The Immortality Of Achilles In The Trojan War

Achilles is one of the main characters that participated in the Trojan War, it no the most important. He was born from the newly married Thetis and Peleus. Beforehand though, Poseidon and Zeus with in love with Thetis, however, Prometheus warned them of the prophecy that said that the son of Thetis would be greater than his father, so the two gods decided to withdraw and then Peleus and Thetis conceived Achilles, the greatest of all Greek Heroes. When he was born, his mother, Thetis, wanted him to be immortal and thus, she dipped him in the river Styx, however she did not release at his heel, by which she held him, so that was the only part of his body that did not touch the water, therefore that part of his body was mortal. In another version of Achilles’ immortality, Thetis covered Achilles body in ambrosia and put him on top of a fire to burn away his http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~dmt34/achilles/myth.html mortality; however she was interrupted by “Immortality of Achilles” Source:Peleus and then abandoned them. Either way, Achilles was made immortal in every way, except in his heal, his only weakness. (https:l )
In the beginning of the historical conflict, Achilles was already enlisted in the Greek Army and was known to be great in battle but also narcissistic and insubordinate.
He thought that because of his skills, he did not have to follow orders of a King or superior. Achilles does not fit modern sensibilities. He is a killer and certainly a pillager. He is sulky, temperamental, and definitely is full of himself. Even though there is something really wrong with his character, there is still something that we can relate to, even if it is something hard to rationalize or explain. He is sharper, faster, bigger and brighter than most men; he is beautiful. He is dependant on his deep emotions. Other men cannot even aspire to be him, some can’t even look at him. He is just above and beyond of any man of the era. (https://ero
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By the start of the Trojan War, Achilles have sworn the end battle, he was done with the life of a soldier. Itionally Menelaus and Agamemnon approached Achilles to try to persuade him on joining, but declined. It wasn’t until Odysseus(King of Ithaca), known for his persuasion skills and knowledge, convinces Achilles to join by using another tactic, his cousin Patroclus. Achilles was very fond of Patroclus and was training him to defend himself against assassins that killed of the rest of his family. For this reason, Patroclus wanted to get as far away from Greece as he could, he volunteered himself to go and fight in Troy. Odysseus thought that he could use this to get Achilles into the war, and it worked. In order to keep his beloved cousin safe, he agreed to join the fight against the Trojans. ( https://www.ancient.eu/achilles/ )
Among Achilles, were a lot of other Greek and Trojan Heroes that played a big role in the Trojan War. Heroes like Odysseus, Diomedes, Greater Ajax, Ajax the Lesser, Hector, Paris, and Aeneas. Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, known for his wise and untypical mindset for war, also the main hero in The Odyssey. Diomedes, next to Achilles was the mightiest of the Greek Heroes at Troy. Ajax the Greater, the tallest of all Greek Commanders, fairest for fight than any other soldier. The Lesser Ajax, the greatest Lancer in all the battles and the fastest, he fought along with Greater Ajax making an unstoppable team. Hector, the commander and chief of the Trojan forces, equal to Achilles. Paris, the best archer in the war, and lover to Helen. Aeneas, the hero of Virgil's Aeneid, did not join to war until Achilles drove him out of Mt. Ida and became second only to Hector as the best Trojan Warrior. All of these people play a essential role in the Trojan War, each having their own part in how it unrolls. ( htom/classical/heroes2.html )
Despite Zeus's strict directions not to engage with the Trojan War, almost all of the Olympians lined up with either the Greek or the Trojan side. Of course Aphrodite sided with the Trojans because Paris gave her the Golden Apple and Athena and Hera joined the Greeks because they weren't chosen. Other gods like Apollo(the god of the Sun and bowmanship) and Artemis(Goddess of the Hunt and the Moon, also twin to Apollo), among other lesser Gods, supported the Trojans. ( htiad-121299 )While Gods like Poseidon(God of the Sea), Hermes(the Messenger God), and Hephaestus(the Artisan God) along with Hera and Athena were aligned with the Greeks. ( https:omnotes.html ) Ares(God of War) fought for both sides and Zeus(King of the Gods), Hades(God of the Underworld) and Demeter remained neutral. These Gods and Goddess changed the tide of the war and effected the actions of our brave heroes, lets just hope it turns out alright.
Now we begin. Paris eloped with Helen, Menelaus outraged, Achilles joins in battle, all is ready for war. Having Achilles with them, the Greek leaders gathered at the port of Aulis, a sacrifice was made to Apollo. He sent an oman, where the Heroes saw a snake slither from the alter to a birds nest and ate the mother and her nine baby chicks before the snake turned to stone. They agreed that this meant Troy would fall on the tenth year of war. (https_war.html ) The massive 1,200 ships were ready for departure, the Greek fleet sailed for Troy. ( https:/ar.html )Due to a storm the scattered the fleet, Achilles 50 ships were scattered and fell off track, they landed on the island of Mysia thinking it was Troy. There was battle in “Troy”, in which its King, Telephus, was fatally wounded by Achilles. Once realizing that this was not Troy, Achilles called off the attack and decided to help Telephus in exchange for directions to Troy. Telephus’ wound would not heal, an oracle told him that it could only be healed by the person who inflicted it. Telephus commended Achilles to mend his wounds, but he did not know any medical knowledge; Odysseus suggested that the spear that inflicted the wound might help, and it did. Telephas healed and told them the way Troy. ( https://r.html )The Heroes reconvened on the island Aulis. Strangely enough, no ships were able to set sail off the island because the wind had disappeared. In order to get favorable winds for a swift travel to Troy, Agamemnon had to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia, to Artemis. The winds picked up again and they set sail.
Sailing for days, they decided to stop at the island Tenedos, where Achilles ravishingly took over the island and killed the King, who was the son of Apollo. Thetis, his mother, warned him no to kill the King, for it he would be killed by the God himself. Nonetheless, he killed the King and then sailed for Troy.
In an effort to avoid military conflict, Odysseus and Menelaus went to see King Priam to try to settle this conflict without war. An article suggests, ”While the elderly king saw favorably the return of Helen and the spartan gold in order to avoid confrontation with the mighty Greeks on the battlefield, his 50 sons would not succumb to the threat of war, opting to stand by the side of their brother Paris.” ( httpstml )
Having tried their best to negotiate, Odysseus and Menelaus decided to land their troops and begin the attack on Troy. The Greeks were so excited to finally see some action but something stood in their way: “An oracle had foretold that the first warrior to set foot on Trojan soil, would be the first casualty of the Trojan War.” (httpsl ) In result, none of the Greek soldiers wanted to set foot of Trojan soil, except for one. Odysseus, seeing that an eager soldier, gave the order to jump on the beaches while he threw his shield on the ground and jumped onto it, avoiding to touch the ground first. The same soldier, being the first to touch Trojan soil, was slain then by Hector, the greatest Trojan warrior, and was the first casualty of the Trojan War.