Achilles was a handsome hero and the greatest and mightiest warrior of the Trojan War in Greek mythology described in Homer’s Iliad. He wore strong metallic armour over his body. His enemies could not wound him. He fought heroically, killing a large number of Trojan warriors including Hector, son of Priam, the king of Troy. He distinguished himself as an invincible warrior. His enemies identified an unprotected and vulnerable area in his body - his heels.
Finally, Priam’s son, Paris, aided by Apollo, wounded Achilles in his heel using an arrow, which was possibly poisoned. Achilles died of this wound in the heel, which was the only vulnerable point in his whole body. The term ‘Achilles’ heel’ refers to a person’s principal weakness that can lead to his downfall.
Temptations may arise from our own evil feelings or may be caused by other people and evil sights and circumstances which we may fail to avoid. Temptations often attack the vulnerable traits of our mind and lead us to sin and downfall. We can resist temptations and lead a virtuous life by our conscious efforts to maintain a clear conscience and by our constant prayer to God, the Almighty, to grant us the gift to resist temptations.
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© By Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India and Leo. S. John, Maniparambil, Ooriyakunnath,Kunnumbhagom, Kanjirappally, Kottayam-686507, Kerala, India.
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