Definition of Achilles

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Achilles: In Greek mythology, the hero who was thought to have some special medical knowledge. Achilles studied medicine with Chiron, the centaur, who invented it.

"...But save me. Take me to the ship, cut this arrow out of my leg, wash the blood from it with warm water and put the right things on it - the plants they say you have learned about from Achilles who learned them from Chiron, the best of the Centaurs." (The Iliad of Homer, Book XI).

See also Achilles tendon .