Achilles' heel is a phraseological unit denoting the weakness or vulnerability of an enterprise or person. This could be a personality trait, a feature that spoils life, or an imperfection in the organization of a business - everything that, one way or another, is a hidden flaw that can appear unexpectedly and confuse all the cards.
Let's talk about how this expression appeared and what its original meaning was.
The Myth of Achilles
The expression "Achilles' heel" originates in a myth of the post-Homeric era, transmitted by the Roman poet Hyginus. It talks about the fate of a great hero named Achilles, who was invulnerable to enemy arrows and swords. The secret of his magical protection was that when he was a child, his mother, the sea goddess Thetis, dipped him in the waters. She dreamed of making her son immortal and equal to the gods. However, the protection was not complete. While Achilles was washing in the eternal river, his mother held his heel, which remained dry. She was the hero’s hidden vulnerable spot.
During the siege of Troy, Achilles fought for ten men. It is not surprising, because the weapon could not cause him any harm. The Trojans were on the verge of complete defeat. But then Apollo stood up for them, angry at the insolence of a mere mortal. He directed the arrow fired by Paris directly at Achilles' heel, and the hero was defeated.
Since then Achilles' heel means an inconspicuous and seemingly insignificant feature that may pose a threat to any business.
By the way, the Achilles tendon, named after the hero of the Greek myth, can withstand a load of 400 kg or more and is one of the most vulnerable places in the human body.
The Achilles heel of the modern enterprise
Let's take a closer look at the concept of hidden vulnerability using an example modern enterprises.
Any company is a complex system, which means that there are flaws hidden somewhere that are not visible to the surface.
The Achilles heel of a company is a weak point from which the destruction of the entire enterprise can begin.
When an ordinary employee does not pay enough attention to his job responsibilities, he does not know that his carelessness can destroy the entire carefully built structure if his actions touch that very painful point.
In order to avoid such risks, most large Western and domestic companies pay a lot of attention to creating a corporate culture, which helps to increase discipline and motivation of employees.
Any owner of a successful large company needs to understand where this point is. If for now he cannot strengthen this place, then at least he should give it Special attention.
Every industry has its weak link. For example, it is generally accepted that in aviation the main threat to safety is the human factor, that is, unreliable and unpredictable people on whom the control of complex machines depends.
Sometimes such a flaw can be a minor event, which along the chain can lead to complete collapse. It is almost impossible to predict the outcome; the only way to control such accidents is to introduce preventive measures. For example, creating rules of behavior in various situations and so on.
The Achilles heel is a myth familiar to many from childhood, warning of the danger that lies in carelessness and self-confidence. Any accident or ambiguity in contracts can become a weak link and turn into a threat to the life of the enterprise.
It says: “If trouble can happen, it will definitely happen.” This means that you cannot give this trouble a single chance, you need to be extremely vigilant.
Monument to Achilles
IN modern world quite a lot of interesting phrases and expressions. And people gradually begin to become interested from time to time in the meaning or origin of the expression that interests them. One of these expressions today is “ Achilles' heel».
But why Achilles's and not the other? And why the heel? The fact is that the ancient Greeks had a brave and legendary warrior whose name was Achilles. Many people have come across his achievements on the pages of ancient Greek mythology and in modern cinematography. But what was so special about his heel? And the fact that according to one of versions
The sea goddess Achilles' mother, Thetis, wanting to deify her son, placed him on Hephaestus's stove, while holding Achilles by one heel.
According to the second and more truthful version, Achilles’ mother dipped him into the waters of the Styx, the river, so that her son would become immortal. But while his mother was dipping him, she again held him by the heel. That's why Achilles heel didn't dip into the river. From this time on Achilles had one vulnerable spot- heel.
Perhaps at that time no one would have known about this weak point of Achilles, if there had not been the battle of Troy, in which Paris hit Achilles with an arrow right in the heel. Which was the cause of the death of the ancient Greek brave man.
From all that has been said, we can conclude that phraseological unit Achilles' heel means a person's vulnerable spot. This expression can be heard when a person talks about another person’s vulnerabilities. But it is not necessary to use this expression in relation to people; it can also be used in relation to systems, objects, etc. The main thing is to apply it correctly and without distortion meaning and phraseological units.
Statue “Dying Achilles” (Ernst Herter, 1884. Achilleion Palace, Corfu, Greece).
Achilles' heel- a post-Homeric myth (transmitted by the Roman writer Hyginus), which tells how the mother of Achilles (Achilles), Thetis, wanted to make her son's body invulnerable. To do this, she dipped him into the sacred river Styx. But, dipping the baby into the water, the mother held his heel, and the heel remained Achilles’s only vulnerable spot. Subsequently, it was there that Paris hit him with his arrow, mortally wounding the hero.
