of them grabbed her weapon, betraying a man and a warrior in herself.
They escorted the recruit on a campaign throughout the island. King Lycomedes sincerely grieved, and his young daughter Diedamia shed tears, in whose womb the son of Achilles was gaining strength for the sixth month (a hero is a hero in everything).
A hero who terrifies the enemy
Under the walls of Troy, Achilles arrived not alone, but accompanied by a hundred thousandth army, which was sent with him by his father, King Peleus, who, due to his old age, was deprived of the opportunity to personally take part in the siege of the city. He gave his son his armor, forged for him once and possessing magical properties. A warrior wearing them became invincible.
In his poem The Iliad, Homer tells how, using a gift from his father, the son fought for nine years, terrifying the Trojans, and capturing one city after another. Thanks to the magical powers granted to him by the waters of the Styx, as well as his father's armor, he was invulnerable to the enemy, but the one who killed Achilles in the Trojan War (which will be discussed below) knew his weak spot, and remained in the shadows for a while.
Envy that captivated the soul of a warrior
The countless feats accomplished by Achilles earned him great fame among ordinary warriors and became the cause of envy that consumed their commander-in-chief Agamemnon. It is known that this low feeling at all times pushed people to meanness, and sometimes even to crimes. The Greek military leader was no exception.
One day, returning from another raid, Achilles, among other prey, brought a beautiful captive, whose father Chris was a priest of Apollo. Agamemnon, taking advantage of his position, took her away from Achilles, to which he did not object, since he was then carried away by another slave named Briseis.
Soon the unfortunate priest appeared in the Greek camp and offered a rich ransom for his daughter, but was refused. In desperation, he called for the help of Apollo himself, and he, having entered the position of his servant, sent a pestilence to the offenders of his daughter. The Greeks did not have time to bury the dead. The soothsayer Kalhant, who was among them, after talking with the gods, said that death would not recede until Chris received his daughter, and Apollo received rich sacrifices.
Agamemnon had to obey, but in retaliation, he took away his beloved Briseis from Achilles and it was she who was sacrificed to the deity. He vilely scolded and insulted the hero himself in the presence of his subordinate warriors. This act came as a surprise to everyone, since before the commander-in-chief had a reputation not only as a brave, but also as a completely noble person. There is no doubt that there was magic here too. Moreover, it is possible that the evil spell was cast on him by the one who killed Achilles at the end of the poem we are retelling. But his name will be called a little later.
Confounded envious
Innocently offended and deprived of his best slave, Achilles refused to continue participating in the war, which indescribably delighted the Trojans, who trembled at the mere sight of him. Appearing on the seashore, he called his mother, the sea goddess Thetis, from its depths, and, having heard his story, she begged the supreme god Zeus to help the Trojans defeat the army of Agamemnon and show him that without Achilles they would face imminent death.
That's how it all happened. The accommodating Zeus gave strength to the Trojans, and they began to ruthlessly crush their enemies. The catastrophe seemed inevitable, and the vile envious had no choice but to publicly, in the presence of all the same soldiers, apologize to Achilles and, as compensation for the ruined Briseis, give him several beautiful slaves.
The Last Labors of Achilles
After that, the magnanimous Achilles forgave his offender and, with even greater frenzy, began to smash the defenders of the city. One of his most famous feats belongs to this period - a victory in a duel with the leader of the Trojans, Hector. Achilles not only managed to put him to flight, but forced him to run around the walls of Troy three times, and only after that he pierced him with a spear.
But the gods were not pleased to make Achilles a witness to the fall of Troy, and it was their will that the one who killed Achilles fulfilled. Shortly before his death, he made his last feat- defeated the army of beautiful, but treacherous and evil Amazons, who came to the aid of the Trojans, led by their leader Penthesilea.
The death of Achilles
Ancient authors, in many respects contradicting each other, in the biography of Achilles, nevertheless, are unanimous in depicting his last hour. According to their testimony, one day he tried to break into the besieged city through its main gate. Suddenly, his path was blocked by none other than Apollo himself, who had not yet fully reconciled with the Greeks after the story with the daughter of his priest.
