Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Achilles |
AchillesNoun1. A mythical Greek hero of Homer's Iliad; a foremost Greek warrior at the siege of Troy; when he was a baby his mother tried to make him immortal by bathing him in a magical river but the heel by which she held him remained vulnerable--his "Achilles' heel". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
"Achilles" is a name that signifies or is derived from: "a pain". |
Date "Achilles" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references) |
| Domain | Definitions |
19th Century Satire | A courageous Greek, who did a general slaughtering business in Troy in 1180 B. C., but was finally pinked in the heel-- his only vulnerable spot--and died. Long life often depends on being well heeled. Source: Foolish Dictionary, 1904. |
Biographical Satire | ACHILLES (first name unknown), a baby whose mother gave him a bath, but forgot to wash all of his feet. Later was veteran of the siege of Troy. Died before receiving pension. Source: Who was Who: 5000BC - 1914. |
Literature | Achilles (3 syl.) King of the Myrmidons (in Thessaly), the hero of Homer's epic poem called the Iliad. He is represented as brave and relentless. The poem begins with a quarrel between him and Agamemnon, the commander in chief of the allied Greeks: in consequence of which Achilles refused to go to battle. The Trojans prevail, and Achilles sends forth his friend Patroclos to oppose them. Patroclos fell; and Achilles, in anger, rushing into the battle killed Hector, the commander of the Trojans. He himself, according to later poems, fell in battle a few days afterwards, before Troy was taken. Achilles Army: The Myrmidons followed him to Troy. Death of: It was Paris who wounded Achilles in the heel with an arrow (a post-Homericstory). Father: Peleus (2 syl.), King of Thessaly. Friend: Patroclos. Horses: Balios (= swift-footed) and Xanthos (= chestnut-coloured), endowed with human speech. Mistress in Troy: Hippodamia, surnamed Briseis (2 syl.). Mother: Thetis, a sea goddess. Son: Pyrrhos, surnamed Neoptolemos (= the new warrior). Tomb: In Sigoeum, over which no bird ever flies. - Pliny. x. 29. Tutors: First, Phoenix, who taught him the elements; then Chiron the centaur. Wife: Deidamia. (5 syl.) De-i-da-my'-ah. Achilles (pronounce A-kil-leez). The English , John Talbot, first Earl of Shrewsbury (1373--1453). Achilles of England, the Duke of Wellington (1769--1852). Of Germany, Albert, Elector of Brandenburg (1414--1486). Of Lombardy, brother of Sforza and Palamedes. All the three brothers were in the allied army of Godfrey (Jerusalem Delivered). Achilles of Lombardy was slain by Corinna. This was not a complimentary title, but a proper name. Of Rome, Lucius Sicinius Dentatus, the Roman tribune; also called the Second Achilles. Put to death B.C. 450. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
In Greek mythology, Achilles was the greatest warrior in the Trojan War, and the central character of Homer's Iliad.
Achilles was the son of Peleus, king of the Myrmidones in Thessaly, and the sea nymph Thetis. Zeus and Poseidon had vied for her hand until an oracle revealed she would bear a son greater than his father, whence they wisely chose to give her to someone else. According to legend, Thetis had tried to make Achilles invincible by dipping him in the river Styx, but forgot to wet the heel she held him by, leaving him vulnerable so he could be killed by a blow to that heel. (See Achilles' tendon.) Homer, however, deliberately makes no mention of this; Achilles cannot be a hero if he is not at risk. In an earlier and less popular version of the story, Thetis anointed the boy in ambrosia and put him on top of a fire to burn away the mortal parts of his body. She was interrupted by Peleus and abandoned both father and son in a rage. Peleus gave him to Chiron to raise.
When the Greeks left for the Trojan War, they accidentally stopped in Mysia, ruled by King Telephus. In the battle, Achilles wounded Telephus. The wound would not heal and Telephus asked an oracle who stated the "he that wounded shall heal".
According to others' reports about Euripides' lost play about Telephus, he went to Aulis, pretending to be a beggar and asked Achilles to help heal his wound. Acchilles refused, claiming to have no medical knowledge. Alternatively, Telephus held Orestes for ransom, the ransom being Achilles' aid in healing the wound. Odysseus reasoned that the spear had inflicted the wound and the spear must be able to heal it. Pieces of the spear were scraped off onto the wound, and Telephus healed. This is an example of sympathetic magic.
