--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Like Achilles, the hero who forgot his…" description: "\"Like Achilles, the hero who forgot his heel, or like Icarus who, flying close to the sun, forgot that his wings were made of wax, we should be wary whe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/dwight-longenecker-49825_achilles_like-achilles-the-hero-who-forgot-his-he_100831.jpg" --- # Like Achilles, the hero who forgot his heel, or like… ![“Like Achilles, the hero who forgot his heel, or like Icarus who, flying close to the sun, forgot that his wings were made of wax, we should be wary when triumphant ideas seem unassailable, for then there is all the more reason to predict their downfall.” quote by Dwight Longenecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/dwight-longenecker-49825_achilles_like-achilles-the-hero-who-forgot-his-he_100831.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/dwight-longenecker-49825_achilles_like-achilles-the-hero-who-forgot-his-he_100831.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/dwight-longenecker-49825_achilles_like-achilles-the-hero-who-forgot-his-he_100831.jpg) > “Like Achilles, the hero who forgot his heel, or like Icarus who, flying close to the sun, forgot that his wings were made of wax, we should be wary when triumphant ideas seem unassailable, for then there is all the more reason to predict their downfall.” [Dwight Longenecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-longenecker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even celebrated ideas can have hidden flaws; overconfidence can blind us to inevitable collapse. **In simple terms:** Great ideas may hide fatal weaknesses. Key Takeaway Beware hubris in success. Themes hubris critical thinking history mythology Mood cautious thoughtful Type warning philosophical When to use this quote - investing in a booming market - political movements gaining unchecked power Key Concepts overconfidence bias fragility of systems Practical Applications - Regularly stress‑test assumptions - Seek dissenting perspectives Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate an idea's hidden vulnerability? - How can you balance optimism with skepticism? A Different Perspective Not all triumphant ideas are doomed; some endure despite early criticism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Achilles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achilles/) [Downfall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/downfall/) [Flying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flying/) [Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hero/) [Icarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/icarus/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Myths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myths/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/) [Triumphant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumphant/) ## Related quotes > [You know, you can't see or touch and isn't embodied. But they were all fallible, the Gods. And they would kind of rise and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-weisz/you-know-you-can-t-see-or-touch-and-isn-t-embodied-but-they-were-all/) [Rachel Weisz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-weisz/) > [For violence, like Achilles' lance, can heal the wounds it has inflicted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-violence-like-achilles-lance-can-heal-the-wounds-it-has-inflicted/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is a coldness to the Clave, it is true. We are dust and shadows. But you are like the heroes of ancient times,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/there-is-a-coldness-to-the-clave-it-is-true-we-are-dust-and-shadows/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“Oh. THere goes another one. Just like Achilles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil/oh-there-goes-another-one-just-like-achilles/) Phil > [“If political scientists couldn’t predict the downfall of the Soviet Union—perhaps the most important event in the latter half of the twentieth century—then what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/if-political-scientists-couldn-t-predict-the-downfall-of-the-soviet/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [“Was it possible—was it at all possible that she could come out of her most desperate choice with a man as clever as Odysseus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-thomas/was-it-possible-was-it-at-all-possible-that-she-could-come-out-of-her/) [Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) > [“But who names a starship the Icarus? What kind of man possess that much hubris, that he dares it to fall?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amie-kaufman/but-who-names-a-starship-the-icarus-what-kind-of-man-possess-that/) [Amie Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amie-kaufman/) > [“Icarus should have waited for nightfall, the moon would have never let him go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-mouawad/icarus-should-have-waited-for-nightfall-the-moon-would-have-never-let/) Nina Mouawad > [“Let us see how high we can fly before the sun melts the wax in our wings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-us-see-how-high-we-can-fly-before-the-sun-melts-the-wax-in-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Then there were those famous wings. Was Daedalus really stricken with grief when Icarus fell into the sea? Or just disappointed by the design…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-bechdel/then-there-were-those-famous-wings-was-daedalus-really-stricken-with/) [Alison Bechdel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-bechdel/) > [Icarus flew too close to the sun, but at least he flew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-robert-johnson/icarus-flew-too-close-to-the-sun-but-at-least-he-flew/) [Jeremy Robert Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-robert-johnson/) > [There is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/there-is-no-such-thing-as-failure-failure-is-just-life-trying-to-move/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [“Icarus! It’s not as if I have forgotten all names. I remember Icarus. He flew too close to the sun. In the stories, though,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/icarus-it-s-not-as-if-i-have-forgotten-all-names-i-remember-icarus-he/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Man has been thrown into the world. It had always made him think of Icarus and those other great tumblers, Ixion, Phaeton, Tantalus -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cees-nooteboom/man-has-been-thrown-into-the-world-it-had-always-made-him-think-of/) [Cees Nooteboom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cees-nooteboom/) > [“unsignificantly off the coast there was a splash quite unnoticed this was Icarus drowning”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/unsignificantly-off-the-coast-there-was-a-splash-quite-unnoticed-this/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) ## More by Dwight Longenecker > [Have you ever stopped to think that Christianity is the only religion in which the first step is to say, "I'm wrong?"