So the challenge in Achilles’ campaign is to manage his moods and position of renown, thus reaping benefits for both his realm and armies. While his mere presence could often turn the tide of battle, the Phthian champion's tendency to great and unpredictable mood swings could either shake or bolster the resolve of the achaean host. To the east, amidst the Aegean, lies the isle of Skyros, domain of King Lycomedes, where Achilles found sanctuary in the not-so-distant past. To the south, Achilles has powerful friends – Ajax the Lesser and his father Oileus. To the north-west, the Thessalians can be either a powerful ally or a worthy conquest. He must push them back to the isle of Euboea and then consider the opportunities for northern expansion, provided by the wealthy but meek Magnetes and Pelasgiotes. Hot-blooded Achilles switched between moods of pride, grief, indignance and outrage and the consequences were shared by all under his command.Īt the start, Achilles faces an Ellopian army as it invades Phthia from the south. But between the glory that had gotten to his head and the weight of his prophesized destiny, the epic hero had developed an equally epic temper. Such was his might that no other man could lift his massive spear of Pelian ash.Īlways on the offensive, Achilles sought to defeat all challengers until no one was left to dispute his supremacy. His seeming invincibility in combat was brought on by his mother, the sea-goddess Thetis, who granted him invulnerability as an infant by dipping him into the waters of the Styx. Swift-footed Achilles, was the mightiest warrior the world had ever known. Fiercely loyal, they fought with ferocity and overcame insurmountable odds through sheer unflinching determination. Achilles was the famed leader of the Myrmidons, an elite fighting force from Phthia said to have been created by Zeus himself from a colony of ants.
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