Achille, 2004

Anne Deval  

This sculpture belongs to the period of the 2000s when Anne Deval began to develop the theme of warriors and gods. Often presented in the form of a bust, these sculptures, adorned with meticulously crafted helmets, represent mythological heroes like Achilles. Achilles is a legendary hero of Greek mythology. He is the main character in the Iliad, which is actually the account of Achilles' wrath during the siege of the city of Troy. Achilles is the son of Peleus, king of the Myrmidons (in Thessaly) and of the nymph Thétis, daughter of the sea god Nereus. When he was a baby, his mother, Thetis was soaked in the river of the Underworld, the Styx, which made him invulnerable except for the right heel, by which his mother held him as she plunged him into the river. While still a teenager, he chose a short, but glorious life, rather than a long, but lackluster existence. Achilles' death is not told in the Iliad. More recent poetic versions tell of Achilles being killed by Paris, Hector's brother. A poisoned arrow shot by Paris and guided by Apollo hits Achilles in the right heel. Achilles is honored as a hero, even as a god by the Greek world. Handsome, brave, champion of a morality proud of honor, he embodies "the moral ideal of the perfect Homeric knight".