Achilles/Bio & Battles

Born to the hero Peleus and the sea nymph Thetis, Achilles was the prince of the highly trained and skilled Myrmidons, a crew of Greek hoplite warriors. Peleus entrusted his son to the care of Chiron, a centaur and legendary teacher of heroes. When Achilles grew up, Thetis confronted her son, offering him two choices: a quiet, happy, and long life with a good family, or a fierce and violent one full of glory that would end with him dying young. Achilles chose the latter.

When the Trojan war began with the abduction of Helen of Sparta, King Agamemnon called the Myrmidons to arms. Although Thetis tried to prevent him from leaving, Achilles sailed to the beaches of Troy to join the fight.

As the war dragged on into its tenth year, Agamemnon chooses to make a concubine belonging to Achilles, Briseus, his own. Achilles, insulted and infuriated, ordered his Myrmidons to stop fighting, and the Greeks lost much ground without them. Achilles' closest friend, Patroclus, decided to take Achilles' place and lead the Myrmidons into battle. He donned Achilles's armour and drove back the Trojans, but was killed by the Trojan champion Hector. When he learned what happened, Achilles flew into a rage. He slaughtered countless numbers of Trojans on his search for revenge, finally slaying Hector outside the gates of Troy. Achilles would meet his prophesied end shortly afterwards, being felled by the arrows of Paris, Hector's brother.