The meaning of Achilles. Syntactic analysis and meaning of phraseology "Achilles heel"

Achilles is an ancient Greek hero. His father is mortal Peleus, his mother is the goddess Thetis (she was the goddess of the seas). The fate of children born from such a relationship was not easy. They were endowed with remarkable strength, dexterity, wisdom. They were respected by fellow countrymen, she glorified herself with the exploits that she performed for the benefit of people. But, whatever they were, they were waiting for the end of ordinary people - death.

Achilles mother wanted her son to be like her, and not his father, so that he did not know death. For this, when the baby was born, Thetis dipped him into the waters of the sacred river Styx. At the same time, she held him by the heel. As a result of such a bath, Achilles became invulnerable, as the future warrior, he actually gained immortality. That's just the place on the heel for which his mother held him and which the waters of the sacred river did not wash, remained vulnerable.

Achilles grew up and became a respected hero, a glorious warrior. He was invited to fight for Troy. We are talking about the famous Trojan War. It was there, in one of the battles, that the arrow of the enemy hit the heel of Achilles. He died of this seemingly trifling wound.

The expression "Achilles heel" means:

You must admit that each of us has the strings of the soul which, when correctly touched, can cause both pain and joy.

Phraseologism "Achilles' heel" is used exclusively in the meaning of "weak spot in humans."

The sea goddess Thetis sought to make her son Achilles invulnerable and at night tempered him with fire, and rubbed him with amvrosia during the day. According to another version, she bathed him in the waters of the underground river Styx, flowing in the kingdom of gloomy Hades. And only the heel for which she held him remained unprotected. Achilles was brought up by the wise centaur Chiron, who fed him with the insides of lions, bears and wild boars. He taught him to sing and play the kifar.

Achilles grew up a powerful, strong youth, he was not afraid of anyone. At the age of six, he killed ferocious lions, wild boars, without dogs, he caught up with deer and brought them to the ground. The goddess Thetis, who lived in the ocean, did not forget about her son, sailed to him, gave practical advice.

At that time, the hero Menelaus began to gather brave warriors throughout Greece for a campaign against Troy. Thetis, knowing that her son was destined for rock to participate in the Trojan War and die, tried with all her might to resist him. She sent her son to the island of Skyros in the palace of Tsar Lykomed. There, among the royal daughters, he hid in girlish clothes.

But the Greek soothsayers knew that one of the heroes of the Trojan War would be the young warrior Achilles, they told the leader Menelaus that he was hiding on the island of Skyros with King Likomed. Then the leaders Odysseus and Diomedes equipped a merchant ship, changed into merchants, collected various goods and arrived at Skyros. There they learned that only daughters live with King Likomed. Where is Achilles?

Then Odysseus, famous for cunning, figured out how to recognize Achilles. They came to Likomed's palace and laid out decorations, fabrics, household utensils, battle swords, shields, daggers, bows and arrows in the hall. Girls examined the product with interest. Noticing this, Odysseus went out and asked his soldiers standing at the entrance to the palace to utter a battle cry. Warriors pounded on shields, roared in trumpets, shouted in invocatory voices. The war seemed to begin. The princes fled in fear, but one of them grabbed the sword and shield and ran to the exit.

So Odysseus and Diomedes recognized Achilles and invited him to participate in the Trojan War. He happily agreed. He had long wanted to throw off a girl’s dress and do a real business worthy of a man.

Achilles became famous in the very first days of the battles. He proved himself a fearless, skillful warrior, luck accompanied him everywhere. He accomplished many feats. Together with others, he participated in the ruin of the surroundings of Troy, conquered the population of the cities of Lirness and Pedas, and captured the beautiful Briseid. But the leader Agamemnon took the girl away from him, which caused a terrible insult from Achilles. He was so angry with Agamemnon that he refused to fight against the Trojans. And only the death of a friend of Patroclus forced Achilles to take up arms again and join the ranks of the Greeks.

Achilles died in the most ridiculous way: he burst into Troy and went to the royal palace, but the Trojan prince, who didn’t love him, took a bow and begged God who favored him to send arrows to Achilles. One of his two arrows hit the only vulnerable spot of Achilles, in the heel. Thus died one of the most famous heroes of the Trojan War. His death was mourned by the whole army.

The phraseology of the Achilles' heel is known to most of us, but now, nevertheless, not everyone knows the meaning of the Achilles heel. So where did this expression come from and what is the meaning of the Achilles heel? The legend of Achilles gained its fame thanks to the Roman writer Guy Julius Gigin.

The legend describes the life of the famous Achilles, who later made a large number of feats. According to the myth at the birth of Achilles, his mother was predicted that her son would either live a long but inglorious life and die in old age, or he would become a hero, but he would die tragically as a teenager near the walls of Troy. Thetis, the mother of Achilles, was worried about the life of her son and decided to make him invulnerable. To do this, she took the child by the heel and plunged headlong into the waters of the Styx River, which, according to legend, was sacred and flowed through the underworld of Hades (the god of the underworld of the dead in ancient Greek mythology). But Achilles heel was the only one that did not touch the sacred waters.