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-longenecker/have-you-ever-stopped-to-think-that-christianity-is-the-only-religion/) [Dwight Longenecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-longenecker/) > [We need to discover once again that we have something to die for, for it is only when we have something to die for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-longenecker/we-need-to-discover-once-again-that-we-have-something-to-die-for-for/) [Dwight Longenecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-longenecker/) > [Maybe miracles are given not to prove anything, but simply to remind us that the physical world is not so solid and real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-longenecker/maybe-miracles-are-given-not-to-prove-anything-but-simply-to-remind/) [Dwight Longenecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-longenecker/) > [Like the dog who barks at the train, I bark not because I expect the train to stop, but because I am a dog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-longenecker/like-the-dog-who-barks-at-the-train-i-bark-not-because-i-expect-the/) [Dwight Longenecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-longenecker/) > [Protestants do not very often disagree with what Catholics believe, but they do very often disagree with what they think Catholics believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-longenecker/protestants-do-not-very-often-disagree-with-what-catholics-believe/) [Dwight Longenecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-longenecker/) > [Because we are limited in our knowledge, even the sanest of us are slightly insane. Our limitations are a kind of madness, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-longenecker/because-we-are-limited-in-our-knowledge-even-the-sanest-of-us-are/) [Dwight Longenecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-longenecker/) [Explore all 7 Dwight Longenecker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-longenecker/) ## More Achilles quotes > [Suppose that we are wise enough to learn and know-and yet not wise enough to control our learning and knowledge, so that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/suppose-that-we-are-wise-enough-to-learn-and-know-and-yet-not-wise/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Bury us, and mark our names above. Let us be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/bury-us-and-mark-our-names-above-let-us-be-free/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [Ah, beer, my one weakness. My Achille's heel, if you will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/ah-beer-my-one-weakness-my-achille-s-heel-if-you-will/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Patroclus, he says, Patroclus. Patroclus. Over and over until it is sound only.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/patroclus-he-says-patroclus-patroclus-over-and-over-until-it-is-sound/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [There comes a point where certain things are becoming my Achilles heel; you know when you start repeating yourself and saying the same anecdotes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-elson/there-comes-a-point-where-certain-things-are-becoming-my-achilles/) [Karen Elson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-elson/) > [To reveal imprudently the spot where we are most sensitive and vulnerable is to invite a blow. The demigod Achilles admitted no one to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/to-reveal-imprudently-the-spot-where-we-are-most-sensitive-and/) [Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/) > [And overpowered by memory Both men gave way to grief. Priam wept freely For man - killing Hector, throbbing, crouching Before Achilles' feet as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/and-overpowered-by-memory-both-men-gave-way-to-grief-priam-wept/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Briseis is kneeling by my body. She has brought water and cloth, and washes the blood and dirt from my skin. Her hands are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/briseis-is-kneeling-by-my-body-she-has-brought-water-and-cloth-and/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [When we consider the weak and nerveless periods of some literary men, who perchance in feet and inches come up to the standard oftheir…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-we-consider-the-weak-and-nerveless-periods-of-some-literary-men/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Personal integrity in Achilles achieves the form and authority of immanent divinity, with its inviolable, lonely singleness, half repellent because of its almost inhuman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-h-whitman/personal-integrity-in-achilles-achieves-the-form-and-authority-of/) [Cedric H Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-h-whitman/) > [As the Cameroonian philosopher Achille Mbembe has presciently pointed out, neoliberal corporate globalism threatens to exploit that advantage like never before, and it seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/as-the-cameroonian-philosopher-achille-mbembe-has-presciently-pointed/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [“I listened and did not speak. Achilles’ eyes were bright in the firelight, his face drawn sharply by the flickering shadows. I would know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-listened-and-did-not-speak-achilles-eyes-were-bright-in-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [At Achilles tomb, O fortunate youth, to have found Homer as the herald of your glory!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/at-achilles-tomb-o-fortunate-youth-to-have-found-homer-as-the-herald/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [The Achilles Heel of the Americas was the lack of cultural confidence typical of new settlers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-erickson/the-achilles-heel-of-the-americas-was-the-lack-of-cultural-confidence/) [Arthur Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-erickson/) > [Confidence in one's self is the chief nurse of magnanimity, which confidence, notwithstanding, doth not leave the care of necessary furniture for it; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-sidney/confidence-in-one-s-self-is-the-chief-nurse-of-magnanimity-which/) [Philip Sidney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-sidney/) [Browse all 180 Achilles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achilles/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Like Achilles, the hero who forgot his heel, or like Icarus who, flying close to the sun, forgot that his wings were made of wax, we should be wary when triumphant ideas seem unassailable, for then there is all the more reason to predict their downfall.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dwight Longenecker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-longenecker/like-achilles-the-hero-who-forgot-his-heel-or-like-icarus-who-flying/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Achilles" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-longenecker/like-achilles-the-hero-who-forgot-his-heel-or-like-icarus-who-flying/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/dwight-longenecker-49825_achilles_like-achilles-the-hero-who-forgot-his-he_100831.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/dwight-longenecker-49825_achilles_like-achilles-the-hero-who-forgot-his-he_100831.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/dwight-longenecker-49825_achilles_like-achilles-the-hero-who-forgot-his-he_100831.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Like Achilles, the hero who forgot his heel, or like Icarus who, flying close to the sun, forgot that his…” — Dwight Longenecker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dwight Longenecker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-longenecker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Like Achilles, the hero who forgot...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-longenecker/like-achilles-the-hero-who-forgot-his-heel-or-like-icarus-who-flying/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-longenecker/like-achilles-the-hero-who-forgot-his-heel-or-like-icarus-who-flying/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```