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Achillesʹ Tendon

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A strong sinew running along the heel to the calf of the leg. The tale is that Thetis took her son Achilles by the heel, and dipped him in the river Styx to make him invulnerable. The water washed every part, except the heel covered with his mother’s hand. It was on this vulnerable point the hero was slain; and the sinew of the heel is called, in consequence, tendo Achillis. A post-Homeric story

The Heel of Achilles. The vulnerable or weak point in a man’s character or of a nation. (See above.)

 

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.

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Acheron
Acherontian Books
Acherusia
Achillea
Achilles
Achilles
Achilles (pronounce A-kil-leez)
Achilles
Achilles of the West
Achilles Spear
Achilles Tendon
Aching Void (An)
Achitophel
Achor
Acis
Acme
Acmonian Wood (The)
Acoime tæ
Acolyte
Aconite
Acrasia (Self-indulgence)

See Also:

Achilles tendon