The Education of Achilles
Artist: Gustave Moreau (French, 1826-1898)
Date: 1884
Medium: Oil on canvas
Collection: Private Collection
Description
The present work illustrates a youthful Achilles being mentored in the art of the lyre by the wise centaur Chiron on Mount Pelion in Thessaly.
In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War and the main protagonist and finest warrior of Homer's Iliad . Son of the sea nymph Thetis and Peleus, king of the Myrmidons, the demi-god's only weakness was his heel, which would eventually cause his demise in battle.












