Achilles in the Ancient Sources: 219 Passages in Greek & English

Hesiod (1)

Hesiod, Fragments 1.68The suitors of HelenThe best-preserved passage of the Catalogue lists the heroes who came to woo Helen, each with his gifts, from Philoctetes and the sons of Amphiaraus to Odysseus, Menestheus, Aias and Idomeneus. Tyndareus sends none away and receives no gift, and the passage ends with the birth of Hermione.

Homer (86)

Homer, Iliad 21.136–232Achilles and Asteropaeus; the river risesThe river-god is angered at the bodies that choke his stream and tells Achilles to stop, but Achilles will not. He kills Asteropaeus, a grandson of the river, after a fight in which Asteropaeus casts both spears at once, and drives the Paeonians before him. The river rises against him, and Achilles is swept off his feet and cries out to Zeus.
Homer, Iliad 20.353–454Achilles' fury; Apollo saves HectorAchilles' fury is unchecked and he calls to the Achaeans to rouse themselves for the fight, while Hector is warned by Apollo not to meet him in the throng. When Achilles kills Iphition, Hippodamas and Demoleon, and then Polydorus, Priam's son, Hector can bear it no longer and comes against him. Athena turns his spear aside with a breath, and Apollo hides Hector in thick mist.
Homer, Iliad 21.514–611Priam on the wall; Agenor and Apollo's trickApollo goes into Troy, and Priam, watching from the wall, orders the gates opened to take in the fugitives. Agenor, urged on by his own heart, decides to stand and face Achilles, thinking that he too is mortal and can be killed. Apollo draws Achilles away from the city by taking Agenor's shape and running before him, and the Trojans pour into Troy.
Homer, Iliad 24.618–676Priam and Achilles share a mealPriam and Achilles eat, and each marvels at the other, Priam at Achilles' height and beauty and Achilles at Priam's words. Priam asks for sleep and for time to bury Hector, and Achilles has beds made on the porch and agrees to hold back the war until the funeral is over. Priam and the herald lie down on the porch, while Achilles sleeps inside with Briseis.
Homer, Iliad 20.259–352Achilles and Aeneas fight; Poseidon rescues AeneasAeneas casts his spear, which pierces two layers of Achilles' shield but is stopped by the gold of the third, and Achilles' spear passes through Aeneas' shield and over his shoulder. Aeneas lifts a great stone, but Poseidon, pitying him, carries him high over the fighters to the rear of the battle and tells him not to fight Achilles again. Poseidon scatters the mist from Achilles' eyes.
Homer, Iliad 24.468–551Priam ransoms Hector's body: the supplicationPriam goes in unseen, clasps Achilles' knees and kisses his hands, and begs him to remember his own father, Peleus. Achilles, moved, weeps with him, and the two mourn together for Hector and for Patroclus. Achilles speaks of the two jars of Zeus, one of good and one of evil, and tells Priam that he must endure.
Homer, Iliad 20.75–155Apollo rouses Aeneas; the gods sit apartAchilles wants above all to meet Hector, but Apollo, in the likeness of Lycaon, goads Aeneas into facing him. Aeneas protests that some god always stands beside Achilles, and Apollo answers that he too is the son of a goddess, Aphrodite, and should pray to the gods. Hera tells Poseidon and Athena that the gods should stand by Achilles, but Poseidon proposes that they sit apart on the wall of Heracles and join the fight only if Ares or Apollo begin it.
Homer, Iliad 21.1–135The ford of the Xanthus; the death of LycaonAt the ford of the river the Trojans split, one half fleeing to the city and the other driven into the stream, where Achilles leaves his spear on the bank and cuts them down with his sword. He takes twelve youths alive to be slain at the pyre of Patroclus. Lycaon, a son of Priam, clasps his knees and begs for his life, but Achilles tells him that all must die, kills him and throws him into the river.
Homer, Iliad 11.762–848Nestor's plea to Patroclus; Eurypylus is woundedNestor reminds Patroclus how Menoetius told him to advise Achilles, and asks him to persuade Achilles to fight, or at least to lend his armour so that the Trojans take Patroclus for him. Patroclus hurries back, but meets the wounded Eurypylus and takes him to his hut, where he cuts out the arrow and dresses the wound.
Homer, Iliad 19.338–424Athena feeds Achilles; the horse Xanthus speaksZeus tells Athena to put nectar and ambrosia into Achilles' breast so that hunger cannot touch him, and she flies down like a falcon. The Achaeans pour out from the ships and Achilles arms, his shield gleaming like the moon, and takes the heavy ash spear of Peleus. He tells his horse Xanthus not to leave him dead as they left Patroclus, and Xanthus, given a voice by Hera, tells him that his own day is near, though Apollo and not they killed Patroclus.
Homer, Iliad 23.108–191The funeral pyre of PatroclusAt dawn Agamemnon sends men with mules to fetch wood from Ida, and Meriones leads them. The wood is laid in a pyre a hundred feet each way, and the body is brought out, covered with locks of hair cut off by the Myrmidons, with Achilles' own hair laid in the dead man's hands. On the pyre are laid sheep, cattle, horses, two of the dead man's dogs, and the twelve Trojan youths, and Achilles cries out against Hector's body, which Apollo and Aphrodite keep from the dogs.
Homer, Iliad 24.1–76Achilles' grief; the gods pity HectorThe games end, and the army scatters to supper and sleep, while Achilles weeps for Patroclus and drags Hector's body three times round the tomb each dawn. Apollo keeps the body from decay, and the gods pity Hector, and Hermes proposes to steal it, but Hera, Poseidon and Athena refuse, since they still hate Troy. Apollo rebukes the gods for their favour to Achilles, and Zeus decides that Hector shall be given back.

