Achilles Handed Over to Chiron

(Donato Creti - il Palazzo d'Accursio, Bologna)

The infancy and childhood of the Greek hero Achilles was extraordinary. Abandoned by his mother Thetis piqued by a quarrel with his father Peleus, she left them both, never to return. The tale, from the classics, goes as follows:

While Paris was in Sparta winning Helen, King Pelias and Thetis were having problems of their own. After the incident with the golden. apple, the couple lived happily for a while with their family of daughters. But as the years passed, King Pelias grew more and more dejected, for although Thetis had given birth to six sons, each one had mysteriously died in infancy.

Thetis was despondent over the death of her baby sons. She secretly longed to return to the sea and the comfort of the waves. She no longer wanted to be queen; she wanted the simple life of a sea nymph even more. But as fate would have it, she had a seventh son, whom they named Achilles.

Determined not to lose this son, Thetis secretly vowed to make Achilles invulnerable. Without telling her husband, she took Achilles into the Underworld of the god Hades and dipped the baby in the River Styx. The river was swift and Thetis did not want to lose her baby, so she held him tightly by one heel. The magical protecting waters washed all over Achilles, except for the heel that his mother held. Upon learning that Thetis had gone, King Pelias was distraught and suspicious. His wife had been acting strangely, and he was concerned for Achilles' safety. He was relieved when his wife and son returned unharmed, but he determined to keep a watchful eye on them. That night as Pelias pretended be asleep, he saw Thetis remove Achilles from his cradle and place him in the fire that warmed their chambers. He quickly lunged out of bed and grabbed the baby out of the flames. "You fool!" cried Thetis. "Had you left Achilles in the flames he would have become immortal. He has been dipped in River Styx and is invulnerable to the fire."

Thetis could take no more. Upset and cross, she left her husband and child and disappeared back into the sea, never to return. Pelias was distressed at the loss of his lovely wife. Because of his sorrow, he took Achilles up to Mount Pelion and turned him over to the care a wise Centaur named Chiron. Chiron was trusted by many fine families in Greece to raise their sons to become heroes.

In Greek mythology, Chiron or Cheiron ("hand") was held as the superlative centaur among his brethren. Like the satyrs, centaurs were notorious for being overly indulgent drinkers and carousers, given to violence when intoxicated, and generally uncultured delinquents. Chiron, by contrast, was intelligent, civilized and kind. He was known for his knowledge and skill with medicine. A great healer, astrologer, and respected oracle, Chiron was said to be the last centaur and highly revered as a teacher and tutor. Among his pupils were many culture heroes: Asclepius, Aristaeus, Ajax, Aeneas, Actaeon, Caeneus, Theseus, Achilles, Jason, Peleus, Telamon, Heracles, Oileus, Phoenix, and in some stories, Dionysus.

His lofty home bored deep into the mountain, beneath the long, overarching vault of Pelion; part had been hollowed out by toil, part worn away by its own age. Yet the images and couches of the gods were shown, and the places that each had sanctified by his reclining and his sacred presence; within were the Centaur's wide and lofty stalls, far different from those of his wicked brethren.

Here were no spears that have tasted human blood, nor ashen clubs broken in festal conflict, nor mixing bowls shattered upon kindred foemen, but innocent quivers and mighty hides of beasts. These did he take while yet in the prime of age; but now, a warrior no more, his only toil was to learn the herbs that bring health to creatures doubting of their lives, or to describe to his pupil upon his lyre the heroes of old time.

The old centaur loved Achilles like a son, and taught him well. On Mount Pelion Achilles was fed meat from lions and wild boars, and the marrow of bears, to give him courage. A diet of honey-comb and fawn's marrow made him a swift runner. Chiron taught Achilles the arts of riding, hunting, archery, pipe-playing, healing and more. The Muse Calliope taught him to sing. Achilles exemplified the best qualities of a warrior, coupled with the soul of a poet.

He killed his first boar when he was only six years old and every day brought wild animals back to Chiron. Athena and Artemis gazed in wonder at this handsome golden-haired child, impressed at his swiftness and skill - Achilles could overtake and kill stags without the help of hounds. He grew into a handsome youth with a mass of golden curls, and his skills were unsurpassed.

As Achilles grew into a strong and vibrant youth atop Mount Pelion with Chiron the Centaur, the clouds of war were gathering throughout Greece. Warriors and princes assembled, preparing to sail in battle to Troy. Agamemnon organized the troops to defend his brother's honor and seek revenge. They met at the port of Aulis and over a thousand ships set sail.

Achilles had been isolated in the mountains and therefore had not been called upon to do battle. When he heard of the coming war, he immediately set out for Troy. Chiron presented the boy with a magic spear that would fight true -for only him. He also gave him a mighty shield covered in ivory and jewels, and tunics and cloaks to protect him against the biting winds. Fate however willed otherwise.

When Achilles was nine years old the prophet Calchas declared that Troy would never be taken without the help of Achilles. Thetis knew that her son would either die young as a hero at Troy, or live an inglorious life at home. She did her utmost to preserve the life of Achilles, even going so far as to disguise him as a girl and sending him away to Lycomedes, king of Scyros. There he lived under the name of Cercysera, Aissa, or Pyrrha, it is said. Achilles wanted nothing to do with dressing like a girl but he realized that it was the only way to get close to King Lycomedes's beautiful daughter. This affair with the king's daughter, Diedameia, produced a son named Pyrrhus, later called Neoptolemus.

Thus disguised as a young woman Achilles lived quietly at Scyros until the leaders of the Greek expedition against Troy, who were Odysseus, Nestor and Ajax, arrived and asked to speak to Achilles. They wanted him to join them in the Trojan War. King Lycomedes insisted that he wasn't there, and offered the men a search of the palace. The search failed to expose Achilles, so Odysseus resorted to trickery.

The Greeks had brought a pile of gifts to Scyros, mostly jewels, girdles, fancy embroidered dresses and colorful cloth. Odysseus asked the ladies to pick their choice of any gift, but instructed his men to sound a sudden trumpet blast and clash of arms outside the palace. All the girls had gathered around the gold and finery, ooohing and aaahing, but one girl showed absolutely no interest in the jewels, but instead seemed fascinated by the swords, spears and arms that were part of the gifts.

So when the trumpet blew and the sounds of fighting were heard, one of the "young girls", the disguised Achilles, instinctively stripped to the waist and grabbed the sword and shield, readying for battle. Thus Achilles was exposed, and he promptly agreed to join the Greek expedition, and lead to Troy his army of Myrmidons, which was what his warriors were called.

Before he left Achilles married his sweetheart, the pregnant Deidameia. Then he brought a fleet of fifty or sixty ships to join his fellow Greeks at Aulis. He was fifteen years old at the time.

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