# Achilles — Metamorphoses character guide

> Achilles in Metamorphoses by Ovid.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** fierce Achilles, Divine Achilles

**First appearance:** 0117-trojan-war

## Snapshot

The Greeks' deadliest warrior, whose restless ghost still demands blood from beyond the grave — and gets it.

## Who they are

Achilles is the Greek army's supreme fighter at Troy, a man whose rage once nearly cost Agamemnon his life and whose death has not softened his temper. When his phantom rises from the opened earth to demand honors, he claims Polyxena as a sacrificial victim, turning a grieving mother's last daughter into a spectacle of vengeance. His posthumous cruelty drives one of the poem's most haunting scenes, showing how heroic glory curdles into something pitiless.

## Relationships

### [Hector](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/characters/hector)

_rivalry_

Achilles and Hector are mortal enemies on the battlefield, culminating in Hector's death.

### [Cycnus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/characters/cycnus)

_rivalry_

Achilles fights and kills Cycnus in battle, a straightforward enemy combatant.

### [Hector](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/characters/hector)

_rivalry_

Achilles and Hector are mortal enemies on the battlefield, culminating in Hector's death.

## In the story

### [Story of Thetis and Peleus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/story-of-thetis-and-peleus)

The son born from the union of Peleus and Thetis, destined to be a great warrior.

### [Book XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/book-xii)

Slain by Paris with Apollo's aid; his armor becomes a prize contested by Ulysses and Ajax.

### [Story of Cycnus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/story-of-cycnus)

The Greek hero who battles and ultimately kills Cycnus by strangling him.

### [Story of Caeneus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/story-of-caeneus)

The listener who prompts Nestor to recount the tale of Caeneus.

### [Skirmish Between the Centaurs and Lapithites](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/skirmish-between-the-centaurs-and-lapithites)

Referenced as the son of Peleus, whose father's squire Crantor is killed in the fight.

### [Death of Achilles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/death-of-achilles)

Falls victim to Apollo and Paris; his armor becomes the prize of contention.

### [Book XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/book-xiii)

His arms are the subject of the dispute between Ajax and Ulysses; his death is referenced.

### [Speeches of Ajax and Ulysses](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/speeches-of-ajax-and-ulysses)

His armor is the prize over which Ajax and Ulysses dispute.

### [Story of Polyxena and Hecuba](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/story-of-polyxena-and-hecuba)

His ghost demands the sacrifice of Polyxena at his tomb.

### [Funeral of Memnon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/funeral-of-memnon)

Greek hero who slays Memnon in battle.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/characters/achilles
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/characters