74 more passages of Homer that name Achilles

Apollodorus (4)

Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome E.3.1–35Paris and Helen; the muster at Aulis and the landing at TroyParis judges the contest of the three goddesses, carries off Helen, and Menelaus and Agamemnon call the Greek kings to arms; Odysseus's feigned madness is exposed and Palamedes is framed. The section gives the catalogue of the Greek fleet at Aulis, the omen of the snake and sparrows, the failed first landing in Mysia and the healing of Telephus, and the sacrifice of Iphigenia. After Tenedos and the abandonment of Philoctetes, Protesilaus is the first to die at Troy, Achilles takes many nearby cities, and the Trojan allies are listed.
Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome E.4.1–7The Iliad in brief: Achilles' anger, Patroclus and HectorThe Epitome gives a short account of the events of the Iliad: Achilles withdraws from the fighting because of the quarrel over Briseis, Paris and Menelaus fight a single combat, and Hector drives the Greeks back to the ships. Patroclus, wearing Achilles' armour, is killed by Hector. Achilles takes up Hephaestus's new armour, kills Hector and drags his body, holds games for Patroclus, and Priam ransoms Hector's body.
Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 3.13.1–8Peleus, Thetis and the youth of AchillesPeleus flees to Phthia and is purified, kills Eurytion by accident in the Calydonian hunt, and escapes the plots of Astydamia, wife of Acastus. With help from Chiron he wins Thetis, who tries to make their son Achilles immortal in the fire. When Calchas declares that Troy cannot be taken without Achilles, Thetis hides him among the daughters of Lycomedes, where Odysseus finds him; Phoenix and Patroclus join him.
Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome E.5.1–23The death of Achilles, the Wooden Horse and the fall of TroyPenthesilea and then Memnon come to Troy's aid and are killed by Achilles, who is himself shot by Paris and Apollo. The contest for Achilles' arms drives Ajax to madness and suicide. Troy falls after Philoctetes shoots Paris, Helenus reveals the three conditions, Neoptolemus joins the army and Odysseus steals the Palladium, and the Greeks take the city with the Wooden Horse, Sinon and the beacon at Tenedos; the section closes with the sack, the deaths of Astyanax and Polyxena, and the division of the captives.

Pindar (7)

Pindar, Isthmian Odes 8.1–70Isthmian 8: for Cleandros — Thetis and the AeacidaePindar calls on the youths to sing at the door of Telesarchus for Cleandros of Aegina, pancratium victor, and says that the relief from war's dread may be healed by freedom. He tells how Zeus and Poseidon strove to wed Thetis until Themis declared that she must bear a son greater than his father, so that she was given to Peleus. He ends by praising Cleandros' kinsman, the boxer Nicocles, who won the crown of Dorian celery at the Isthmus.
Pindar, Olympian Odes 2.1–100Olympian 2: for Theron — the house of Cadmus and the Isles of the BlestPindar praises Theron of Acragas, victor in the chariot race, and prays that time may heal the sorrows of his house. He recalls the house of Cadmus, with Laïus, Oedipus, the Fury that made his sons kill one another, and Polyneices' son Thersander. He then describes the afterlife, in which the wicked are punished and the good go to the Isles of the Blest, where Rhadamanthys judges and Peleus, Cadmus and Achilles dwell, and he ends by answering envy with the praise of Theron's generosity.
Pindar, Olympian Odes 10.1–105Olympian 10: for Hagesidamus — Heracles and the first Olympic gamesPindar owes Hagesidamus of Locri a song for his boxing victory and praises the Western Locrians and the trainer Ilas, whom he likens to Achilles beside Patroclus. He tells how Heracles killed the Molionidae and punished Augeas, then founded the Olympic games beside the tomb of Pelops, with altars to the gods and the naming of the hill of Cronus. He lists the first winners and compares the victor to Ganymede.
Pindar, Nemean Odes 3.1–84Nemean 3: for Aristocleides — the Aeacidae and CheironPindar calls on the Muse to come to Aegina for the pancratiast Aristocleides, and says that victory in the contest heals its blows. He recalls the Aeacidae: Peleus, who took Iolcus and won the sea-nymph Thetis, Telamon, who followed Heracles against Laomedon, and Achilles, whom Cheiron trained in all the arts of a hero. The ode ends with the virtues that suit each age of life.
Pindar, Nemean Odes 6.1–69Nemean 6: for Alcimidas — the Bassidae and AchillesPindar says that men and gods have one mother yet differ in power, and praises Alcimidas of Aegina, boys' wrestling victor, and his grandfather Praxidamas, who had won at Olympia. He praises the clan of the Bassidae and tells how Achilles, in the contest with Memnon, son of Dawn, killed him in battle.
Pindar, Nemean Odes 8.1–51Nemean 8: for Deinias — Ajax and OdysseusPindar invokes the queen of youthful prime, and praises Deinias of Aegina, double foot-race winner, and prays to Aeacus for his city. He recalls the envy that has always pursued the valiant, as it did Ajax, who killed himself after the Greeks gave Achilles' arms to Odysseus. He ends by saying that it is easy to raise a monument of song for Deinias' grandfather Megas and the Chariadae.
Pindar, Pythian Odes 6.1–50Pythian 6: for Xenocrates — Thrasybulus and AntilochusPindar likens his ode to a treasure-house at Delphi for Xenocrates of Acragas, victor in the chariot race, and praises his son Thrasybulus for keeping the old precept of honouring his father. He recalls Cheiron's teaching to Achilles to honour Zeus and parents, and how Antilochus died to save his father Nestor from Memnon.

