The heroes had to attract one more hero to participate in the campaign. This was young Achilles, the son of King Peleus and the goddess Thetis. The soothsayer Calchas predicted to the Atrids that only if they would take the great Troy if Achilles took part in the campaign. Fate promised immortal glory to Achilles. He was to be the greatest of the heroes who would fight at Troy. Great will be the exploits of Achilles, but he will not return alive from under the wall of Troy; he will die in the prime of his strength, struck by an arrow. The goddess Thetis knew what fate promised her son. She tried with all her might to prevent a terrible fate. When Achilles was still a baby, she rubbed his body with ambrosia and kept it on fire to make her son invulnerable and thus give him immortality. But one night, when Thetis put the baby Achilles in the fire, Peleus woke up. He was horrified to see his son on fire. Drawing his sword, he rushed to Thetis. The goddess was frightened, ran away in fear from the palace of Peleus and disappeared into the depths of the sea in the palace of her father Nereus. Peleus gave Achilles to be raised by his friend, the centaur Chiron. Chiron fed Achilles with the brains of bears and the liver of lions. Achilles grew up to be a mighty hero. Being only six years old, he killed ferocious lions and wild boars and overtook deer without dogs, so fast and easy was Achilles’ running. There was no equal to Achilles in the ability to wield weapons. Chiron also taught him to play the sweet-sounding cithara and sing. Thetis did not forget her son; she often surfaced from the depths of the sea to see her son. Everywhere Thetis always took care of her son.
When Achilles grew up and became a beautiful young man, the news spread throughout Greece that Menelaus was gathering heroes for a campaign against Troy. Thetis, knowing what fate threatened Achilles, hid him on the island of Skyros, in the palace of King Lycomedes. Achilles lived there among the royal daughters, dressed in women's clothing. No one knew where Achilles was hidden. But the soothsayer Calchas revealed his refuge to Menelaus. Odysseus and Diomedes immediately got ready to set off. Odysseus came up with the following trick. Under the guise of merchants, Diomedes and Odysseus arrived at Skyros and went to the palace of Lycomedes. They laid out their goods in front of the princesses: luxurious fabrics, gold necklaces, wrists, earrings, bedspreads woven with gold, and between them they placed a sword, helmet, shield, greaves and armor. The princesses looked at the gold jewelry and rich fabrics with delight, and Achilles, who stood among them, looked only at the weapons. Suddenly, military cries were heard near the palace, trumpets sounded and weapons thundered. It was the companions of Diomedes and Odysseus who struck their shields with their swords and issued a war cry. The princesses fled in fear, and Achilles, grabbing a sword and shield, rushed towards the enemies. He thought that the palace of Lycomedes had been attacked. This is how Odysseus and Diomedes recognized Achilles. With great joy Achilles agreed to participate in the campaign against Troy. His faithful friend Patroclus and the wise old man Phoenix went with him. Peleus gave his son the armor that he had once received as a gift from the gods at his wedding with the goddess Thetis, and gave him the spear given to him by Chiron, and the horses received from Poseidon.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru