Achilles' heel
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
(Redirected from Achilles heel)
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
An Achilles' heel) is a weakness in spite of overall strength, which can 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.
[edit]
Origin
In Greek mythology, when Achilles was an infant, it was foretold that he would perish at a young age. To prevent his death, his mother Thetis took Achilles to the River Styx, which was supposed to offer powers of invulnerability. She dipped his body into the water but, because she held him by his heel, it was not touched by the water of the river. Achilles grew up to be a man of war who survived many great battles.
[edit]
See also
- Achilles
- Achilles tendon
- Balder in Norse mythology
- Duryodhana in the Mahabharatha
- Esfandiyār in the Shahnameh
- Kryptonite
- Siegfried in the Nibelungenlied
- Single point of failure
- Squatting position
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Achilles' heel" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