Sophocles (6)

Sophocles, Philoctetes 1–85Prologue: Odysseus and Neoptolemus on LemnosOdysseus shows Neoptolemus the deserted shore of Lemnos where, ten years before, on the command of the chiefs, he left Philoctetes, whose foot was running with a gnawing disease and whose cries made it impossible to hold sacrifice. They find his cave, with its leaf bed, its wooden cup and its rags drying in the sun, and Odysseus sends a sailor to watch for the man. He tells Neoptolemus that he must cheat Philoctetes with a false story, in which he claims to hate the Greeks for giving his father's arms to Odysseus, in order to steal the bow.
Sophocles, Philoctetes 317–390First episode (cont.): Neoptolemus' false storyThe Chorus pity Philoctetes, and Neoptolemus says that he too has a grievance against the Atreidae. He tells Philoctetes that Achilles is dead, and that after the army called him to Troy he was refused his father's arms, which were given to Odysseus. He says that he has left in anger and is sailing home.
Sophocles, Ajax 1316–1375Odysseus persuades Agamemnon to allow the burialOdysseus arrives and calms the quarrel, telling Agamemnon that he must not let hatred override justice, since Ajax was the best of the Greeks after Achilles, and the gods will be angered by the dishonouring of a brave man. Agamemnon argues that Ajax was an enemy, and finally agrees to allow the burial, though he says that he is doing it for Odysseus' sake and that his hatred remains.
Sophocles, Philoctetes 219–316First episode: Philoctetes meets NeoptolemusPhiloctetes comes out and asks, in delight at hearing Greek, who they are. Neoptolemus says that he is the son of Achilles and is sailing home from Troy. Philoctetes tells how he was left alone on the island by the Atreidae and Odysseus, and describes ten years of hunger, cold and the pain of his wound, with no visitors but sailors who would not take him home.
Sophocles, Philoctetes 1263–1313Exodos (cont.): the bow restoredPhiloctetes comes out in fear, and curses Neoptolemus and the Atreidae when he will not listen. Neoptolemus swears that he is sincere and hands him back the bow, and Odysseus reappears to forbid it. Philoctetes aims at Odysseus, but Neoptolemus stops him, and Philoctetes praises Neoptolemus as the true son of Achilles.
Sophocles, Philoctetes 507–627Second episode: Neoptolemus agrees; the Merchant's warningThe Chorus urge Neoptolemus to pity the man, and he agrees to take Philoctetes on board, and Philoctetes is overjoyed. As they are about to go, a Merchant arrives and says that Phoenix and the sons of Theseus are coming after Philoctetes, and that Odysseus and Diomedes are sailing for the same purpose. He tells them that the Trojan seer Helenus has foretold that Troy will fall only if Philoctetes is brought to it, and Philoctetes says that he would rather die than be persuaded by Odysseus.

Euripides (35)

