Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997)

Born of a mortal and Thetis, a nymph, this great though bad-tempered warrior, who dies young, is one of the Greek Heroes who besiege Troy and is a central figure in Homer's Iliad (circa 8th century BC). Fantasy tends to make limited use of Achilles as a generalized Underlier figure. Brian M Stableford's Dies Irae trilogy (1971) is a comparatively rare example in which Achilles is central. [JC]

see also: Achilles' Heel.
