Achilles heel meaning and origin of phraseology briefly. What does the expression “Achilles heel” mean?

The meaning of AHILLES FIVE in the Popular explanatory-encyclopedic dictionary of the Russian language

ACHILLES' HEEL

only units , sustainable combination, book.

Smb. Weakness or smth.

What kind of man is this Nevelsky? - This is the Achilles heel of Zavoyka (Zadornov).

Etymology:

On behalf of his own Achilles, Achilles (Greek Achilleus) and the words of the common Slavic origin of the heel (other Russian heel, senior glory. P? That o. Glory. * Peta).

Encyclopedic comment:

In Homer's Iliad, Achilles is one of the bravest Greek heroes, leaders of the ancient Greeks during the siege of Troy. Achilles mother, the goddess Thetis, wanting to make her son immortal, immersed him in the sacred waters of Styx. Only the heel for which Thetis held him did not touch the water and remained vulnerable. Achilles died from the arrow of Paris, which hit him in the heel.

A popular explanatory-encyclopedic dictionary of the Russian language. 2012

The meaning of the phraseology “Achilles' heel” is a weak, vulnerable place in someone or in something. If this expression is used in relation to a person, then it can characterize him both moral and physical appearance. Moreover, as a rule, the expression "Achilles' heel" is ironic and mocking.

The origin of the phraseology “Achilles' heel” we owe to the myths of Ancient Greece, and more precisely, the myth of the ancient Greek legendary hero Achilles or Achilles. Heroes were born from the marriages of the gods with mortals and possessed some kind of supernatural qualities for mortal people, but were not immortal. Fulfilling the will of the gods, they performed various feats, for which people made legends about them. It happened with Achilles.

His parents were Thetis - the sea nymph and Peleus - the son of the Aeginian king Eak. According to the prediction, their joint son will live a long life or become a hero and die near the walls of Troy.

Therefore, Thetis, wanting to know whether her child is immortal or not, dipped the newborn in boiling water. So six children of Thetis died. When the seventh child was born, Peleus insisted that Thetis not put on her inhuman experiences. You guessed it, that child was Achilles. However, Thetis, wanting to make her son invulnerable, according to one version put Achilles in the divine furnace of the god of fire and the patron saint of the blacksmithing craft Hephaestus, while holding him by the heel. According to another version, Thetis dipped Achilles into the sacred waters of the underground river Styx in the kingdom of the dead Hades. Thus, Achilles had one weak spot - his heel. Hence the expression “Achilles' heel”, indicating a weak, unprotected place.

When the Greeks were about to attack the Trojans, King Ithaki Odysseus and King Pylos Nestor wanted to see Achilles in the ranks of their army. Having received a blessing from his father, Achilles joined the campaign on Troy.

Thetis, remembering the prophecy and and wanting to save her son, set up a storm, and the ship of Achilles appeared on the island of Skyros. There, with King Likomed, Thetis hoped to hide Achilles so that he could not take part in the fateful war for himself. To do this, she dressed her son in women's clothing and hid him among the daughters of Tsar Lykomed. But the cunning and clever Odysseus found out about this. He appeared on the island under the guise of a merchant. He put to the princesses' review Odysseus not only dresses, jewelry, but also weapons. Suddenly, on his orders, noise and a battle cry arose and, by inertia, Achilles took up arms. So exposed "deserter" had to go on his last trip.

Achilles performed many feats in the war, he defeated many enemies in battles. No one could handle the hero. But the prediction, nevertheless, came true. The arrow fired by the son of King Troy Paris and directed by the god of light and patron of the arts Apollo fell into the only unprotected place of Achilles - the heel. Although the wound was not significant, Achilles died.

So every living thing, every thing is imperfect. And it doesn’t matter whether he hides his shortcomings and flaws or not, but they are. According to scientists, even in the sun there are spots. So this myth suggests that no matter how ideal and invulnerable you seem, you should not deceive yourself and be careless and self-confident, you should beware of chance and be vigilant. After all, as Murphy’s humorous law says:

“If there is a chance that some kind of trouble can happen, then it will certainly happen.”

In Greece, on the island of Corfu, in the palace of Achilleion, a statue of Ernst Gustav Harter "Dying Achilles", created by him in 1884, is exhibited. She portrays Achilles trying to take an arrow from his heel. And this statue was made by order of Empress Elizabeth.

And a little bit of anatomy. The progenitor of the name "Achilles tendon" is the myth of the "Achilles heel." By the way, this calcaneal tendon is the strongest and most powerful in the human body.

Achilles' heel - phraseologism, denoting the weakness, vulnerability of an enterprise or person. This can be a personality trait, a feature that spoils life, or an imperfection in the organization of the case - all that, one way or another, is a hidden flaw that can appear unexpectedly and confuse all the cards.

Let's talk about how this expression appeared, what is its original meaning.

The myth of Achilles

The expression "Achilles' heel" originates in the myth of the post-Homer era, transmitted by the Roman poet Gigin. It deals with the fate of a great hero named Achilles, who was invulnerable to enemy arrows and swords. The secret of his magical defense was that when he was a child, his mother, the sea goddess Thetis, dipped him in the waters. She dreamed of making her son immortal and equal to the gods. However, the defense was not complete. During the bathing of Achilles in the eternal river, his mother held him by the heel, which remained dry. She was the hidden vulnerability of the hero.

During the siege of Troy, Achilles fought for ten. No wonder, because the weapon could not do him any harm. The Trojans were on the verge of total defeat. But then Apollo stood up for them, enraged by the insolence of a mere mortal. He directed the arrow fired by Paris, as if on the heel of Achilles, and the hero was defeated.