Euripides, Iphigenia at Aulis 1336–1367bFifth episode: Achilles reports that the army demands the sacrificeThe Chorus Leader pities Iphigenia, who sees Achilles approaching with armed men and is ashamed to face him, and Clytemnestra tells her that there is no time for affectation. Achilles says that a fearful cry has risen among the Argives that her sacrifice is necessary, and that he was nearly stoned for trying to save her. He says that Odysseus has been chosen to take her, and that he will defend her.
Euripides, Iphigenia at Aulis 801–856Third episode: Achilles meets Clytemnestra and the wedding is deniedAchilles arrives, calling for Agamemnon and complaining that his Myrmidons are restless at the delay. He meets Clytemnestra, who gives her name and her hand, and speaks of the marriage. Achilles, who knows nothing of it, is bewildered, and she withdraws in shame. As he turns to seek the king, the old servant calls him back.
Euripides, Iphigenia at Aulis 857–899Third episode: the old servant reveals Agamemnon's planThe old servant calls through the half-opened door, and, speaking to Achilles and Clytemnestra alone, tells them that Agamemnon is about to slay his daughter, at the order of Calchas, so that the army can sail for Troy. He says that the marriage was only an inducement, and that he had started to carry a letter forbidding the sacrifice, which Menelaus took from him.
Euripides, Iphigenia at Aulis 977–1035Third episode: Achilles promises to protect IphigeniaClytemnestra thanks Achilles and says that she will have her daughter come out if he wishes, but he says that she should not bring her out to be seen, and tells her to supplicate Agamemnon first. He says that if the king is stubborn she may come to him, and that he will keep watch over her.
Euripides, Hecuba 59–153Parodos: Hecuba's dream and the Greek decision to sacrifice PolyxenaHecuba, an old slave, is helped out of the tent by her women, and tells of a terrible dream of a fawn torn from her knees by a wolf and of the ghost of Achilles on his tomb, and prays that her daughter and her son may be spared. The Chorus of captive Trojan women comes in to tell her that the Greeks have decided in assembly to sacrifice Polyxena on the grave of Achilles.
Euripides, Trojan Women 230–293First episode: Talthybius announces the allotment of the captivesTalthybius, the Greek herald, tells Hecuba that he has been sent with a message, and she asks to whom each of them has been given. He answers that Cassandra has been chosen for Agamemnon, Polyxena has been told to serve at Achilles' tomb, Andromache has been given to Achilles' son, and Hecuba to Odysseus, and Hecuba cries out against her fate.
Euripides, Iphigenia at Aulis 115–163Prologue: Agamemnon sends a second letter to stop IphigeniaAgamemnon tells the old servant that he has changed his mind and is sending a second letter, to forbid Clytemnestra to send their daughter to Aulis. The old servant asks how Achilles will take being cheated, and Agamemnon says that Achilles lent his name without knowing it. He sends the old man off, telling him to guard the seal and watch the roads, and says that no one was ever born to a painless life.
Euripides, Iphigenia at Aulis 900–976Third episode: Clytemnestra begs Achilles for helpClytemnestra kneels to Achilles, begging him to protect her daughter, who has been brought here in his name. Achilles says that he is angered at the use of his name, and that he will not let it be used to kill the girl. He promises to persuade Agamemnon, or else to prevent the deed with his sword.
Euripides, Rhesus 454–517Third episode: Rhesus asks to face Achilles; Hector describes OdysseusThe Chorus praises Rhesus and wonders how Achilles and Aias will stand against his spear, and Rhesus says that he wishes to march afterward against the Argives' own country. Hector tells him that he may take any post in the army, but that he cannot fight Achilles, who is angry and holds back from battle. Hector names Aias, Diomedes and Odysseus as the other chiefs, and describes how Odysseus stole the image of Athena and crept into Troy as a beggar, and Rhesus vows to impale him.
Euripides, Andromache 1–55Prologue: Andromache tells of her slavery at the shrine of ThetisAndromache, who has come from Thebes as the wife of Hector, recalls the fall of Troy and the death of her husband and tells how she became the slave of Neoptolemus and bore him a son. She says that his wife Hermione, who is childless, accuses her of using drugs and charms to make her barren, and that she has taken refuge at the shrine of Thetis while Neoptolemus is away at Delphi.
Euripides, Andromache 957–1008Fourth episode: Orestes takes Hermione and plots Neoptolemus' deathOrestes says that he waited to see how the quarrel with Hector's wife would end, and that he came to take Hermione away, since her father had betrothed her to him before the war and then promised her to Achilles' son. Hermione begs him to take her at once, and Orestes tells her not to fear her husband, since he has woven a net for his death, of which Delphi's rock will bear witness.
Euripides, Andromache 1070–1165Messenger speech: the death of Neoptolemus at DelphiA Messenger arrives with the news of the death of Neoptolemus. He tells how Neoptolemus came to Phoebus' shrine to atone for his past quarrel with the god, how men lay in ambush in the cover of the bay-trees, with Orestes, the author of the plot, among them, and how, when the Delphians attacked him at the altar, he fought alone, took armour from the pillar, and was at last struck down and stabbed by them all.

23 more passages of Euripides that name Achilles

Apollonius Rhodius (1)

Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 1.448–558The feast, Orpheus' song and the departure from PagasaeAt the feast on the shore Idas jeers at Idmon's prophecy and Idmon answers him, and Orpheus ends the quarrel by singing of the origin of earth, sky and sea. At dawn the heroes embark, Tiphys takes the helm and Argo leaves Pagasae to the music of Orpheus' lyre while Cheiron shows Achilles to his father Peleus from the shore.