Apollo, of course, knew who Achilles was. The fact is that, crowned with the glory of the most beautiful of the celestials, he harbored shameful envy and jealousy towards a mortal man, who, like him, was considered the standard of beauty. The perniciousness of this low feeling among people has already been discussed in our story, but in this case the name of the deity was tarnished by it.
Blocking Achilles's way, but, nevertheless, expecting, nevertheless, a respectful treatment, he instead received a rude shout and a threat to be pierced by a spear if he did not get out of the way immediately. Insulted, Apollo stepped aside, but only to immediately take his revenge.
Further, the authors differ somewhat in the description of what happened. According to one version, Apollo himself fired a fatal arrow after the offender, and it was he who killed Achilles. According to another, the envious god entrusted this vile business to Paris, the son of the Trojan king, who happened to be nearby. But since the arrow hit Achilles in his only vulnerable spot, which only Apollo knew about, there is no doubt that it was he who directed her flight. The one who killed Achilles in the heel could not help but know his secrets. Therefore, the murder of the hero is attributed to Apollo - the most beautiful of the gods, but who could not overcome the low and petty feelings in himself.
The story of Achilles inspired a whole galaxy of ancient poets who dedicated their works to him, some of which have survived to this day. Many of them are recognized as the best examples of ancient Greek poetry. Undoubtedly, Homer won the greatest fame among them with his famous poem "Iliad". The very death of Achilles gave birth to popular expression- "Achilles' heel", denoting a weak, vulnerable spot.
The sea goddess Thetis sought to make her son Achilles invulnerable and at night tempered him in fire, and rubbed him with ambrosia during the day. According to another version, she bathed him in the waters of the underground river Styx, which flowed in the kingdom of gloomy Hades. And only the heel, by which she held him, remained unprotected. Achilles was raised by the wise centaur Chiron, who fed him the entrails of lions, bears, and wild boars. He also taught him to sing and play the cithara.
Achilles grew up as a powerful, strong young man, he was not afraid of anyone. At the age of six, he killed ferocious lions, wild boars, without dogs he caught up with deer and knocked them to the ground. The goddess Thetis, who lived in the ocean, did not forget about her son, sailed to him, gave practical advice.
At that time, the hero Menelaus began to gather brave warriors throughout Greece for a campaign against Troy. Thetis, knowing that her son was destined to take part in the Trojan War and die, tried with all her might to resist him. She sent her son to the island of Skyros in the palace of King Lykomed. There, among the royal daughters, he hid in girlish clothes.
But the Greek soothsayers knew that one of the heroes Trojan War there will be a young warrior Achilles, they suggested to the leader Menelaus that he was hiding on the island of Skyros with King Lycomedes. Then the leaders Odysseus and Diomedes equipped a merchant ship, dressed as merchants, collected various goods and arrived at Skyros. There they learned that only daughters live with Tsar Lykomed. Where is Achilles?
Then Odysseus, famous for cunning, figured out how to recognize Achilles. They came to the palace of Lycomedes and laid out decorations, fabrics, household utensils, fighting swords, shields, daggers, bows and arrows in the hall. The girls looked at the goods with interest. Noticing this, Odysseus went out and asked his soldiers, who were standing at the entrance to the palace, to issue a battle cry. Warriors banged on their shields, roared their trumpets, shouted in invocative voices. It seemed like a war had begun. The princesses fled in fear, but one of them grabbed a sword and shield and ran to the exit.
So Odysseus and Diomedes recognized Achilles and invited him to participate in the Trojan War. He gladly agreed. He had long wanted to throw off his girlish dress and do a real job worthy of a man.
Achilles became famous in the very first days of the battles. He showed himself to be a fearless, skilled warrior, good luck accompanied him everywhere. He accomplished many feats. Together with others, he participated in the destruction of the environs of Troy, conquered the population of the cities of Lirness and Pedas, and captured the beautiful Briseida. But the leader Agamemnon took the girl away from him, which caused a terrible resentment from Achilles. He became so angry with Agamemnon that he refused to fight against the Trojans. And only the death of a friend of Patroclus forced Achilles to take up arms again and join the ranks of the Greeks.