An oracle, Calchas, stated that the Greeks would not win without Achilles but his mother, Thetis, knew he would die there. His mother thus hid him at the court of Lycomedes in Scyros, disguised as a woman. There he had an affair with Deidamea resulting in a child, Neoptolemus. He was found out, however, by Odysseus, Ajax the great and Phoenix, who arrived disguised as a peddler with trinkets and weaponry. Achilles was marked out from the other women by admiring the wrong goods. Alternatively, he was found out by a blast of the trumpet, whence instead of cowering he grabbed a spear to ward off the attackers. From there he needed little convincing to go to Troy, accompanied by his best friend Patroclus and his tutor, Phoenix (this is the same Phoenix that accompanied Odysseus to Scyros in a different, much later version).
Achilles is one of the only two people described as "god-like" in the Iliad. This does not just refer to his supreme fighting ability, but also to his attitude. He shows a complete and total devotion to the excellence of his craft and, like a god, has almost no regard for life. Not his own - clearly he does not mind a swift death, so long as it is glorious - and not really of others. His anger is absolute. The humanization of Achilles by the events of the war is the main theme of the Iliad.
Achilles' charioteer's name was Automedon.
Achilles took twenty-three towns outside Troy, including Lyrnessos, where he captured Briseis to keep as a concubine. Meanwhile, Agamemnon took a woman named Chryseis and taunted her father, Chryses, a priest of Apollo, when he attempted to buy her back. Apollo sent a plague through the Greek armies and Agamemnon was forced to give Chryseis back to her father. He took Briseis as compensation. Achilles and Agamemnon argued and Achilles refused to fight any longer; Patroclus donned his armor and took his place and was killed by Hector (who also took Achilles' armor). Enraged, Achilles killed Hector (after his mother acquired new armor from Hephaestus and Hector was injured by Ajax) and dragged his body around Troy three times before allowing Priam (Hector's father and king of Troy) to bury it.
During the Trojan War, Xanthus, a magical horse was rebuked by Achilles for allowing Patroclus to be killed. Xanthus responded by saying that a god had killed Patroclus and a god would soon kill Achilles too. The Erinyes struck the horse dumb.
Shortly after the death of Hector, Achilles defeated Memnon of Ethiopia, Cycnus of Colonae and the Amazonian warrior Penthesilia (with whom Achilles also had an affair in some versions). He was very soon after killed by Paris - either by an arrow to the heel, or in an older version by a knife to the back while visiting Polyxena, a Trojan princess. Both versions conspicuously deny the killer any sort of valor, and Achilles remains undefeated on the battlefield. His bones are mingled with those of Patroclus, and funeral games are held. Like Ajax; he is represented as living after his death in the island of Leuke at the mouth of the DanubeBirth
Achilles in the Trojan War
Telephus
Achilles in the Court of Lycomedes
During the Trojan War
Agamemnon and the Death of Patroclus
Xanthus
Memnon, Cycnus, Penthesilea, the Death of Achilles
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Achilles."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
ACHILLES | English | A computer-human interface lexical library and extensible syntax | Computing |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Absence | Absence makes the heart grow fonder; "absent in body but present in spirit"; absento nemo ne nocuisse velit; "Achilles absent was Achilles still"; aux absents les os; briller par son absence; "conspicuous by his absence"; "in the hope to meet shortly again and make our absence sweet". |
Danger | Noun: danger, peril, insecurity, jeopardy, risk, hazard, venture, precariousness, slipperiness; instability; defenselessness; Adjective: exposure; (liability); vulnerability; vulnerable point, heel of Achilles; forlorn hope; (hopelessness). |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Achilles |
| English words defined with "Achilles": Achillean, Achilles tendon, Achilles' tendon ♦ Hector ♦ myrmidon ♦ Patroclus, Peleus ♦ tendon of Achilles, Thetis, To wit. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "Achilles": Andrew Macs, Automedon ♦ Bells, Briseis ♦ Chiron ♦ Heel, Heels ♦ Merlo, Myrmidon, Myrmidons of the Law ♦ Palamedes of Lombardy, Patroclos, Pelides, Penthesile'a ♦ Rinaldo, Roland ♦ Sartor Resartus, Sea Deities, Shields ♦ Wrath ♦ Xanthos. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "Achilles": Memnon. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Achilles" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses. Afrikaan (Achilles), Danish (Achilles), Dutch (Achilles), German (Achilles), Hungarian (Achilles). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Achilles, heel! (The Hunchback of Notre Dame; writing credit: Victor Hugo; Irene Mecchi) Looking darkly upon Hector, swift footed Achilles answered, 'I cannot forgive you. As there are no trustworthy oaths between men and lions, there can be no love between you and me. Before then to glut with his blood, Ares, the god who fights under the shield's guard. (Space: Above and Beyond; writing credit: Mark Shirrefs; John J. Thomson) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Achilles Is a Heel (1963) Enter Achilles (1996) Achilles (1996) Bankett für Achilles (1975) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References | |||