Aristophanes (1)

Aristophanes, Frogs 899–940Agon: Euripides on Aeschylus' silent figures and bombastEuripides begins the attack by saying that Aeschylus brought on veiled mourners such as Achilles or Niobe who said nothing, and then filled the play with huge words that nobody could understand. Dionysus admits that he liked the silent mourners. Euripides then begins to describe how he took over a swollen and pompous art and slimmed it down.

Diodorus Siculus (1)

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 5.81.1–5.84.4Lesbos, Tenedos and the CycladesThe historian tells of the first settlers of Lesbos, including the Pelasgians, and of Lesbos son of Lapithes, who gave it its name, and of the colonies from Lesbos led by Macareus. He then tells of Tennes and the founding of Tenedos, and ends with the smaller Cyclades, which Minos colonised from Crete.

Ovid (10)

Ovid, Metamorphoses 12.64–145Achilles and CycnusThe Greeks land at Troy, and Hector kills Protesilaus, and Achilles meets Cycnus, a son of Poseidon (Neptune) whose skin no weapon can pierce. Achilles strangles him with the straps of his helmet, and Cycnus is turned into a swan.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.121–254The contest for the arms of Achilles: Odysseus repliesOdysseus (Ulysses) answers that Ajax's strength is of no use without the counsel that guides it, and that he, a descendant of Zeus (Jupiter), has served the Greeks as much with his mind as with his hands. He tells how he brought Iphigenia to Aulis for the common good, and how he found Achilles disguised among the daughters of Lycomedes and brought him to Troy. He tells too how he went as an envoy to Troy, and how he and Diomedes killed Dolon and Rhesus and won Rhesus' horses.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 12.534–628Periclymenus and the death of AchillesNestor ends his tale, and Tlepolemus, a son of Heracles (Hercules), reproaches him for passing over his father, and Nestor says that Heracles killed all his brothers except Periclymenus, whom Poseidon (Neptune) had given the power to change his shape, and who escaped by turning into an eagle until Heracles shot him. Poseidon, angry at the death of Cycnus, asks Apollo to destroy Achilles, and Apollo directs Paris' arrow, which kills him. His ashes lie in a small urn, and the contest for his armour begins.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 12.146–209CaeneusA truce follows the first battle at Troy, and at a feast in the Greek camp Achilles' invulnerability is praised, and Nestor tells of a similar man, Caeneus. Nestor tells how Caeneus was once the girl Caenis, loved by Poseidon (Neptune), who granted her wish to become a man who could not be wounded. Caeneus, rejoicing, lived for years as a man in northern Thessaly.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.1–120The contest for the arms of Achilles: Ajax speaksThe Greek chiefs gather to judge between Ajax and Odysseus (Ulysses), who both claim the armour of Achilles. Ajax speaks first, boasting of his strength and lineage, and of how he defended the ships against Hector's fire while Odysseus stayed behind. He accuses Odysseus of feigning madness to avoid the war, of abandoning Nestor in battle, and of getting Palamedes killed.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.255–381Odysseus' speech: his services at TroyOdysseus (Ulysses) lists the Trojan warriors he killed, reminds the chiefs that he carried the body of Achilles from the field, and answers the charge about Palamedes. He tells how the prophets said that Philoctetes and his arrows were needed to take Troy, and how he brought Philoctetes to the army. He says that he alone dared to enter Troy by night and take the Palladium, and he ends by asking for the arms as the reward of his mind, pointing to the image of Athena (Minerva).
Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.439–480PolyxenaThe Greeks, held at Thrace by contrary winds, are visited by the ghost of Achilles, who demands the sacrifice of Polyxena, the daughter of Priam, at his tomb. Polyxena goes to the altar bravely, and asks only that her body be given to her mother. She dies with her modesty to the last, and the Greeks watch her fall.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.576–622Memnon's birdsThe gods are not moved by the fall of Troy, but Eos (Aurora), whose son Memnon was killed by Achilles, begs Zeus (Jupiter) for some honour for him. As Memnon's funeral pyre burns, his ashes become birds, which fight one another over the pyre and fall as sacrifices to the dead, and which return every year to repeat the battle. Eos still sheds tears for him, which fall as dew.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 11.194–265Laomedon and Hesione; Peleus and ThetisApollo and Poseidon (Neptune) build the walls of Troy for King Laomedon, who cheats them of their pay, and Poseidon sends a sea-monster, to which Hesione is exposed, until Heracles (Hercules) saves her. Laomedon again breaks his word, and Heracles takes the city. Peleus marries the sea-goddess Thetis after he holds her through all her changes of shape, and she bears Achilles.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.481–575Hecuba and PolymestorThe Trojan women take up Polyxena's body and weep for all the sons of Priam, and Hecuba, who has lost nearly all her children, finds on the shore the body of her son Polydorus. She pretends to Polymestor that she has more treasure to give him, and draws him and his sons aside. With the help of the Trojan women she blinds him and kills his sons, and when she is stoned by the Thracians she turns into a dog, and her barking fills the land. Her fate moves even Hera (Juno).

