When Achilleus later was fighting near Troya he was hit by the arrows of Paris – and died. When the tendon linking the peroneus with the top of the heel bone is called the Achilles tendon it has its origin in the Iliad.
NIELS JØRGEN THØGERSEN
Niels Jørgen Thøgersen presents...
WHAT DO YOU KNOW….. About interesting and perhaps surprising topics - also to impress your neighbour at dinner with !
Today you use the expression Achilles heel you refer to somebody’s weak point, where he can be hit – in the figurative sense. So where is your Achilles heel?? All roads lead to Rome Historically this expression goes back to the Roman empire, where all roads throughout the vast empire were leading to Rome. From this literal meaning of the saying another meaning has developed. Today it means that there are many different routes to the same goal.
3rd ed. ( * new since 2nd ed.)
B Bed of roses
A Achilles’ heel This expression comes from the Greek mythology. The ancient Greek hero Achilleus, who was the main person in the Iliad of Homer, was by his mother Thetis dipped in the river Styx. In this way be became invulnerable. When the mother dipped him she held him by his heels – meaning that they did not become wet. Therefore, they continued to be vulnerable.
This expression comes from the time of the decay of the Roman empire around the 3rd and 4th century AC. People did a lot of decadent things in that period. One of them was to have roses in masses all over the place – to live with lots of roses everywhere and at all times. The beds were ofter filled with leaves of roses. The floors were covered with roses. This habit was sometime continued in the Medieval Ages at special occasions. So the expression a bed of roses still today means that you have a good life. A life without problems.