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Teuthis achilles (Shaw). In: "The Shore Fishes of the Hawaiian Islands, with a General Account of the Fish Fauna", by David Starr Jordan and Barton Warren Evermann. Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission, Vol. XXIII, for 1903. Part I. P. 574, Plate LVIII.Credit: Fisheries. |  | Acanthurus Achilles, Achilles Tang in lower left Zebrasoma Flavescens, Yellow Tangs; large Porites sp. coral in background.Credit: The Coral Kingdom. |
 | Zanclus Canescens - Moorish Idol, Acanthurus Achilles, Achilles Tang Other fish species and coral head of Porites lobatus in foreground.Credit: The Coral Kingdom. |  | On his knees again : Agamemnon begging Achilles for help in the fray.Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | The modern Achilles!.Credit: Library of Congress. | ||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Homer | Achilles absent was Achilles still! |
| Not even Achilles will bring all his words to fulfillment. | |
Sir Philip Sidney | Alexander received more bravery of mind by the pattern of Achilles, than by hearing the definition of fortitude. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Walden | Thoreau, Henry David | Or perchance he was some Achilles, who had nourished his wrath apart, and had now come to avenge or rescue his Patroclus. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Business | The transport utilities have appointed Achilles Information AB to run the day-to-day operations of TransQ. (references) | |
Economic History | Slovak Rep | Unemployment is still the Achilles heel of the Slovak economy, with monthly rates oscillating between 19 to 21 percent for most of 2000, as reported by the National Labor Office (NLO), one of the two sources of labor statistics in Slovakia. (references) |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | MYRMIDON, n. A follower of Achilles -- particularly when he didn't lead. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Walter Cronkite | Very good. Very good. I'm still hobbling along with my torn Achilles tendon. Tennis injury, not gout. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| "Achilles" is generally used as a noun (proper) -- approximately 77.73% of the time. "Achilles" is used about 211 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (proper) | 77.73% | 164 | 24,408 |
| Noun (plural) | 21.8% | 46 | 50,285 |
| Lexical Verb (-s form) | 0.47% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 211 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "Achilles" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| Achilles | Last name | 200 | 34,347 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
| "Achilles" is a name that signifies or is derived from: "a pain". | |||
| The following table summarizes names related to "Achilles." | |||
| Name | Gender | Language | Related Name |
| Achille | Male | French | Achilles |
| Achilles | Male | Greek Mythology (Latinized) | N/A |
| Achille | Male | Italian | Achilles |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Country | Name |
| Japan | Achilles Corporation |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "Achilles": achilles heel ♦ Achilles tendinitis ♦ achilles tendon ♦ heel of achilles ♦ tendon of Achilles. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
achilles tendonitis | 906 |
achilles tendon | 364 |
achilles | 265 |
achilles tendon rupture | 62 |
achilles tendon injury | 51 |
achilles last stand | 42 |
achilles heel | 38 |
achilles heal | 34 |
achilles boat | 32 |
achilles inflatables | 26 |
achilles inflatable boat | 22 |
achilles tendon surgery | 20 |
shield of achilles | 18 |
achilles tendon pain | 16 |
achilles injury | 15 |
achilles tendon tear | 14 |
achilles tendonitis treatment | 13 |
achilles tendon repair | 12 |
achilles connection tendon | 11 |