Pausanias (16)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 3.24.1–11Laconian coast: Zarax, Cyphanta, Brasiae, Las and HypsaPausanias describes Zarax, destroyed by Cleonymus, the grotto of Aesculapius at Cyphanta with its spring struck by Atalanta, and Brasiae, whose people say Semele and the infant Dionysus drifted there in a chest. He then describes Las, with its temple of Athena Asia, the fountain Galaco, the river Smenus and the grave of Las. He argues from Homer that Achilles cannot have been a suitor of Helen.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 3.19.1–13Amyclae and Therapne: Hyacinth’s tomb, Helen and the White IslePausanias describes the image of the Amyclaean Apollo, standing on an altar said to hold the tomb of Hyacinth and carved with reliefs, and the sanctuary of Alexandra and Dionysus Psilax at Amyclae. He then follows the road to Therapne past the sanctuaries of Zeus, Cotylean Aesculapius and Ares Theritas, and gives the Rhodian story of Helen’s hanging and the tale from Crotona and Himera of Leonymus and the White Isle.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.11.1–7Pyrrhus of Epirus: ancestry and rise to the throneAthens has a statue of Pyrrhus. Pausanias traces the Epirote royal house from Pyrrhus son of Achilles, Andromache and Helenus, and tells how Aeacides, Alcetas and finally Pyrrhus came to the throne after the fall of Olympias, Pyrrhus being restored with Ptolemy’s help. As king he first attacks Corcyra; Pausanias notes that no Greek before Pyrrhus fought the Romans, since Alexander of Epirus fell in Lucania first.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.22.1–8Athens: Propylaea, Wingless Victory and the picture gallery of the AcropolisBelow the Acropolis are the temple of Themis, the barrow of Hippolytus with the Troezenian version of Phaedra’s love, and shrines of Vulgar Aphrodite, Earth and Green Demeter. Pausanias describes the single approach, the white marble Propylaea and the temple of Wingless Victory, where Aegeus is said to have thrown himself down. In the chamber of pictures he lists Polygnotus’ paintings of Diomede, Ulysses, Orestes and Polyxena, a portrait of Musaeus, and Hermes and the Graces by Socrates.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 3.25.1–10Laconian coast: Pyrrhichus, Teuthrone, Cape Taenarum and OetylumPausanias describes the river Scyras, Pyrrhichus with its well said to be a gift of Silenus, and its sanctuaries of Astratean Artemis and Amazonian Apollo, and Teuthrone. At Cape Taenarum he rejects the story of the descent of Hercules and discusses Hecataeus’ account of the snake called the hound of hell. He also notes Arion’s statue, the dolphin at Poroselene, Caenepolis, Hippola, Messa and Oetylum.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 4.28.1–8Messene after the return: the Macedonians, Elis and the stratagem of the Laconian shieldsAfter the Theban retreat from Peloponnese the Spartans press the Messenians again, and Messene allies with Philip of Macedon and does not take part in the Gallic war. When the Eleans quarrel among themselves, a thousand Messenians with Laconian shields enter Elis and put their own partisans in power. Pausanias compares the trick to Homer’s Patroclus in Achilles’ armour and to other Homeric stratagems.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 5.19.1–10Olympia: the Chest of Cypselus, fourth and fifth fieldsPausanias describes the fourth field, including Boreas and Orithyia, Hercules and Geryon, the fight of Achilles and Memnon, the Dioscuri rescuing Helen, scenes from the Trojan war, the judgment of Paris and the sons of Oedipus. He then gives his readings of the unlabelled uppermost field, such as Ulysses and Circe, and guesses that the verses are by Eumelus of Corinth.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 6.23.1–8Elis: the gymnasia and Silence StreetPausanias describes the old gymnasium of Elis, called Xystus, where the athletes train before going to Olympia, with its altars and the cenotaph of Achilles mourned by the women of Elis. He also describes the smaller Square gymnasium and the Maltho, with its reliefs of Love and Love Returned, and the statue of the boxer Sarapion of Alexandria. He ends with the Lalichmium, the way from the gymnasium to the baths, and the story of Silence Street, named after the silence of spies from the army of Oxylus.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 10.30.1–9Delphi: Polygnotus' painting of the underworld (3): the daughters of Pandareos, Phocus, Orpheus and ThamyrisPausanias continues the underworld painting with the daughters of Pandareos, Antilochus, Agamemnon, Protesilaus, Achilles and Patroclus, and Phocus giving a signet to Iaseus. He describes Maera, Actaeon with his mother and hound, and Orpheus seated in the grove of Proserpine beside the willows and Promedon. He ends with Schedius, Pelias, the blind Thamyris with his broken lyre and Marsyas teaching Olympus to play the flute.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.4.1–6The Gauls at Thermopylae and Delphi; origins of PergamumPausanias digresses to describe the Gauls (Celts) of the far north and their invasion of Greece. The Athenians under Callippus hold Thermopylae, but the Gauls cross Mount Oeta by the path Ephialtes once showed the Medes and march on Delphi, where thunderbolts, falling rocks and phantom warriors, among them Pyrrhus son of Achilles, drive them back. The survivors cross to Asia, take Ancyra and Pessinus and settle in Galatia, until the Pergamenians drive them from the coast; he sketches Pergamene history.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.13.1–9Pyrrhus at Sparta and Argos; his death and burialPyrrhus slips away from Italy, defeats Antigonus, and dedicates Celtic shields to Itonian Athena and Macedonian shields to Zeus at Dodona, with the inscriptions quoted. At Cleonymus’ urging he invades Laconia and wins a battle outside Sparta, but is killed in Argos by a tile thrown by a woman or, the Argives say, by Demeter, and is buried in her sanctuary there. Pausanias also gives the Spartan royal genealogy, earlier Spartan defeats, and a remark on the historian Hieronymus.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.37.1–7The Sacred Way: tombs, the Cephisus and Harpalus’ monument to PythioniceContinuing along the Sacred Way, Pausanias lists the tombs of Heliodorus, Themistocles’ descendant and Nicocles the harpist, the story of Acestium and the Torch-bearers, and the precinct of Phytalus, where Demeter gave the fig-tree. Beyond the Cephisus he notes the altar of Gracious Zeus where Theseus was purified, the temple of Cyamites, and the great tomb Harpalus built for Pythionice, and the sanctuary of Apollo tied to the story of Cephalus.

