Achilles' Heels: An IPKKND FanFiction

Unveil through mythology

Achilles' Heels

An Achilles' heel is a deadly weakness despite overall strength, that can actually or potentially lead to downfall. While the mythological origin refers to a physical vulnerability, idiomatic references to other attributes or qualities that can lead to downfall are common.

In Greek Mythology, Achilles was the son of a mortal father, Peleus and an immortal mother, the nymph Thetis. It wasn't common for immortal females to mate with mortal men; Thetis wasn't happy when she realized that was her fate. Instead of getting to marry and/or mate with the head honcho, Zeus, or his slightly lower-in-status brother, Poseidon, she was paired off with a Thessalian king named Peleus.

Peleus had proven himself honorable to the gods and deserving of a reward, but not of an unambiguous sort. Poseidon and Zeus had turned against Thetis because they had learned that whoever fathered her son, would prove to be much less of a man than his son. They knew from personal experience of a couple of generations of similarly ever-enhanced genetics just how dangerous a son could be. Zeus had overthrown his father, and his father had overthrown his own by an act of castration. Neither the promiscuous Zeus nor Poseidon had any desire to be unmanned and Zeus was quite happy to be king of the heavens and head god. So, Peleus was selected as a husband for Thetis partly because he deserved honor, but also because the gods didn't care what happened to him.

Thetis wasn't happy. She was a shape-shifter and tried to get away from Peleus, but Peleus kept hanging on. Perhaps Thetis was impressed with his endurance. Perhaps she got tired. Whatever the reason, Thetis agreed to marry Peleus and produced a son and possible heir, Achilles.

In a moment of maternal bonding, to keep her new-born infant safe, Thetis decided to make him immortal. There were various ways of doing this, but to observers, they seemed likely to kill the child. Thetis chose to dunk her baby boy in the Underworld's River Styx (also note that in other non-Achilles' heel versions of Thetis' actions, she thrust him into boiling water, or, like Demeter, tried to make the baby immortal by putting him in a fire). So that he wouldn't drown or float away, she held him by his left ankle. Why she didn't take turns and hold him for a second dunk by the right ankle we'll never know, but that's what Thetis did and the result was that Achilles was impervious to assault, except in the one spot that hadn't been made immortal -- his heel or more specifically, his Achilles' heel.

Achilles turned out to be the greatest and fastest hero on the Greek side during the Trojan War, which is the subject of Homer's great epic poem, the Iliad. Achilles dies before the enemy's city of Troy is taken, but not before defeating the greatest hero of the Trojans.

Achilles was obliged to join the Achaean forces when Agamemnon summoned them to fight for Helen at Troy. To keep him from the fighting, Thetis sent him to Lycomedes' court dressed in women's garments. There he lived among young women, most of whom remained in ignorance about his gender. Odysseus knew how to trick him out of hiding, though. He brought trinkets to sell the young women, and among them was a sword. When Achilles saw the sword it was all over. He led his men, known as the Myrmidons, to Troy. Briseis was a war prize Achilles won when the Greeks defeated King Mynes of Lyrnessus, an ally of Troy. She was the king's daughter.

Achilles and his captive seem to have fallen in love, so that when Agamemnon demanded that Achilles give him Briseis, Achilles was furious and refused to fight. Patroclus, whose name is sometimes written Patrocles, was a close friend, and possible lover of Achilles. He accompanied Achilles to Troy. When Patroclus was killed by the Trojan prince Hector, Achilles was enraged and resumed fighting for the Greeks to get his revenge. There would be funeral games for Patroclus, but only after Achilles had killed Hector.

Achilles was killed by Paris, son of King Priam of Troy, and Queen Hecuba. possibly by a divinely-guided arrow, and possibly in his heel. There is a lot of controversies involved in the death of Achilles, as it seems impractical that a great hero like Achilles would die of an insignificant wound on his heel. Nevertheless, the meaning of Achilles' Heel as a phrase in the English language remains unchanged despite the disambiguation amongst scholars.

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Iago

Iago is one of Shakespeare's most complex villains. At first glance, Iago seems to be pure evil in one of the most known and loved works of Shakespeare, Othello. 

Iago's entire scheme begins when the ignorant, ill-suited Cassio is given the position he desired. Iago is consumed with envy and plots to steal the position he feels he most justly deserves. Iago deceives, steals, and kills to gain that position. For someone to constantly lie and deceive one's wife and friends, one must be extremely evil or, in the case of Iago, amoral. Iago tricks Othello, his superior, into believing that his wife is having an affair, without any concrete proof. Othello is so caught up in Iago's lies that he refuses to believe his wife, Desdemona when she denies the whole thing. Much credit must be given to Iago's diabolical prowess which enables him to bend and twist the supple minds of his friends and spouse. Iago sees his wife as an obstacle and a nuisance so he kills her. He kills her not as much out of anger but for pragmatic reasons. 

Iago's wife, Emilia remained a stumbling block in front of his path. She served no purpose to him anymore and could now only hurt his chances of keeping the position he has been given by Othello. Hence, Emilia was subsequently murdered by Iago, before he was arrested and imprisoned by Cassio.

Disclaimer: I do not retain the rights for the text above about mythological stories and references to the concerning names and characters alike. I do not hold any responsibility for the above description to be authentic or otherwise. The descriptions have been compiled and edited from various sources on the internet for readers' convenience.