Samson's Hair. The Achilles' Heel of a Biblical Character

For centuries, scholars have been looking for similarities between biblical and extra-biblical literary traditions. In this respect, much research has already been done on possible relations between themes and figures in Homer's Iliad on the one hand and in the Bible, i.c. the Old Testament, on the other one. Without trying to claim literary interdependency, this paper will particularly focus on some similarities between the presentation of Achilles in classical Greek literature, and the character of Samson in the Old Testament book of Judges. Both literary heroes have at least one trait in common: saved by his heel – by holding Achilles by his heel when plunging him in the Styx river, his mother Thetis prevented him from death – that same heel would prove to be his weak point. Similarly, being a sign of his strength and protection by God, the biblical Samson’s hair would become the direct cause of his death.