4 more passages of Pausanias that name Achilles

Quintus Smyrnaeus (43)

Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 7.556–734Neoptolemus is honoured at the feastAthena comes down to Sigeum to watch Neoptolemus, who kills the twin sons of Meges, Celtus and Eubius, and many more. At nightfall the Argives honour him with gifts and a feast, and Agamemnon praises him as his father's image. Meanwhile the Trojans in their camp praise Eurypylus.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 3.665–787The pyre of AchillesAt dawn the Argives raise a great pyre, and Achilles is burned with the horses and men slain round it. His companions gather his bones into a silver casket, which the Nereids anoint and lay in a golden vase given by Thetis, and the Argives heap a barrow by the Hellespont. His immortal horses mourn him, and Poseidon rises from the sea to console Thetis.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 14.228–328Polyxeina is sacrificedAt dawn Neoptolemus tells the Argives his father's command that Polyxeina be sacrificed at his tomb. A storm rises when they hesitate, and they lead the maiden to the tomb. Hecuba, who has dreamed of it, wails, and Neoptolemus cuts the girl's throat.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 4.1–117Glaucus carried to Lycia; Thetis sets the gamesThe Trojans lay Glaucus on his pyre, but Apollo snatches him away to Lycia, where the Nymphs make a spring that bears his name. The Argives go on mourning Achilles, and in heaven Hera reproaches Zeus for favouring Troy while he sits silent. At dawn Diomedes urges an attack, but Aias says they must wait for Thetis, who now comes out of the sea to set out the prizes for the funeral games.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 2.388–548Achilles kills MemnonAchilles leaves the line and finds Memnon, rebuking him as inferior in blood and strength. They fight with swords and shields, and the long and even struggle is watched from Olympus. At last Eris tips the scales and Achilles kills Memnon.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 3.1–95Apollo shoots AchillesThe Pylians bury Antilochus by the Hellespont, and Achilles drives the Trojans back, filling the streams of Simois and Xanthus with the dead. Apollo warns him to stop, and Achilles defies him. Apollo, veiled in cloud, shoots an arrow into his ankle, and Achilles pulls it out in agony.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 3.96–211Hera rebukes Apollo; Achilles fallsHera rebukes Apollo for killing Achilles, reminding him that he sang at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, and Apollo sits silent and ashamed. The dying Achilles still kills Orythaon, Hipponous and Alcathous, and his last shout sends the Trojans reeling before he falls. Paris then urges the Trojans to drag the body to Troy behind Hector's horses.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 3.212–292The fight over Achilles' bodyThe Trojans, among them Glaucus, Aeneas and Agenor, close round the fallen Achilles to drag his body to Troy, but Aias bestrides it and thrusts them back, killing many. Glaucus threatens Aias, who answers with scorn and then kills him. Aeneas drags Glaucus' body away for the Trojans and, fighting on to strip Achilles, is pierced in the forearm by Aias and withdraws to Troy to be healed.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 7.169–291Odysseus and Diomedes at ScyrosThe ship comes to Scyros, where Odysseus and Diomedes find Achilles' son practising with spear and horses. Odysseus tells him of Achilles and the war, and the youth agrees to sail the next morning. Deidameia learns of the plan and clings to her son.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 9.210–320Apollo and Poseidon check NeoptolemusNeoptolemus drives against Deiphobus, who is snatched away by Apollo in a cloud, and Zeus then lifts the cloud. Neoptolemus presses the Trojans to the Scaean Gate. Apollo comes down to strike him as he struck his father, but Poseidon strengthens the Greeks, and Apollo yields.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 1.1–133Penthesileia comes to TroyAfter Hector's funeral the Trojans cower in Priam's city, afraid of Achilles. Penthesileia arrives from the Thermodon, longing for battle and fleeing the reproach of her own people, and the Trojans take heart. Andromache, hearing the queen's boasts, murmurs that she is no match for Achilles. At night Athena sends Penthesileia a deceitful dream.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 1.654–765Achilles and ThersitesAchilles takes the helmet from the dead queen's head and, seeing how beautiful she is, grieves for her. Ares rushes down from Olympus in anger for his child but is held back by Zeus. Thersites jeers at Achilles for pitying an Amazon, and Achilles strikes him dead with a single blow.

