Achilles: The Mortal with Immortal Rage | The Strange History Podcast

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome back, dear listeners to the Strange History Podcast, where

0:03 Speaker 1: myths strut in like they own the place and history

0:07 Speaker 1: just rolls its eyes. Today we're talking about Achilles. Yes,

0:12 Speaker 1: that Achilles, the hero whose heel is more famous than

0:15 Speaker 1: his spear. But before he became the most feared warrior

0:19 Speaker 1: at Troy, he was just a boy with a prophecy,

0:22 Speaker 1: a complicated family, and one very stressed out mother.

0:26 Speaker 2: The wedding that broke the world We.

0:29 Speaker 1: Started a wedding Pelias, a mortal king, and Thetis, a

0:34 Speaker 1: goddess of the sea. It should have been a fairy tale,

0:37 Speaker 1: except the gods are terrible wedding guests. Heiress, the goddess

0:40 Speaker 1: of Discord, was not invited. Rookie mistake. She crashed the

0:45 Speaker 1: party with a golden apple labeled for the fairest Hara,

0:48 Speaker 1: Athena and Aphrodite fought over it. This fruit fight set

0:53 Speaker 1: in motion the Trojan War. Imagine mean girls but with

0:57 Speaker 1: divine powers. And yes, a Kille hadn't even been born yet,

1:01 Speaker 1: but Destiny was already sharpening its spear.

1:05 Speaker 2: The baby dunk and the heel problem.

1:08 Speaker 1: When Achilles was born, Thetis was determined to make him immortal.

1:12 Speaker 1: She dipped him into the River Styx, holding him by

1:15 Speaker 1: the heel. One heel left unwashed, one Achilles doomed. Some

1:20 Speaker 1: versions say she also tried burning the mortal bits off

1:23 Speaker 1: him in the fire while smearing him with ambrosia, until

1:26 Speaker 1: her husband walked in and ruined the process. Honestly, Greek

1:31 Speaker 1: myths make cps look like amateurs. Either way, the heel

1:35 Speaker 1: stayed human and that heel will come back with a vengeance.

1:39 Speaker 3: This episode is sponsored by stick Spa and resort Want

1:42 Speaker 3: that immortal glow Take a dip today. Disclaimer We are

1:48 Speaker 3: not responsible for misst spots, heel related vulnerabilities, or arrows

1:52 Speaker 3: guided by angry gods.

1:55 Speaker 2: Achilles goes to Camp Chirron's hero school.

2:00 Speaker 1: Achilles was handed off to Chiron, the centaur, half horse,

2:04 Speaker 1: half hero maker. Under Chirn, Achilles mastered everything archery, healing,

2:11 Speaker 1: spear throwing, lyre playing and probably horse stable cleaning part

2:16 Speaker 1: of the tuition package. This wasn't just training, it was

2:19 Speaker 1: grooming the boy to become Destiny's golden child.

2:23 Speaker 2: Skyross Achilles in drag.

2:26 Speaker 1: But fate always tricky. When the Trojan war broke out,

2:31 Speaker 1: Thetis panicked, She disguised Achilles as a girl and hid

2:34 Speaker 1: him on the island of Skyros. Achilles renamed Pira, mingled

2:39 Speaker 1: among the king's daughters in dresses and jewelry, enter Odysseus.

2:44 Speaker 1: He laid out gifts for the women, fabric, perfume, trinkets,

2:48 Speaker 1: and slipped a sword among them. The women cooed over jewelry,

2:52 Speaker 1: but one girl lunged for the blade. Surprise, it was Achilles,

2:57 Speaker 1: back in boy mode. Disguise over war awaited.

3:01 Speaker 3: Brought to you by Greek Disguises Incorporated. Need to hide

3:05 Speaker 3: your son from Prophecy. Try our patented oops all dresses collection,

3:11 Speaker 3: just don't leave weapons lying around to Troy.

3:15 Speaker 1: With Odysseus's trick, achilles fate was sealed. He would go

3:18 Speaker 1: to Troy, where songs of glory and doom awaited. Once

3:22 Speaker 1: at Troy, Achilles became the Greek's MVP, but then Agamemnon,

3:27 Speaker 1: commander of the Greeks, insulted him by stealing his prize Brisis.

3:32 Speaker 1: Achilles raged and quit fighting. He sulked in his tent,

3:36 Speaker 1: strumming his lyre and glaring at the ocean. The Greeks

3:39 Speaker 1: were losing, but Achilles refused to lift a finger.

3:43 Speaker 3: Today's episode is brought to you by tent assaults, because

3:47 Speaker 3: sometimes the best way to win a war is to

3:49 Speaker 3: sit out dramatically and make everyone else suffer.

3:54 Speaker 2: Patroclus and the breaking point.

3:57 Speaker 1: Then came Petroclus, Achilles' closest companion, perhaps lover desperate, he

4:02 Speaker 1: wore achilles armor and led the Greeks, but Hector killed him.

4:06 Speaker 1: Achilles was consumed with grief. He snapped. His wrath was

4:10 Speaker 1: so terrifying that the Iliad itself is basically subtitled Achilles

4:15 Speaker 1: Bad Mood. He slaughtered Trojans, hunted down Hector, and killed

4:20 Speaker 1: him in a duel so legendary it still echoes. Then

4:24 Speaker 1: he tied Hector's body to his chariot and dragged it

4:27 Speaker 1: around Troy. Even the gods muttered, okay, too far the

4:33 Speaker 1: heel and the arrow, But destiny never forgets. Paris, guided

4:38 Speaker 1: by Apollo, shot an arrow straight into achilles one weak

4:42 Speaker 1: spot his heel. The mighty fell. The Greeks won the war,

4:46 Speaker 1: but their greatest warrior lay dead, undone by a spot

4:50 Speaker 1: no bigger than a coin, the ghost of Achilles. Even

4:55 Speaker 1: in death, Achilles wasn't finished. His ghost appeared to a

4:59 Speaker 1: disse during the underworld journey. When Odysseus praised his glory,

5:04 Speaker 1: Achilles replied, I'd rather be a living servant than a

5:08 Speaker 1: dead hero. Chilling words from the man who chose short

5:11 Speaker 1: glory over long obscurity.

5:14 Speaker 3: This tragic ending is sponsored by heel Guard Sandals. Don't

5:18 Speaker 3: let one tiny weak spot ruin your day. Heal Guard,

5:22 Speaker 3: battle tested, God approved legacy.

5:26 Speaker 1: Achilles name lives on, Doctors named our weakest tendon after him,

5:30 Speaker 1: Poets keep him alive in song, and every athlete with

5:34 Speaker 1: a bum ankle gets compared to him. He is rage, glory, grief,

5:38 Speaker 1: and fragility rolled into one, our eternal reminder that even

5:42 Speaker 1: the strongest among us can fall, And that, dear listeners,

5:46 Speaker 1: is the saga of Achilles, from fire dunked baby to

5:50 Speaker 1: drag Queen on Skyros to unstoppable Warrior and tragic ghost.

5:55 Speaker 1: He lived short, he died young, but he truly left

5:59 Speaker 1: a beautiful corpse, at least until they burned it on

6:02 Speaker 1: a pyre. Thank you for joining me here at the

6:04 Speaker 1: Strange History Podcast. Subscribe on spreaker, Spotify or Apple or

6:10 Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts, and remember check your heels,

6:14 Speaker 1: both literal and metaphorical.