Since then, the Achilles' heel means an imperceptible and, as it seems, insignificant feature that can be fraught with a threat to any business.

By the way, the Achilles tendon, named after the hero of the Greek myth, is able to withstand a load of 400 kg or more and is one of the most vulnerable places of the human body.

Achilles heel of a modern enterprise

Let us consider in more detail the concept of hidden vulnerability on the example of modern enterprises.

Any company is a complex system, which means that flaws somewhere are inaccessible to the superficial gaze.

The Achilles heel of the company is a weak point from which the destruction of the entire enterprise can begin.

When an ordinary employee does not pay enough attention to his job responsibilities, he does not know that his carelessness can destroy the entire carefully structured structure if by his actions he touches that very painful point.

In order to avoid such risks, most large Western and domestic companies pay much attention to creating a corporate culture, which helps to increase discipline and motivation of employees.

Any owner of a successful large company needs to understand where this point is. If so far he cannot strengthen this place, then at least he should pay special attention to it.

Each industry has its own weak link. For example, it is generally accepted that the main factor in aviation security is the human factor, that is, unreliable and unpredictable people on whom the management of complex machines depends.

Sometimes a minor event can become such a flaw, which along the chain can lead to a complete collapse. It is almost impossible to foresee the outcome; the only way to control such accidents is to introduce preventive measures. For example, the creation of rules of conduct in various situations and so on.

The Achilles' heel - a myth familiar to many from childhood, warns of the danger posed by carelessness and self-confidence. Any accident, ambiguity in the contracts can become a weak link and turn into a threat to the life of the enterprise.

Says: "If trouble can happen, it will happen." So, you can’t give this trouble a single chance, you need to be extremely vigilant.

Achilles' heel

Achilles' heel
From the post-Homer myth transmitted by the Roman writer Gigin (I century BC). The oracle to the mythical hero Achilles (Greek - Achilles) predicted death under the walls of Troy, so his mother, the sea goddess Thetis, wanting to give her immortality, dipped him in the sacred waters of the Styx River, while holding him at the heel. Thus, the heel of the boy remained unwashed and, therefore, unprotected. And, when an adult Achilles fought under the walls of Troy, it was in this only vulnerable spot that the arrow of Paris fell, which caused the death of the hero.
Allegorically: a weak, vulnerable place.

Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. - M .: Lokid-Press. Vadim Serov. 2003.

Achilles' heel

In Greek mythology, Achilles (Achilles) is one of the most powerful and brave heroes; he sang in Homer's Iliad. The post-Homer myth, transmitted by the Roman writer Giginus, reports that the mother of Achilles, the sea goddess Thetis, in order to make her son's body invulnerable, dipped him in the sacred river Styx; dipping she held him by the heel, which was not touched by water, so the heel remained the only vulnerable spot of Achilles, where he was mortally wounded by the arrow of Paris. The resulting expression "Achilles '(or Achilles' heel)" is used in the meaning: weakness, vulnerability of something.

Dictionary of winged words. Plutex. 2004.

Synonyms:

See what the "Achilles heel" is in other dictionaries:

In a figurative sense: a person’s weakness; This saying came from the following: according to Greek legends, the mother of Achilles, wanting to make her son immortal, plunged him into a magical spring, so that there was only one heel for which she ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

- (foreign language) weakness (easily vulnerable). Wed The absence of a clearly recognized goal of the Achilles' heel of all administrators who received education from Dussault and the establishment of artificial mineral waters. Saltykov. Pompadour. Wed We have a lot of these ... Michelson's Big Dictionary of Explanations (original spelling)

Defect, roughness, vice, gap, deficiency, flaw, slack, weak link, weakness, complex, passive, flaw, imperfection, wormhole, flaw, weakness, minus, weak side, weak spot, negative point, weak spot, ... ... Synonym dictionary

Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

ACHILLES' HEEL. see heel. Explanatory dictionary Ushakov. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

ACHILLES' HEEL - that the only or most vulnerable spot. This means that the position, plan, etc. (P) or a person or group of persons (X) has a disadvantage, a weak side (Z). speech standard. ✦ Z Achilles' heel X a & LT; P & GT ;. In the role of the nominal part of the story., More rarely add. ... ... Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Language

achilles' heel - Book. Only units Weakness, the most vulnerable spot. \u003d Weak spot. Achilles heel of whom what? men, athlete, theory, program ...; Achilles heel from whom? the critic, he, we have ... And he had an Achilles heel, and he had weaknesses ....... ... Educational phraseological dictionary

achilles' heel - only units , sustainable combination, book. Weak, most vulnerable spot or what What kind of man is this Nevelsky? This is the Achilles heel of Zavoyka (Zadornov). Etymology: On behalf of his own Achilles, Achilles (Greek Achilleus) and the words ... ... Popular dictionary of Russian language

The statue of the "Dying Achilles" (Ernst Herter, 1884). Achilles heel of the post-Homer myth (narrated by the Roman poet Gigin ... Wikipedia

- (foreign language) weak side (easily vulnerable) Cf. The absence of a clearly recognized goal is the Achilles heel of all the administrators who were educated by Dussault and in the institution of artificial mineral waters. Saltykov. Pompadour. Wed We have a lot of these Achilles ... Michelson's Big Dictionary of Interpretations

Books

Achilles Heel of Intelligence, M.E. Boltunov. The author of this book, a war journalist and writer, having studied recently declassified archival documents, acquaints readers with amazing stories of inconspicuous heroes providing communication ...

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”.