Speech is enhanced by idioms. We talk of Midas’s touch, Pandora’s box and Achilles’ heel, but do we know anything about the origins of these sayings or what they mean? Who were those ancient Greek mythological characters and what can we learn from their stories?

Achilles’ heel

Meaning: If a person has an Achilles’ heel, it means they have a weak spot, a vulnerable point that might cost them dear. It can also apply to a team or even an organisation. To give an example, you might be a really good manager, apart from one thing – you don’t feel comfortable telling your team that they need to do better. In this case, your inability to pull rank, so to speak, could be the one factor that blocks your advancement, or prevents your team from working as well as it could do. In other words, it’s your Achilles’ heel. Or perhaps you’re working in a company that hasn’t updated its technology in a long while. The outdated systems might be holding back the whole business and so would be its fault line – its Achilles’ heel.

Origins: As with all the myths listed here, variations exist, but the story goes that when Achilles – one of the greatest and most courageous Greek warriors – was a baby, his mother, Thetis, held him by the ankle and plunged him head first into the magical waters of the River Styx to protect him against fatal wounds. The waters washed over the baby’s body, anointing every part of him, from top to toe. Every part that is, with one exception – the patch of skin on his ankle covered by his mother’s hand. During the Trojan Wars, Achilles was killed when Paris shot an arrow into that tiny unprotected spot on his foot.