The plot of the myth [ | ]
The famous hero Achilles was predicted as a child that he could live a long but inglorious life, or die heroically at the walls of Troy. His mother Thetis did not want her son to die so early, and she decided to make him invulnerable. To do this, when he was born, she dipped him into the sacred waters of the underground river Styx. At the same time, she held Achilles by the heel. Now Achilles could not be hit by the weapon, but his heel, which was not touched by the magical waters of the Styx, remained vulnerable.
Many years later, Achilles went with the Greeks on a campaign against Troy. During one of the battles, the god Apollo (who had previously been insulted by Achilles) aimed Paris' arrow directly at Achilles' heel. The wound, despite being small, turned out to be fatal.
In modern culture[ | ]
Currently, the expression "Achilles' heel" means weak side, “sick”, vulnerable spot of something or someone. This side can be both physical and moral.
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History of the expression
"Achilles' heel" is a phraseological unit that originates in Ancient Greece. Achilles (Achilles) is the hero of Homer's epics, a great warrior who does not know defeat. He was a demigod. His mother is the sea nymph Thetis, who was forcibly married to the Myrmidon king Peleus. According to the legend on which Homer relies in his epic, Achilles was the seventh child in the family. His brothers died at the hands of a mother who dipped her babies in boiling water to see if they were immortal. Achilles was saved by his father. Having inherited powerful strength from his mother goddess, the son of a mere mortal remained vulnerable to all dangers. In order to save him from future adversity, Thetis plunges the baby into the streams of the Styx. The mother held her child by the heel and was not touched by the waters of the sacred river. The greatest of the heroes of antiquity, Achilles, took part in the campaign against Troy. No one could defeat the warrior, because everyone was aiming at his body, his head. Under his blows, the Amazon queen Penthesilea and the Ethiopian prince Memnon, who came to the aid of the Trojans, fell. But a poisoned arrow, fired by Paris, whose hand was guided by the angry Apollo, hit the hero in the heel - the only unprotected place, and he died.
Since then, any flaw, flaw, or unprotected place has been called the “Achilles heel.” The myth haunted people's minds. Anatomists have preserved the memory of the hero by calling one of the connective tissues located above the heel bone the “Achilles tendon.” Every person has their own "Achilles' heel". Some admit this weakness openly, others hide it, but be that as it may, its presence once again confirms the expression “no people are perfect.” Those who deny it in themselves are either simply ignorant or stupid, considering themselves equal to the gods.
At any complex system has its own weak spot. This applies not only to a person, but also to any enterprise. As with human psychology, denying the existence of a weak point in an organization is simply pointless. On the contrary, the owner or manager of an enterprise, realizing that “blind spots” cannot be avoided, looks for them, thinking through management’s policies in advance, in order to notice the danger in time and take all possible measures to maintain stability and subsequent economic growth. Any missed roughness, weak link, wormhole (this is the “Achilles heel”) - and the enterprise faces collapse. It's about not only about the organization of work, but also about the relationship with subordinates, compliance with subordination, business etiquette. Any small crack can develop into a fault. A promising, knowledgeable leader will always have his finger on the pulse.
The world around
Even more insidious is the “Achilles heel” hidden in the domestic and international policies of the state. Nuclear and space program, banking structure, legislation - all these huge systems are like colossi with feet of clay. Any imperfection, gap or small pebble that falls from the foundation can cause the collapse of not only an individual state, but also all of humanity.
Achilles is an ancient Greek hero. His father is the mortal Peleus, his mother is the goddess Thetis (she was the goddess of the seas). The fate of children born from such relationships was not easy. They were endowed with remarkable strength, dexterity, and wisdom. They were respected by their fellow countrymen, they glorified themselves with the exploits they performed for the benefit of people. But whatever they were, the end awaited them ordinary people- death.
Achilles' mother wanted her son to be like her, and not his father, so that he would not know death. To do this, when the baby was born, Thetis dipped him into the waters of the sacred river Styx. At the same time, she held his heel. As a result of such bathing, Akhil became invulnerable; as a future warrior, he actually gained immortality. It’s just that the place on his heel, by which his mother held him and which the waters of the sacred river did not wash, remained vulnerable.
Achilles grew up and became a respected hero, a glorious warrior. He was invited to fight for Troy. We are talking about the famous Trojan War. It was there, in one of the battles, that an enemy arrow hit Achilles’ heel. He died from this seemingly trivial wound.
The expression "Achilles' heel" means:
Agree, each of us has strings of the soul that, if touched correctly, can cause both pain and joy.
The phraseology "Achilles' heel" is used exclusively to mean "a weak point in a person."