Achilles died in the most ridiculous way: he burst into Troy and headed for the royal palace, but the Trojan prince Paris, who did not love him, took a bow and begged the god Apollo, who favored him, to send arrows to Achilles. One of his two arrows hit Achilles' only weak spot, his heel. Thus died one of the most famous heroes Trojan War. His death was mourned by the whole army.
Achilles' heel is a phraseological unit denoting the weakness, vulnerability of an enterprise or person. It can be a personality trait, a feature that spoils life, or imperfection in the organization of the case - everything that, one way or another, is a hidden flaw that can appear unexpectedly and confuse all the cards.
Let's talk about how this expression appeared, what is its original meaning.
The myth of Achilles
The expression "Achilles' heel" originates in the myth of the post-Homeric era, transmitted by the Roman poet Hyginus. It deals with the fate of the great hero named Achilles, who was invulnerable to enemy arrows and swords. The secret of his magical protection was that when he was a child, his mother, the sea goddess Thetis, dipped him into the waters. She dreamed of making her son immortal and equal to the gods. However, the protection was not complete. During the bathing of Achilles in the eternal river, his mother held his heel, which remained dry. She was the hidden weak point of the hero.
During the siege of Troy, Achilles fought for ten. No wonder, because the weapon could not do him any harm. The Trojans were on the verge of complete defeat. But then Apollo stood up for them, enraged by the impudence of a mere mortal. He directed the arrow fired by Paris, exactly at the heel of Achilles, and the hero was defeated.
Since then, the Achilles' heel has meant an inconspicuous and, it seems, insignificant feature that can be fraught with a threat to any business.
By the way, the Achilles tendon, named after the hero Greek myth, capable of withstanding a load of 400 kg or more and is one of the most vulnerable places in the human body.
Achilles' heel of the modern enterprise
Let us consider in more detail the concept of hidden vulnerability using the example of modern enterprises.
Any company is a complex system, which means that there are flaws somewhere that are inaccessible to a superficial glance.
The Achilles' heel of a firm is a weak point from which the destruction of the entire enterprise can begin.
When an ordinary employee does not pay enough attention to his official duties, he does not know that his carelessness can destroy the entire carefully built structure if he touches that very painful point with his actions.
In order to avoid such risks, most large Western and domestic companies pay much attention to the creation of a corporate culture, which helps to increase the discipline and motivation of employees.
Any owner of a successful large company needs to understand where this point is. If he cannot strengthen this place yet, then at least he should pay special attention to it.
Every industry has its weak link. For example, it is generally accepted that in aviation the main safety threat is the human factor, that is, unreliable and unpredictable people on whom the management of complex machines depends.
Sometimes such a flaw can be an insignificant event, which along the chain can lead to a complete collapse. It is almost impossible to predict the outcome, the only way to control such accidents is to introduce preventive measures. For example, creating rules of conduct in different situations and so on.
Achilles' heel - a myth familiar to many since childhood, warns of the danger that is fraught with carelessness and self-confidence. Any accident, ambiguity in contracts can become a weak link and turn into a threat to the life of the enterprise.
It says: "If trouble can happen, it will definitely happen." So, you can not give this trouble a single chance, you need to be extremely vigilant.
Achilles' heel
Achilles' heel
From the post-Homeric myth, transmitted by the Roman writer Gigin (I century BC). The mythical hero Achilles (Greek - Achilles) was predicted by an oracle to die under the walls of Troy, so his mother, the sea goddess Thetis, wanting to give her son immortality, dipped him into the sacred waters of the Styx River, while holding him by the heel. Thus the boy's heel was left unwashed and therefore unprotected. And, when the already adult Achilles fought under the walls of Troy, it was in this only vulnerable place that the arrow of Paris hit, which caused the death of the hero.
Allegorically: weak, vulnerable spot.
Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. - M.: "Lokid-Press". Vadim Serov. 2003 .
Achilles' heel
In Greek mythology, Achilles (Achilles) is one of the most powerful and brave heroes; He is sung in Homer's Iliad. The post-Homeric myth, transmitted by the Roman writer Hyginus, reports that the mother of Achilles, the sea goddess Thetis, in order to make her son's body invulnerable, dipped him into the sacred river Styx; while dipping, she held him by the heel, which the water did not touch, so the heel remained the only vulnerable spot of Achilles, where he was mortally wounded by the arrow of Paris. The expression "Achilles (or Achilles) heel" that arose from here is used in the meaning: weak side, the weak point of something.
