Where the phrase That's your Achilles comes from?

Answer 1

An 'Achilles heel' is a single, deadly weakness despite overall strength. It is named after the hero, Achilles, because he was basically invincible except for a spot on his heel; which led to his downfall. This was because his mother, Thetis, dipped him into the River Styx hanging onto his heel. In human anatomy, this part is called the 'Achilles tendon'.

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The term has come to mean any fatal flaw or tragic weakness. An interesting bit of trivia - the Indian god Krishna was also traditionally invulnerable except for a heel, and was killed by an arrow shot into his heel.
A weakness or flaw: a variant of myth says that Thetis, mother of Achilles, tried to make her son invulnerable/immortal dipping him in the waters of the Styx (the river of Hades).

But, as she held him by the heel, and he was not touched by the Styx's waters there - he failed to be protected.

Note, however, that in the story of Achilles in the Trojan War in the Iliad, Homer does not mention this weakness of Achilles' heel.
An "Achilles heel" is an idiom for something that is apparently invulnerable actually having a single point of weakness that can be exploited to win the day. It is derived from the Greek myth of Achilles which is well documented elsewhere.

To "meet one's Waterloo" is an idiom for an end to an otherwise unstoppable force (from the perspective of the loser). In the case of the French general Napoleon Bonaparte he met the English general Wellington who defeated him at Waterloo and decisively ended Bonaparte's campaign.
A mortal (death-dealing) weakness.
Achilles' Heel is that one weak spot in an otherwise strong character or position.

Answer 2

The phrase is "Achilles' Heel", referring to a weakness. According to legend, Achilles' mother dipped him into the river Styx, holding him by the heel (upside down) to protect him from harm (the water in the legend had powers of protection). Since she was holding him by the heel, that part of his body did not get submerged in the water, and was therefore still vulnerable to harm. In this legend Achilles was later killed by an arrow in his heel. An example using this phrase might be: "I don't like seeing a woman cry- it's my Achilles' heel."

Answer 3

Meaning: the one weakness, fault, flaw, or vulnerable spot in one's otherwise strong character

Origin: In the Iliad, the famous story about the Trojan War by the Greek poet Homer, Achilles was a great hero and warrior. However, he had one weak spot, the heel of one foot. When he was a baby, his mother wanted to be certain that he son could never be harmed, so she dipped little Achilles upside-down in the magical River Styx. Wherever the water touched his body, he became invulnerable. But since she was holding him by his heel, that part of him never got wet. Years later Achilles was killed int he Trojan War by an enemy who shot a poisoned arrow into his heel.

Greek Legend.
Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War.
The legend says that he was invulnerable in all of his body except for his heel, as his mother, Thetis , dipped him in the river Styx as an infant (river that formed the boundary between Earth and the Underworld, guarded by Phlegyas/Charon. It circled Hades, God of the Underworld, nine times. Charon would ferry souls from the Earth to the Underworld on a small boat, his only payment a coin left in the mouths of the bodies.) Styx has miraculous powers and could make someone immortal/invulnerable, but Achilles' mother dipped him in by holding his heel, making this part of his body vulnerable, as it was covered by her thumb and forefinger and therefore untouched by Styx. This meant that only his heel would be his downfall. Thetis fled out of fear.

Later in his life, in the midst of a War, Achilles died from a heel wound as the result of an arrow - possibly poisoned - by Paris, the son of the King of Troy (Priam).

An Achilles' heel is a fatal weakness in spite of overall strength, actually or potentially leading to downfall.

The use of "Achilles' heel" as an expression used for "area of weakness, vulnerable spot" dates only to 1855 (Merriam-Webster). It derived from the Greek "Achilleios pterna" literally meaning Achilles' heel.

The large and prominent tendon of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles of the calf is called the tendo achilleus or Achilles tendon. It is often believed in popular culture that the hero was therefore killed by being shot through this structure. However, as tendons are notably avascular, such an injury is unlikely to be fatal.

The anatomical basis of Achilles death is more likely to have been injury to his posterior tibial artery below the medial malleolus. It is noted that this area would have been included in Thetis' grip and therefore would have been vulnerable.

Answer 4

The term Achilles heel came from the famous Greek hero Achilles because he was could not be harmed anywhere except the Achilles heel. He was believed to have earned his invincibility of not being harmed anywhere by taking a dip in the river Styx.

Answer 5

The legend was that his goddess mother dipped him in the Styx River to make him invulnerable, but she held him by the heel and it was his vulnerable part.