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Achilles, known to Western culture most famously through Homer's Iliad, was a Greek hero, well known for his exploits in the Trojan War. Achilles was the King of the Myrmidons, the tribe of "ant-people" who inhabited the island of Aegina in Ancient Greece (later moving to Phthia), and was the greatest warrior of his time.

According to the legends, Achilles was born of the nymph-goddess Thetis and King Peleus of the Phthia (and once an Argonaut). Thetis' hand was sought after by many, including Zeus and Poseidon, but due to Prometheus' prophecy of Thetis' son's strength, she was given to Peleus. Unhappy with her son's mortality, she attempted to bathe him in water from the river Styx in order to grant immortality. However, Achilles was left vulnerable in the one spot where Thetis was forced to keep hold of him--his heel--which would ultimately be his downfall. Peleus sent Achilles and his cousin Patroclus to train and be tutored by the centaur Chiron, who had also trained several other Greek heroes (including Jason and Heracles). Achilles is also first-cousin of Telemonius Ajax, hero of the Trojan War.

Achilles was often portrayed as ruthless and vengeful, though incredibly emotionally vulnerable. His wrath is often saved naught for anyone but Patroclus, and he's also illustrated as incredibly jealous and easily incensed, as seen in Agamemnon's theft of his consort, Briseis, in the tenth year of the war. Achilles long harbored a grudge against Agamemnon (though other interpretations suggest that his hatred went deeper than a tale of jealous lovers).

Prior to the Trojan War, Achilles was hidden amongst the women of King Lycomedes court by his mother (he eventually had bore one daughter a son, Neoptolemus), though through deception and a keen eye, Odysseus discovered his identity and begged him to join them in the war, even at a mere 15 years old. He acquiesced, and among his Myrmidonian soldiers was his best friend and cousin, Patroclus. The Iliad's portrayal of the relationship between Patroclus and Achilles has long been a subject of some controversy; though Homer's narrative suggests a deep-seated and undying friendship, contemporary readings suggest that the relationship was much more familiar.