achilles brad pitt | 11 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "Achilles"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Afrikaan | Achilles. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | Akil. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | موقع غير منيع. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | Ахил. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 阿奇歷斯 . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | achillova pata (achilles heel, one's achilles' heel). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | Achilles. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | Achilles. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Esperanto | Akilo. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farsi | اشیل یااخلیوس قهرمان داستان ایلیاد. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | kolmipäisen pohjelihaksen refleksografia (Achilles reflexogram, Achilles tendon reflexogram), kinnerjänne (Achilles tendon). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | Achille. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | Achilles. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | Αχιλλεύσ. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | Achilles. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | Achille. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | アカデミー賞 (a capella, academic, academician, academicism, academism, Academy Award, accumulator, agape, Christian feast in token of fellowship, Christian fellowship). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | アキレス . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | achillesay Aquiles. (various references) Ахиллес. (various references) ahil. (various references) Aquiles. (various references) akilles. (various references) Aşil. (various references) Ахіллес, Ахілл. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Misspellings | |
"Achilles" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: acheilles, achellies, Achil, achiles, Achili, Echelles, Machilis. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: challies. | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-e-h-i-l-l-s" | |
-1 letter: challie, challis, helical, shellac. | |
-2 letters: allies, chaise, chelas, chiels, chiles, chills, chisel, heliac, laches, laichs, liches, lilacs, scilla, sheila. | |
-3 letters: aches, aisle, alecs, calls, ceils, cella, celli, cells, chase, chela, chias, chiel, chile, chill, clash, hails, hales, halls, heals, heils, hells, hills, ileac, ileal, laces, laich, laics, leach, leash, lilac, lisle, saice, salic, scale, scall, selah, shale, shall, sheal, shell, shiel, shill, slice. | |
-4 letters: aces, ache, ails, alec, ales, alls, asci, call, case, cash, ceil, cell, cels, chia, chis, each, elhi, ells, haes, hail, hale, hall, heal, heil, hell, hies, hila, hill, ices, ichs, ilea, ills, isle, lace, lacs, laic, lase, lash, leal, leas, lech, leis, lice, lich, lies, sail, sale, sall, seal, sell, shea, sial, sice, sill. | |
-5 letters: ace, ail, ais, ale, all, als, ash, cel, chi, cis, ell, els, hae, has, hes, hic, hie, his, ice, ich, ill, lac, las, lea, lei, lie, lis, sac, sae, sal, sea, sec, sei, sel, sha, she, sic. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-c-e-h-i-l-l-s" | |
+1 letter: achilleas, challises. | |
+2 letters: echolalias, haloclines, hellacious. | |
+3 letters: shellacking, spherically. | |
+4 letters: candlelights, hallucinates, hallucinoses, hellaciously, hemerocallis, hysterically, melancholias, melancholics, melancholies, plainclothes, seraphically, shellackings, superhelical, theistically. | |
+5 letters: aesthetically, alchemistical, atheistically, calligraphers, calligraphies, chancelleries, chancellories, colleagueship, collieshangie, geophysically, hallucinogens, heuristically, melancholiacs, mischannelled, multichannels, psephological, schematically, synthetically. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)41 63 68 69 6C 6C 65 73 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
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| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
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| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
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Morse Code (1836) (references).- -.-. .... .. .-.. .-.. . ... |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01000001 01100011 01101000 01101001 01101100 01101100 01100101 01110011 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)A c h i l l e s |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0041 0063 0068 0069 006C 006C 0065 0073 |
| British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)
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Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)3569747578787185 |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Modern 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Quotations: Familiar 8. Quotations: Fiction | 9. Quotations: Non-fiction 10. Quotations: Spoken 11. Usage Frequency 12. Names: Frequency | 13. Names: Derived from 14. Names: Company Usage 15. Expressions 16. Expressions: Internet | 17. Translations: Modern 18. Abbreviations 19. Acronyms 20. Derivations | 21. Anagrams 22. Orthography 23. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
