THE STORY (59 minutes) With Hector dead, the desperate Trojans grasp on to increasingly ridiculous deus ex machina solutions to save their city from the Greeks. And then old King Priam hatches the most hair-brained (or brilliant) scheme of them all…..
THE COMMENTARY HOW DID ACHILLES DIE and WHO KILLED HIM? (15 minutes; begins at 59:00) With this podcast episode we leave behind Homer`s account of the Trojan War, and once again delve into that jambalaya of accounts, fragments, partial references and contradictory content that served as our source materials in Episodes One through Ten. I remind listeners that the death of Achilles does not appear in Homer – though Homer clearly predicts it and even tells us who will kill Achilles (Paris), and even where Achilles will die (on the Trojan Plain). I then raise the perennial and frustrating debate on whether or not Achilles was immune from physical injury. I note that Homer’s Achilles is vulnerable to injury (a Trojan arrow draws blood in Book 21 of Iliad; and Achilles needs armour when entering battle). But on the other hand, the Achilles of the River Styx story (you will recall that Thetis immersed her infant son in that river) is clearly immune from physical injury. I note that a storyteller cannot have it both ways. Either Achilles is immune, due to his Styx-dunking, or he is not immune. I defend my personal storyteller choice of “immune Achilles” on the grounds that the Styx-dunking is an established and popular part of the Trojan War Epic canon, and in my view makes for a more satisfying story. Homer, I note, did not include the Styx story, because it had not yet been written down (or even created?) until 100 A.C.E., by a writer named Statius (in The Achilleid). Next I explore whether a poison arrow, if lodged into Achilles’ left heel, could have actually caused his death. Here I cite The Trojan War: A New History, by Barry Strauss, 2006, who argues “yes”.
Finally, I confess that my “version” of the death of Achilles (via Priam’s plot to marry Achilles to his daughter Polyxena, and Paris’ assassination of Achilles in a temple of the god Apollo) holds together on the most gossamer of primary source threads. But I invite (dare) storytellers to come up with a more plausible and satisfying account of Achilles’ death, given the paucity and contradictory nature of the surviving accounts. I conclude by reviewing a series of “death of Achilles” accounts which I rejected in my version of the telling. I conclude by inviting listeners to explore the source materials, and come up with their own best understanding of how Achilles died.
Happy Listening,
Jeff
RELATED LINKS
ACHILLES: MYTH VS REALITY by greekmythcomix
WHY WAS PARIS SUCH AN UTTER PLONKER by greekmythcomix
DEATHS IN THE ILIAD INFOGRAPH by greekmythcomix
ACHILLES’ LAST STAND by Led Zeppelin, live 1979 YOUTUBE
RELATED IMAGES
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- BOOK A LIVE TELLING or “EDU-TAINMENT” (click here)
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- King Memnon arrives at Troy
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- PENTHESILIA Arturo Michelena, 1891
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- Non-Amazonian Olympic archer (managing just fine with both breasts intact)
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- Another non-Amazonian Olympic archer (managing just fine with both breasts intact)
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- Katniss Everdeen draws a bow (managing just fine with both spectacular breasts intact)
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- THE DEATH OF ACHILLES, Rubens 1630
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- AJAX CARRIES DEAD ACHILLES (Attic black-figure lekythos, c. 510 B.C.E.)
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- SACRIFICE OF POLYXENA by Charles Le Brun (French, Paris 1619–1690
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- Sacrifice of Polyxena (more Greek pottery)
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- RENAISSANCE POLYXENA IMAGE
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- The Death of Polyxena, by Paul Francois Quinsac (1858-1929)
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- THE RAPE OF POLYXENA sculpture by Pio Fedi, 1765 (another version of the story I didn’t even get to!)
Loved this episode! This podcast serial just keeps getting more and more awesome! Thanks.
Thanks for taking the time to write Jennifer. I’m delighted that you are enjoying the story; please be sure to send a link to Trojan War: The Podcast off to your friends! Jeff
Another fantastic episode of Trojan War: The Podcast! Thank you for taking the time to create this podcast, it has been both entertaining & educational!
For a fuller discussion of the idea of a poison arrow to the heel bringing down Achilles, have you read “Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs” (Duckworth 2003, 2009), pp 47, 50, 53-54, 93?
No, but I WILL! Thanks for the lead: so many fascinating sources, so little time! (thanks for helping with the “time” challenge by citing specific pages). Have a wonderful day. Jeff
Am I missing something? You mentioned Strauss’s book, I cam here to take a link to Amazon for a kickback for you and I was expecting to find a link here but…no?
Fantastic series, btw. am sharing it with everyone i can.
Hey: I’m thrilled that you are enjoying the podcast. I haven’t set up an Amazon kick-back link (thanks for looking though): I just REALLY was impressed by Strauss’ book and wanted listeners to know about it. If you wish to help Trojan War: The Podcast, then check out the Donate Page on the website, where I offer my “donate pitch” in the guise of a clever little story from Homer’s Odyssey. Thanks. Have an awesome day. Jeff
If Achilles removed his armour to enter the temple then isn’t it odd he RE donned his armour after being shot in the heel?
After all, he was recovered IN HIS ARMOUR wasn’t he?
Great catch! One of the challenges in the “death of Achilles” section of this story (a challenge I discuss in the Post-Story Commentary) is the multiple vague and conflicting accounts of how Achilles actually dies. Clearly the version that I chose to tell (in which Achilles removes his armour prior to entering the temple) was not written by the same source that tells us that Achilles is found dead, IN HIS ARMOUR. I didn’t notice the logical error (you did) when I told that episode. Thanks for your sharp ears! Hope you have been enjoying the series. Jeff