Many years later, Achilles went on a military campaign with like-minded people to Troy, where he died from an injured enemy who hit an heel with an arrow. Since then, the expression of the Achilles' heel has the meaning of the weakest and most vulnerable place in man, just as there was a heel in Achilles.

How is the expression of the Achilles heel applied today?

The meaning of the Achilles' heel is evident from this beautiful legend. Each person has a place, the blow to which in both the literal and figurative sense, he will perceive the most painful. This is one of the weaknesses of a person through which it is possible to influence and influence him, pursuing his goals.

We hope that this article helped you quickly and in an accessible way to understand the essence of the expression of the Achilles heel.

31.08.2018 18.02.2019 Alexander Firtsev

Ancient Greece gave the world many useful legends and myths that introduced winged expressions and phrases into modern vocabulary. The myth is a fantastic image, an attempt to explain natural phenomena, events, highlighting morality, aesthetic attitude to reality.

Everyone is used to the expression “Russian achilles' heel"Means a weak, unprotected place, no matter what the conversation is about. Phraseologism is most often used in a conversation about human vulnerability, that is, about a specific business or process, the result of which will be fundamentally the opposite of the expected success.

In order to understand why the “Achilles' heel” is a weak point and to learn the history of the origin of phraseological units, one should read the myth of Achilles.

The Legend of Achilles

The steady expression originates from the myth conveyed by the writer Gigin about the hero Achilles. The legend says that the son of Thetis, a wonderful warrior, everyone knew how adroit and impregnable for sharp spears and arrows of the enemy.

From a young age, he was prophesied a long life in which he would not experience glory, or a heroic, but short life path, ending with the death of a warrior near the walls of Troy.

The caring mother Thetis was afraid of her son's early death, and therefore went to the Styx River, the waters of which everyone considered sacred. She dipped the baby into the underground waters, holding his heel, protecting his flesh from the effects of any weapon. The magic spell protected the hero from any misfortune, but there was only one place in his body that the holy defense did not extend to - the heel.

When Thetis dipped her son into the river, she held him by the heel, because of which this part remained easily vulnerable. The Trojan War pushed Tsarevich Paris and Achilles on the battlefield. Led by the god Apollo, who had previously been offended by an invulnerable warrior, Paris prepared poisoned arrows for battle, took aim, and hit Achilles heel. An unapproachable warrior was killed. A small arrow wound was fatal to the hero.

Modern interpretation

It would seem that so many thousands of years have passed, the old generation gives way to a new one, and ancient Greek expressions live and find their place in modernity. The “Achilles heel” is used not only in verbal usage, denoting a weak spot in the physical and moral plane, it was noted by the anatomists, who call the tendon located above the calcaneus, “Achilles”.

Expression History

"Achilles' heel" is a phraseological unit that originates in ancient Greece. Achilles (Achilles) - the hero of the epics of Homer, a great warrior who does not know defeat. He was a demigod. His mother is the sea nymph Thetis, who was forcibly married to the king of the Myrmidonians Peleus. According to the legend that Homer relies on in his epic, Achilles was the seventh child in the family. His brothers died at the hands of a mother who dipped her babies in boiling water to see if they were immortal. Achilles was saved by his father. Having inherited a powerful force from the mother goddess, the son of a mere mortal remained vulnerable to all dangers. In order to save him from future adversities, Thetis dips the baby in the jet of Styx. Mother held her child by the heel, and the water of the sacred river did not touch her. The greatest of the ancient heroes Achilles took part in the campaign against Troy. No one could defeat the warrior, because everyone was aiming at his body, head. Under his blows, the Queen of the Amazons of Pentesilea and the Ethiopian Prince Memnon fell, who came to the aid of the Trojans. But the poisoned arrow fired by Paris, whose hand was directed by an angry Apollo, hit the hero in the heel - the only unprotected place, and he died.

Since then, any flaw, flaw, or unprotected place has received the name "Achilles' heel." The myth haunted the minds of people. Anatomists retained the memory of the hero by calling one of the connective tissues located above the calcaneus the "Achilles tendon." Each person has his own "Achilles' heel." Someone openly acknowledges this weakness, someone hides it, but be that as it may, its presence once again confirms the expression "there are no perfect people." Those who deny it to themselves are either simply ignorant or stupid, considering themselves equal to the gods.

Any complex system has its own vulnerability. This applies not only to man, but also to any enterprise. As with human psychology, denying a weak spot in an organization is simply pointless. On the contrary, the owner or manager of the enterprise, who understands that there are no “white spots”, seeks them out, thinking through the management policy in advance in order to notice the danger in time and take all possible measures to maintain stability and subsequent economic growth. Any missed roughness, weak link, wormhole (this is the “Achilles heel”) - and the company faces collapse. This is not only about the organization of labor, but also about the relationship with subordinates, respect for subordination, business etiquette. Any small crack can develop into a fault. A promising, knowledgeable leader will always keep abreast.

The world around

Even more insidious is the "Achilles' heel", hidden in the domestic and international politics of the state. Nuclear and space programs, banking structure, legislation - all these huge systems, like colossi on clay feet. Any imperfection, a gap and a small pebble that has fallen from the foundation can cause the collapse of not only a separate state, but also of all mankind.