The hero’s white hands. The early history of the myth of Achilles on Scyros

he story of Achilles being disguised as a young girl among the daughters of king Lycomedes of Scyros is undoubtedly the most famous ancient myth about cross-dressing, and is well attested in literature and the visual arts from the mid-fifth century BC to at least the fifth century AD. As happens when dealing with ancient mythology, this story has been subject to a great variety of changes, both in its literary and visual accounts. The myth of Achilles on Scyros was especially popular in the Roman imperial and late antique period, when it was among the favourite choices for domestic decoration and funerary sculpture. This chapter however is focused on the early history of this myth, discussing the absence from the archaic version of the Achilles’ story (as found in Homer and the epic cycle) and its sudden appearance in Athenian literature and art around the mid-fifth century BC, with the aim of investigating its significance and the reasons for its success.