31 more passages of Quintus Smyrnaeus that name Achilles

Nonnus of Panopolis (2)

Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 23.162–224Book 23: Hydaspes calls on his brother riversHydaspes calls on a brother river and on Aiolos to help him punish Dionysos, who has made the river a highway for chariots. He rises in a great wave that sweeps away the Bacchants, Maron and the Satyrs' gear, more furiously than Simoeis and Camandros once attacked Achilles.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 25.194–270Book 25: Heracles compared; the poet turns back to the warThe poet measures the labours of Heracles (the Lernaean hydra, the deer, the Cretan bull, Geryon and the rest) against the exploits of Dionysos and finds them small. He asks Homer's pardon, says he will not compare Dionysos with Achilles, and prays for inspiration to return to the Indian war.

Bacchylides (1)

Bacchylides, Epinicians (Odes of Victory) 12.1–14.23Odes 12–14: Pytheas of Aegina and the Aeacidae; Cleoptolemus of ThessalyOde 12 asks Cleio to guide the poet to Aegina and to a wrestler's victory at Nemea, but only its opening survives. Ode 13, for Pytheas of Aegina, shows Heracles, the descendant of Perseus, mastering the Nemean lion, praises Aegina and her heroes Peleus, Telamon, Achilles and Ajax, and tells how Achilles' anger let the Trojans drive the Greeks to their ships until Ajax stopped Hector. It ends with praise of the trainer Menander and of the host Lampon. Ode 14 reflects that fortune can crush or exalt a man before honouring Cleoptolemus of Thessaly and the domain of Poseidon Petraios.

Epic Cycle (3)

Epic Cycle, Summaries and Fragments 5.1–38CypriaProclus' summary of the Cypria opens with Zeus planning the Trojan War with Themis, the quarrel of the three goddesses, Alexandrus, Helen and the gathering of the Greeks at Aulis. The fragments cover the earth burdened by men, the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, Helen's birth to Nemesis, Castor and Polydeuces, and Alexandrus carrying Helen to Ilium.
Epic Cycle, Summaries and Fragments 6.1–5AethiopisProclus' summary tells how Memnon, the son of Eos, comes to help the Trojans in armour made by Hephaestus, and how Thetis tells her son about him. Achilles is killed by Paris and Apollo and Aias carries the body away. A fragment adds the Amazon, the daughter of Ares, who came after the burial of Hector.
Epic Cycle, Summaries and Fragments 7.1–26Little IliadProclus' summary of the Little Iliad begins with the judging of the arms of Achilles, which Odysseus wins, and the madness and death of Aias. Philoctetes is brought from Lemnos, Eurypylus is killed by Neoptolemus and Epeius builds the wooden horse. The fragments give the girls' quarrel over Aias and Odysseus, Achilles at Scyros, the golden vine given to Laomedon for Ganymedes, and the death of Astyanax.

Parthenius of Nicaea (2)

Parthenius of Nicaea, Love Romances 21.1–22.1Pisidice and Achilles; Nanis and CyrusWhile Achilles is besieging Methymna on Lesbos, Pisidice, the king's daughter, falls in love with him and promises through her nurse to put the town into his hands. Once he has the town he has her stoned, and the story is told in two passages of verse. Nanis, daughter of Croesus, betrays Sardis to Cyrus on his promise to marry her according to the customs of the Persians, and he refuses to keep it.
Parthenius of Nicaea, Love Romances 26.1–28.1Apriate and Trambelus; Alcinoe; Clite and CyzicusTrambelus, son of Telamon, throws Apriate of Lesbos into the sea when she resists his ambush, and later, wounded in battle against Achilles, is mourned by him with a great barrow. Alcinoe, punished by Athena for cheating the spinner Nicandra, sails away with the stranger Xanthus and, repenting, throws herself into the sea. Clite, newly married to Cyzicus, hangs herself after he is killed fighting the heroes who sailed with Jason.

Achilles in the ancient sources

Hesiod (1)

Homer (86)

Apollodorus (4)

Pindar (7)

Sophocles (6)

Euripides (35)

Apollonius Rhodius (1)

Aristophanes (1)

Diodorus Siculus (1)

Ovid (10)

Pausanias (16)

Quintus Smyrnaeus (43)

Nonnus of Panopolis (2)

Bacchylides (1)

Epic Cycle (3)

Parthenius of Nicaea (2)