Dictionary of winged words. Plutex. 2004
Synonyms:
See what "Achilles' heel" is in other dictionaries:
In a figurative sense: the weak side of a person; this proverb came from the following: according to Greek legends, the mother of Achilles, wanting to make her son immortal, immersed him in magic spring, so that only one heel, for which she is his ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
- (inosk.) Weak side (easily vulnerable). Wed The absence of a clearly conscious goal is the Achilles' heel of all administrators who have been educated by Dussault and in the establishment of artificial mineral waters. Saltykov. Pompadours. Wed We have many of these... Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)
Defect, roughness, defect, gap, lack, flaw, slack, weak link, weakness, complex, liability, flaw, imperfection, wormhole, defect, weakness, minus, weak side, weak spot, negative point, weak spot, ... ... Synonym dictionary
Dictionary Ushakov
ACHILLES' HEEL. see heel. Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov
ACHILLES' HEEL- what is the only or most vulnerable spot. This means that a position, plan, etc. (P) or a person or group of people (X) has a drawback, a weak side (Z). speech standard. ✦ Z Achilles' heel H and R. In the role of the nominal part of the tale, less often additional ... ... Phraseological dictionary of the Russian language
Achilles' heel- Book. Only ed. Weak side, the most vulnerable spot. = Weak spot. Achilles' heel of whom? men, sportsmen, theories, programs…; whose Achilles heel? the critic, he, we ... And he had an Achilles heel, and he had weaknesses ... ... ... Educational Phraseological Dictionary
Achilles' heel- only ed. , sustainable combination, bookstore The weakest, most vulnerable spot of someone. or what l. What kind of man is this Nevelsky? This is the Achilles heel of Zavoyka (Zadornov). Etymology: On behalf of own Achilles, Achilles (Greek Achilleus) and the words ... ... Popular dictionary of the Russian language
Statue "Dying Achilles" (Ernst Herter, 1884). Achilles' heel post-Homeric myth (transmitted by the Roman poet Hyginus ... Wikipedia
- (inosk.) weak side (easily vulnerable) Cf. The absence of a clearly conscious goal is the Achilles' heel of all administrators who have been educated by Dussault and in the establishment of artificial mineral waters. Saltykov. Pompadours. Wed We have many of these Achilles ... Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary
Books
- Achilles' heel of intelligence, M.E. Boltunov. The author of this book, a military journalist and writer, having studied recently declassified archival documents, introduces readers to the amazing stories of invisible heroes who provide communication ...
Achilles' weakness
Alternative descriptionsNotch at the end of the arrow shaft for easy installation of the arrow on the bowstring.
In technology - a shaft trunnion that perceives an axial load
The top stone (or row of stones) of a support on which an arch or vault rests
Back of human and bear foot
The end of the pole at the pole edged weapon, to which the inflow is attached
The lower, supporting part of an arch or vault
Shaft trunnion, perceiving axial load
Unsharpened area at the handle of the blade
Vladimir Gardin's film Iron...
The story of the American writer D. London "Iron ..."
The place where they held Achilles, bathing him in the Styx
Part of the foot
Achilles...
Vulnerable at Achilles
Weakness of Achilles
Back of the foot
Weakness of Achilles
The organ that killed Achilles
Shaft trunnion in engineering
Slack Achilles
Achilles' Vulnerability
Lower part of the arch
Achilles is vulnerable
Back of the foot (obsolete)
Not the strongest place of Achilles
Weakness of Achilles
Human lower support
The area at the handle of the blade
Upper stone of the arch support
Achilles slack
Failed Achilles
paris target
In it, Paris stung Achilles
Slack Achilles
Achilles' place
. Achilles' weak link
arch support, vault
Standing pitch support
Filthy place of Achilles
Shaft trunnion, perceiving axial load
The lower supporting part of the arch, vault
Support stone under an arch or vault
In the technique of the shaft pin, perceiving the axial load
