While the women fled in panic, Achilles prepared to defend the court, thus giving his identity away
In the Trojan War 

According to the Iliad, Achilles arrived at Troy with 50 ships, each carrying 50 Myrmidons
He appointed five leaders (each leader commanding 500 Myrmidons): Menesthius, Eudorus, Peisander, Phoenix and Alcimedon
Telephus 
When the Greeks left for the Trojan War, they accidentally stopped in Mysia, ruled by King Telephus
In the resulting battle, Achilles gave Telephus a wound that would not heal; Telephus consulted an oracle, who stated that "he that wounded shall heal"
Guided by the oracle, he arrived at Argos, where Achilles healed him in order that he might become their guide for the voyage to Troy
According to other reports in Euripides' lost play about Telephus, he went to Aulis pretending to be a beggar and asked Achilles to heal his wound
Achilles refused, claiming to have no medical knowledge
Alternatively, Telephus held Orestes for ransom, the ransom being Achilles' aid in healing the wound
Odysseus reasoned that the spear had inflicted the wound; therefore, the spear must be able to heal it
Pieces of the spear were scraped off onto the wound and Telephus was healed
Despite his youth, he was one of the main Trojan war leaders, a "horse fighter" or "chariot fighter" according to Homer
Prophecies linked Troilus' fate to that of Troy and so he was ambushed in an attempt to capture him
Later versions of the story suggested Troilus was accidentally killed by Achilles in an over-ardent lovers' embrace
In this version of the myth, Achilles' death therefore came in retribution for this sacrilege
Ancient writers treated Troilus as the epitome of a dead child mourned by his parents
Had Troilus lived to adulthood, the First Vatican Mythographer claimed, Troy would have been invincible; however, the motif is older and found already in Plautus' Bacchides
In the Iliad 

Homer's Iliad is the most famous narrative of Achilles' deeds in the Trojan War
Achilles' wrath (μῆνις Ἀχιλλέως, mênis Achilléōs) is the central theme of the poem
The first two lines of the Iliad read:

The Homeric epic only covers a few weeks of the decade-long war, and does not narrate Achilles' death
It begins with Achilles' withdrawal from battle after being dishonoured by Agamemnon, the commander of the Achaean forces
Agamemnon has taken a woman named Chryseis as his slave
Her father Chryses, a priest of Apollo, begs Agamemnon to return her to him
Agamemnon refuses, and Apollo sends a plague amongst the Greeks
The prophet Calchas correctly determines the source of the troubles but will not speak unless Achilles vows to protect him
Achilles does so, and Calchas declares that Chryseis must be returned to her father
Agamemnon consents, but then commands that Achilles' battle prize Briseis, the daughter of Briseus, be brought to him to replace Chryseis
At the same time, burning with rage over Agamemnon's theft, Achilles prays to Thetis to convince Zeus to help the Trojans gain ground in the war, so that he may regain his honour
As the battle turns against the Greeks, thanks to the influence of Zeus, Nestor declares that the Trojans are winning because Agamemnon has angered Achilles, and urges the king to appease the warrior
Agamemnon agrees and sends Odysseus and two other chieftains, Ajax and Phoenix
They promise that, if Achilles returns to battle, Agamemnon will return the captive Briseis and other gifts
Achilles rejects all Agamemnon offers him and simply urges the Greeks to sail home as he was planning to do
The Trojans, led by Hector, subsequently push the Greek army back toward the beaches and assault the Greek ships
With the Greek forces on the verge of absolute destruction, Patroclus leads the Myrmidons into battle, wearing Achilles' armour, though Achilles remains at his camp
Patroclus succeeds in pushing the Trojans back from the beaches, but is killed by Hector before he can lead a proper assault on the city of Troy
After receiving the news of the death of Patroclus from Antilochus, the son of Nestor, Achilles grieves over his beloved companion's death
His mother Thetis comes to comfort the distraught Achilles
She persuades Hephaestus to make new armour for him, in place of the armour that Patroclus had been wearing, which was taken by Hector
The new armour includes the Shield of Achilles, described in great detail in the poem
Enraged over the death of Patroclus, Achilles ends his refusal to fight and takes the field, killing many men in his rage but always seeking out Hector
Achilles even engages in battle with the river god Scamander, who has become angry that Achilles is choking his waters with all the men he has killed
The god tries to drown Achilles but is stopped by Hera and Hephaestus
Finally, Achilles finds his prey
After Hector realizes the trick, he knows the battle is inevitable
Wanting to go down fighting, he charges at Achilles with his only weapon, his sword, but misses
Accepting his fate, Hector begs Achilles not to spare his life, but to treat his body with respect after killing him
Achilles tells Hector it is hopeless to expect that of him, declaring that "my rage, my fury would drive me now to hack your flesh away and eat you raw – such agonies you have caused me"
Achilles then kills Hector and drags his corpse by its heels behind his chariot
After having a dream where Patroclus begs Achilles to hold his funeral, Achilles hosts a series of funeral games in honour of his companion
At the onset of his duel with Hector, Achilles is referred to as the brightest star in the sky, which comes on in the autumn, Orion's dog (Sirius); a sign of evil