<figure id="attachment_171533" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-171533" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.thecollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/how-artists-reimagined-achilles.jpg" alt="Wrath of Achilles by Peter Paul Rubens Baroque painting sketch" width="1200" height="689" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-171533" class="wp-caption-text">The Wrath of Achilles (c. 1630-35) is one of several Baroque-era depictions of the Greek hero by Peter Paul Rubens. Source: Wikimedia Commons.</figcaption></figure>
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Across centuries and cultures, depictions of Achilles in art have reflected the values and ideals of each age. Ancient Greek vases, vivid Baroque dramas, and minimalist modern abstractions have continually reshaped Achilles&#8217; image, making the mythical hero one of the most enduring figures in art history.
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<h2>Achilles in Ancient Greek Art</h2>
<figure id="attachment_169021" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-169021" style="width: 982px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.thecollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/black-figure-amphora-exekias-achilles-ajax.jpeg" alt="ancient Greek vase depicting Achilles and Ajax Playing Dice" width="982" height="1200" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-169021" class="wp-caption-text">Achilles and Ajax Playing Dice by Exekias, c. 540 BCE. Source: Vatican Museums, Vatican City.</figcaption></figure>
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One of the earliest depictions of <a href="https://www.thecollector.com/who-was-achilles-greek-mythology-warrior/">Achilles</a> in art appears on a black-figure vase, credited to the ancient ceramic artist Exekias. It shows Achilles and the hero Ajax not in the midst of the Trojan War, but playing dice off the battlefield. The quiet scene highlights their shared humanity and brotherhood.
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Exekias’ choice to portray the heroes at play, rather than in combat, underscores a theme central to Greek art: greatness balanced with vulnerability. Here, Achilles is not just the mythical warrior of <a href="https://www.thecollector.com/trojan-war-iliad-troy/">The Iliad.</a> Between battles, he is also an ordinary man.
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<h2>The Hellenistic Pasquino Group and Achilles’ Tragic Fall</h2>
<figure id="attachment_169022" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-169022" style="width: 800px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.thecollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/pasquino-hellenistic-statue-group-achilles.jpg" alt="Marble copy of hellenistic Greek bronze pasquino group" width="800" height="1295" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-169022" class="wp-caption-text">Pasquino Group (Roman marble copy of Hellenistic bronze sculptural group dating to c. 200-100 BCE). Source: Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence/Wikimedia Commons.</figcaption></figure>
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The Hellenistic Pasquino Group presents a starkly different image: Ajax lifting Achilles’ lifeless body from the <a href="https://www.thecollector.com/trojan-war-artworks/">battlefield</a>. This dramatic sculpture emphasizes mortality and loss over victory and glory.
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Created around 200–100 BCE, the sculpted figures reflect Hellenistic art’s focus on realism and emotional depth. Ajax&#8217;s tense strength poignantly contrasts with Achilles&#8217; limp form, emphasizing the tragedy of the scene. Here, Achilles serves as a reminder that heroism and tragedy can go hand-in-hand. The scene also underscores the inevitability of fate.
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<h2>Greek Myths in Roman Pompeii</h2>
<figure id="attachment_169023" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-169023" style="width: 960px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.thecollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/pompeii-fresco-discovery-achilles-skyros.jpg" alt="Achilles at Skyros, depicted in Roman fresco painting at Pompeii" width="960" height="1499" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-169023" class="wp-caption-text">Achilles between Diomedes and Odysseus at Skyros, fresco from the House of the Dioscuri in Pompeii, c. 62-79 AD. Source: National Archaeological Museum of Naples.</figcaption></figure>
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A fresco from <a href="https://www.thecollector.com/discover-pompeii-famous-mosaics/">Pompeii</a> depicts Achilles disguised as a maiden on the Greek island of Skyros. Painted between 62 and 79 CE, the painted scene demonstrates the Romans&#8217; fascination with Greek mythology—and particularly how this interest manifested in their everyday, domestic lives.
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This scene depicts the tense moment before Odyseus reveals Achilles&#8217; true identity. At this point in the story, Achilles finds himself reluctantly drawn toward accepting the role of hero, although he has been in hiding. This version of Achilles in art highlights the interesting tension between self-determination and destiny.
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<h2>Achilles in the Renaissance</h2>
<figure id="attachment_169024" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-169024" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.thecollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/plate-paris-killing-achilles-renaissance.jpg" alt="Renaissance plate depicting Paris killing Achilles" width="1200" height="900" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-169024" class="wp-caption-text">Plate with Paris Killing Achilles and arms of the Calini family by Nicolo da Gabriele Sbraghe, c. 1525. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.</figcaption></figure>
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The <a href="https://www.thecollector.com/renaissance-paintings-reveal-secrets-changing-world/">Renaissance</a> revived classical myths, and Achilles played an important role in this process of rediscovery. A maiolica plate from the 16th century depicts Paris of Troy killing Achilles. The most important elements of the story, including Achilles&#8217; vulnerable heel, appear closer to the edges so they would remain visible even if the plate was holding food. Heraldic symbols of the Calini family of Brescia are also integrated into the composition.
