After the death of prince Hector, the Trojans called on their allies to help them defeat the attacking Greeks. The Ethiopian King Memnon was one such ally who brought his army to support the Trojans, but he was killed by Achilles in battle. Another legend has the hero battling the Amazons and fighting their leader, Queen Penthesilea. The moment he kills her with his spear, their eyes meet and he falls in love with her — but it is too late.
In other accounts, Achilles is marrying Trojan princess Polyxena and supposedly negotiating an end to the war when Paris fires the shot that kills him. According to other ancient authors, after his death, Achilles is cremated, and his ashes are mixed with those of his dear friend Patroclus.
The Odyssey describes a huge tomb of Achilles on the beach at Troy, and Odysseus meets Achilles during his visit to the underworld, among a group of other dead heroes.
Another legend has the ancient Greek hero marrying Helen in the afterworld. After his death, he became a demigod. See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Although the exact dates of the Trojan War are not clear ie, whether it was during the Mycenaean civilization or during the Dark Age of Greece , the decline of the Mycenaean civilization resulted in wars, migration, and the destruction of the culture, literacy, communications, trade, and medicine.
Regardless of when it occurred, the literature concludes that during the Trojan War, physicians were aware of the importance of body and therefore wound hygiene. Wounds were cleaned and sutured and herbs were used.
To stop the bleeding, a red-hot iron was used early cauterization. In those days, micro-organisms were unknown, and asepsis procedures and antibiotics were not used. The heel enables standing on the toes, walking, running, and jumping. Two arteries carry blood to the heel — the peroneal artery and the tibialis posterior artery the latter ranging in diameter from 0.
The tendon has no blood vessels of its own sheath; the paratenon, a sheer, gossamer layer of connective tissue matrix fortified with capillaries, helps nourish the tendon. The story of Achilles is one of the most important legends in Greek mythology. The ancient Greeks believed the Trojan War was a historical event, but most of the information comes from The Iliad and The Odyssey , attributed without full certainty to Homer.
The surrounding myths describe Homer as a blind poet who played lyre and recited poems. He lived in the 8th and 7th centuries BC, 4 or 5 centuries after the Trojan War. In addition, a search was conducted of history books that address Achilles and the time in which he lived.
Several texts ,11,12 covered the historical period or the epoch in which Achilles lived. Biological warfare. Bacteria have always existed but probably were not deliberately used as a biological weapon. Could these bacteria get into a wound and cause tetanus?
The tetanus agent develops toxin only in wounds lacking oxygen anaerobic conditions. A tetanus agent can be found in horsehair, so contact with the wound would not have been impossible. Botulinum toxin is found in rotten meat and canned food anaerobic conditions. In ancient Greece, food included meat, fish, and olives. It is highly unlikely that the tip of the arrow was made of lead, so lead poisoning can be eliminated as a possibility.
In those days, shields and weapons were made of bronze. In addition, lead is not a factor in acute poisoning because it has a cumulative effect.
Pain and stress. Another potential cause of death could be thyrotoxic storm because of the pain and stress. Achilles tendon injury is a very common injury in professional athletes 14 ; warriors in the time of the Trojan War were surely in the same top physical shape and accustomed to the same athletic prowess. Thus, no clear connection exists in the literature between such an injury and thyrotoxic storm.
An immobilized Achilles might have feared falling into enemy hands. A wound near the triceps tendon is right beneath the skin, insufficiently protected, and exposed to mechanical influence. This area is poorly vascularized and any injury, defect, or lack of skin on the heel may lead to infection and a chronic wound that does not heal for weeks or months. Even a closed injury of the Achilles tendon requires rest 6 to 8 weeks , and typically weeks of immobilization and rehabilitation.
Struck by Paris, Achilles was crippled and angry, presumably felt severe pain, and could not run or walk. Were pain and loss of mobility enough cause for suicide for a war hero? During the war, Achilles led not only the Myrmidons, but also often all of the Achaean forces, which included Spartan tribes, who must have influenced Achilles. Sparta, famous for its military force and civil discipline, completely focused on military training and excellence.
Spartans managed to compensate for their paucity of numbers, which was their main disadvantage, by focusing on perfect discipline. Spartan warriors always wore red to cover the blood, if injured.
For them, leaving the battlefield was never an option. Therefore, Spartans and other warriors in ancient Greece would have respected a warrior injured in battled who committed suicide.
Suicide was not only accepted among warriors, it was, in a way, expected. As a hero among heroes, Achilles could choose his fate — either a long and inglorious life or a short and glorious one. Therefore, the possibility that Achilles committed suicide is not far-fetched.
Further conjecture. Could Achilles have lived as a helpless man with a cane? One might suppose that if Achilles survived his injury which may be true , he would have hoped the wound would heal quickly and he could resume his warrior ways. However, during the Trojan War, all wounds seemed to become deadly or heal slowly chronic. Wounds rarely healed per primam intentionem. According to Herodotus 5th century BC , the Trojan War may have never happened if the king of the Teucrians had not visited Greece with the hope of healing his wound.
The prophetess told him only the person who injured him Achilles could cure him. When this came to pass, the king, out of gratitude, told the Greeks how to find Troy. Perhaps Achilles hoped the same fate would await his debilitating wound. But what if a cure seemed never to come?
Each time Achilles stepped on the foot, he would be reminded he was no longer invincible — that he was vulnerable and incapable of a full recovery. For the Greek people, Achilles was dead the moment he stopped being a warrior, because he could no longer lead the army. Perhaps he did not want the people to see him limping, to pity him. He might have secluded himself far away from people, to die alone with a chronic wound.
Based on what is known of the injury, Achilles probably had a chronic wound with skin and paratenon defect, devitalized tendon tissue, bleeding, granulation tissue, and repeated infections. Each time he stepped on the foot, he would be reminded he was no longer invincible.
One cannot be certain how or how quickly had the end come. For the Greek people, Achilles was dead the moment he lost the ability to fight. The myth of the hero Achilles is still very much alive and fraught with questions. Did Achilles die immediately after the arrow pierced his heel and then bleed out?
Or did he live, abandoned and lonely, with a chronic wound because he was no longer a capable warrior? Even though Thetis was a lesser god or demigod , she was immortal. The thought that her child would be anything less was unacceptable to her. In other words, she was more worried about their mortal or immortal nature than she was about protecting them.
If Burgess is right and Achilles was not invulnerable or nearly invulnerable in this lesser-known tradition, then the story about Paris shooting him in the heel doesn't apply here. This version of Achilles would have simply been an exceptional warrior known for his unparalleled speed.
Then why do some of the earliest artistic depictions of Achilles' death show him being shot in the lower leg? From Burgess' point of view, these depictions are meant to emphasize the importance of Achilles' greatest asset - his lightning-quick legs. We don't have a full account of this earlier tradition, but it's possible that this version of Achilles was killed only after being immobilized by an arrow on the battlefield.
Images of him being hit with an arrow in the leg don't necessarily mean he was mostly, or even partly, invulnerable to enemy weaponry. If Burgess is correct, then this older tradition, which has it roots in the Archaic Age BCE or earlier, evolved over the eons into the Hellenistic version many of us are familiar with today: Thetis dips the baby Achilles into the River Styx to make him invincible, but the heel she holds him by is left unprotected. Later, after avenging the death of Patroclus in the Trojan War, Achilles is shot from behind by Paris in that one exposed spot.
It is clear that there were multiple versions of the life of Achilles.
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