The true Achilles heel of men

Achilles dying after being fatally wounded by an arrow
shot by Paris into his heel. Statue on Corfu island

Linda liked to use different kinds of metaphors during our training. It helped us to visualize and memorize the things we learned. She always stressed that when defending from a man we should go after the attacker’s Achilles heels. These are three parts of male body: his eyes, his Adam’s apple and his testicles. Regardless how strong and muscular body he possesses, these spots always remain vulnerable and highly sensitive. After some proper training, any woman is able to take down even the strongest man by using these weak points as prime targets. “He cannot build up any muscle protection around his testicles” Lina used to add humorously.

I always loved to learn about the old Greek mythology and Iliad and Odyssey. Achilles was a legendary Greek hero who thought to be vulnerable only in one place. His mother Thetis bathed small Achilles in the river Styx bringing invulnerability to whole his body except the heel she was holding him by. During the Trojan war Achilles joined Greeks in their war against Trojans till he was eventually killed by an arrow shot by Paris, the prince of Troy into his heel. Since then, Achilles heel became a commonly used metaphorical symbol for the vulnerable spot or the weakest point. 

Krater from 5th century BC depicting the fight between
Achilles and Penthesileia. Madrid

One of the most memorable fight which happened during the Trojan war was the one between Achilles and Penthesileia, the Queen of Amazons. Achilles defeated her and the moment he killed her, he fell deeply in love with her. Their heroic fight is so beautifully and realistically depicted on this red-figure krater from 5th century BC. Achilles is portrayed as a young lean man, completely naked, the shield and helmet being his only protective armory and the spear and sword are his weaponry. Penthesileia is drawn as a fully clothed young lady. As her weapon she uses the labrys, a type of double-bitted axe. Note she has only one breast; as true Amazon, she had her right breast removed to be able to shoot from a bow. Since I saw this amazing krater the first time, I have been always wondering why Penthesileia lost this fight. In the drawing Achilles genitalia are completely exposed. To me it almost appears like the artist wanted to symbolize his testicles as the true Achilles heel. His tendon on the back side of his leg is not a convenient spot to attack, but his testicles are unprotected and easily accessible either by her limbs or her labrys. Why did not she use the obvious advantage she had? Somehow, I came to the conclusion that her unfortunate fatal defeat was due to the mythical inescapability of the grim destiny of Troy not due to her fighting skills or the supposed Achilles invincibility. Let me know what do you think in the comments.