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In this period, Achilles allowed artists to explore moral struggle, ambition, and tragedy while flattering patrons with ties to antiquity. The plate embodies both a renewed admiration for classical heritage and yet another reminder that not even heroes are invulnerable.
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<h2>A Baroque Depiction of Achilles</h2>
<figure id="attachment_171532" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-171532" style="width: 952px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.thecollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/peter-paul-rubens-achilles-thetis-1.jpg" alt="Peter Paul Rubens Baroque painting sketch Achilles" width="952" height="1100" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-171532" class="wp-caption-text">Sketch for Thetis dipping the infant Achilles into the river Styx, c. 1630-1635. Source: Wikimedia Commons.</figcaption></figure>
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<a href="https://www.thecollector.com/6-things-about-peter-paul-rubens-you-probably-didnt-know/">Peter Paul Rubens</a> infused the story of Achilles with <a href="https://www.thecollector.com/important-baroque-paintings/">Baroque</a> grandeur across an ambitious series of paintings and tapestries. Here, he reimagined Achilles in a sketch of his mother Thetis, who dips her infant son into the River Styx. According to some versions of the myth, this ritual made Achilles invincible, except for the heel Thetis held.
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Rubens’ evocative brushwork conveys the emotional bond between mother and infant son, as well as a sense of foreboding—after all, the act meant to protect Achilles instead created the weakness that defined his fate.
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<h2>Neoclassical Achilles</h2>
<figure id="attachment_169026" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-169026" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.thecollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/anger-of-achilles-jacques-louis-david.jpg" alt="Anger of Achilles Neoclassical painting by Jacques-Louis David" width="1024" height="730" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-169026" class="wp-caption-text">The Anger of Achilles by Jacques-Louis David, 1819. Source: Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth.</figcaption></figure>
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Neoclassicism prized order and clarity in art. <a href="https://www.thecollector.com/jacques-louis-david/">Jacques-Louis David</a>’s The Anger of Achilles embodies this vision, depicting Achilles in the moments after Agamemnon takes Briseis from him. The Greek hero appears torn between rage and duty.
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A leader of Neoclassical art, David favored restrained coloration, careful compositions, and precise forms without sacrificing psychological depth. Here, Achilles becomes less a warrior of brute strength than a moral figure mentally confronting his betrayal. This interpretation mirrors Enlightenment ideals, where civic duty and rational decision-making were preferred over passion and physical strength.
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<h2>Romantic Achilles</h2>
<figure id="attachment_169027" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-169027" style="width: 947px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.thecollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/education-of-achilles-eugene-delacroix.jpg" alt="Romantic drawing of Achilles and Chiron by Delacroix" width="947" height="691" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-169027" class="wp-caption-text">The Education of Achilles by Eugène Delacroix, 1847. Source: J. Paul Getty Trust.</figcaption></figure>
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The rise of <a href="https://www.thecollector.com/romanticist-art-for-dummies/">Romanticism</a> gave Achilles new emotional complexity. In <a href="https://www.thecollector.com/5-things-you-should-know-about-eugene-delacroix/">Eugène Delacroix</a>’s The Education of Achilles, the young hero learns from the wise centaur Chiron. Rather than focusing on battle, the painting highlights growth, guidance, and the companionship between teacher and student.
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Delacroix’s vibrant colors and dynamic brushwork capture the hero at the cusp of transformation. Achilles is shown not as the invincible warrior but as a boy shaped by mentorship—as well as by fate. Romanticism found in Achilles a mirror for the human condition, a hero defined as much by his internal experiences and emotions as by his external victories.
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<h2>Achilles Reimagined in Modern Art</h2>
<figure id="attachment_169028" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-169028" style="width: 989px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.thecollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/achilles-barnett-newman-modern-art.jpg" alt="Modern art interpretation of Achilles by Barnett Newman" width="989" height="1200" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-169028" class="wp-caption-text">Achilles by Barnett Newman, 1952. Source: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.</figcaption></figure>
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Achilles has also appeared in modern art, transcending more literal forms of storytelling. Painted in the mid-20th century, <a href="https://www.thecollector.com/barnett-newman-modern-art/">Barnett Newman</a>&#8216;s Achilles fully abstracts the Greek hero, who is symbolized by non-figurative color and form.
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In postwar art, Achilles served as a metaphor for identity, meaning, and existence in a fractured world. Despite being stripped of an obvious narrative, Achilles remained a timeless symbol open to timely interpretations.
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Over the eras, Achilles has been reshaped to reflect evolving ideals: brotherhood, tragedy, passion, morality, existential questioning, and so on. The long journey of Achilles in art demonstrates the power of ancient myth to adapt to every age of human creativity and experience.

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