Achilles - Achilleus

A hero in Greek mythology. He is the main character in Homer's epic poem "Iliad" and the greatest hero of the Trojan War. His Latin name is Achilles. He is the son of Peleus, the king of Phthia, and the goddess Thetis. When he was a child, Thetis, the goddess of the sea, immersed him in the river Styx in the underworld to make him immortal, but the heel she was holding at the time was the only part that did not get wet and he did not become immortal. Later, his mother Thetis dressed him as a woman and hid him in the palace of Lycomedes, the king of Skyros, so that he would not participate in the Trojan War. However, when Odysseus, who came looking for him according to a prophecy, laid out his weapons along with his clothes and accessories in front of the girls, only Achilles grabbed a weapon, and he was discovered.

In Troy, Achilles led the Myrmidons to battle, and after attacking the surrounding cities, captured the beautiful Briseis. However, when the commander-in-chief, Agamemnon, stole her away from him, Achilles became angry and withdrew from the battlefield. His mother, Thetis, pleaded with Zeus to allow the Trojan army to regain its strength while her son was away, so the Greek army suffered a major defeat. Agamemnon offered Achilles peace by promising a huge compensation, but Achilles refused. So his friend, Patroclus, borrowed Achilles's weapons and went to battle, but was killed by the enemy commander, Hector. Achilles was furious at his death and asked his mother, Thetis, to ask the fire god Hephaestus to make him new weapons. The next day, he reconciled with Agamemnon and went to the battlefield. Achilles eventually confronts his sworn enemy, Hector, and after killing him, he ties his body to his chariot and drags it around, humiliating him. Ten days later, his mother advises him to show respect to the dead, so when Hector's father, Priam, visits his camp, Achilles returns the body in exchange for a large sum of money. In the Odyssey, Odysseus meets Achilles after death in the underworld. However, although the story talks about Achilles' funeral and the fight over the distribution of his weapons, it does not touch on the truth of his death. One theory is that after killing Penthesilea, the queen of the Amazons who helped the Trojans, and Memnon, the son of Eos, the goddess of dawn, Achilles was shot in the heel by Apollo (or Paris) and died.

[Masahiro Ogawa]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ギリシア神話の英雄。ホメロスの叙事詩『イリアス』に登場する主人公で、トロヤ戦争最大の英雄。ラテン名はアキレスAchilles。プティアの王ペレウスと女神テティスの子。子供のころ、海の神テティスは彼を不死身にするため冥界(めいかい)の川スティクスに浸したが、そのとき彼女がつかんでいた彼のかかとだけが水につからず不死身とはならなかった。のちに母テティスは息子がトロヤ戦争に参加しないように、彼を女装させてスキロスの王リコメデスの館(やかた)に隠した。しかし、預言に従って彼を探しにきたオデュッセウスが娘たちの前に衣装や装身具とともに武器を並べると、アキレウスだけが武器をつかんだため、見破られた。

　トロヤでは、アキレウスはミルミドン人を率いて出陣し、周辺諸都市を攻めたのち美女ブリセイスを獲得したが、総大将のアガメムノンが彼女を奪ったので、彼は怒って戦場から退いた。母テティスは、息子の不在の間トロヤ軍が力を盛り返すようゼウスに嘆願したので、ギリシア軍は大敗北する。アガメムノンは莫大(ばくだい)な代償を約束してアキレウスに和睦(わぼく)を申し出るが、彼はこれを拒絶する。そこで友人のパトロクロスがアキレウスの武具を借りて出陣するが、敵将ヘクトルに討たれる。アキレウスはその死に激怒し、母テティスに頼んで火神ヘファイストスに新たな武具をつくってもらい、翌日アガメムノンと和解したのち戦場に赴く。やがてアキレウスは仇敵(きゅうてき)ヘクトルと対決し、彼を討ち取ると死骸(しがい)を戦車に結び付けて引きずり回し、辱める。十数日後、死者に敬意を払うよう母が忠告したので、ヘクトルの父プリアモスが彼の陣営を訪れたとき、アキレウスは多大の代償金と引き換えに遺体を返した。『オデュッセイア』において、オデュッセウスは冥界で死後のアキレウスに出会う。しかしアキレウスの葬儀や武具の分配をめぐる争いについては語られても、その死の真相には触れられていない。一説では、トロヤ方を助けたアマゾンの女王ペンテシレイアと曙(あけぼの)の女神エオスの子メムノンを殺したのち、アキレウスはアポロン（またはパリス）にかかとを射られて死んだとされている。

［小川正広］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例