Medical Mythology: Achilles Marc A. Shampo, Ph.D., and Robert A. Kyle, M.D.
The Achilles tendon (the tendon that extends from the calf muscles to the back of the heel bone), the Achilles bursa (the bursa between the Achilles tendon and the calcaneus), and the Achilles reflex (the stretch reflex elicited by tapping the Achilles tendon) were all named after the legendary Greek warrior Achilles. Achilles, the hero of Homer's Iliad, was the son of Peleus (king ofThessaly, a region in eastern Greece) and Thetis (a sea nymph). Thetis attempted to make her son immortal by dipping him in the river Styx. Because she held him by the heel, he was vulnerable in that part of the body. According to Homer, Achilles was educated by Phoenix, who taught him to be a man of action and an eloquent speaker, and by the centaur Chiron, who taught him the art of healing.
Mayo Clin Proc 67:651,1992
As leader of the forces of myrmidons, Achilles accompanied the Greek armies to the siege of Troy (an ancient city in northwest Asia Minor). During the first 9 years, he and his army were victorious and ravaged the countryside around Troy. In the 10th year, he quarreled with Agamemnon (the commander-in-chiefof the Greek armies) and refused further service, after which the Greek armies began to lose. After his friend Patroclus was slain by Hector (the eldest son of the last Trojan king Priam and queen Hecuba), however, Achilles reconciled with Agamemnon and reentered the war. In the Iliad, Achilles kills Hector, who prophesied that Achilles would be killed by Paris, another son of King Priam. The death of Hector, which signified the end of Troy's hopes, also broke the spirit of his father, the king. As prophesied, Achilles was slain by Paris, whose arrow was guided by Apollo to the heel, the only vulnerable part of his body. Achilles was worshiped in many places, including Leukas (one of the Ionian Islands offthe west coast of Greece), Sparta (an ancient city in southern Greece), Elis (an ancient region in northwest Peloponnesus, Greece), and Sigeum (a town in northwest Turkey, near the site of ancient Troy). A stamp issued by Greece in 1959 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Red Cross depicts a scene in which Patroclus is being bandaged by Achilles.
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The Achilles tendon (the tendon that extends from the calf muscles to the back of the heel bone), the Achilles bursa (the bursa between the Achilles tendon and the calcaneus), and the Achilles reflex (the stretch reflex elicited by tapping the Achilles tendon) were all named after the legendary Greek warrior Achilles. Achilles, the hero of Homer's Iliad, was the son of Peleus (king ofThessaly, a region in eastern Greece) and Thetis (a sea nymph). Thetis attempted to make her son immortal by dipping him in the river Styx. Because she held him by the heel, he was vulnerable in that part of the body. According to Homer, Achilles was educated by Phoenix, who taught him to be a man of action and an eloquent speaker, and by the centaur Chiron, who taught him the art of healing.
Mayo Clin Proc 67:651,1992
As leader of the forces of myrmidons, Achilles accompanied the Greek armies to the siege of Troy (an ancient city in northwest Asia Minor). During the first 9 years, he and his army were victorious and ravaged the countryside around Troy. In the 10th year, he quarreled with Agamemnon (the commander-in-chiefof the Greek armies) and refused further service, after which the Greek armies began to lose. After his friend Patroclus was slain by Hector (the eldest son of the last Trojan king Priam and queen Hecuba), however, Achilles reconciled with Agamemnon and reentered the war. In the Iliad, Achilles kills Hector, who prophesied that Achilles would be killed by Paris, another son of King Priam. The death of Hector, which signified the end of Troy's hopes, also broke the spirit of his father, the king. As prophesied, Achilles was slain by Paris, whose arrow was guided by Apollo to the heel, the only vulnerable part of his body. Achilles was worshiped in many places, including Leukas (one of the Ionian Islands offthe west coast of Greece), Sparta (an ancient city in southern Greece), Elis (an ancient region in northwest Peloponnesus, Greece), and Sigeum (a town in northwest Turkey, near the site of ancient Troy). A stamp issued by Greece in 1959 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Red Cross depicts a scene in which Patroclus is being bandaged by Achilles.
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