Editing Corfu (section)

===The Achilleion===
{{Main|Achilleion (Corfu)}}
[[File:Closeup of Achilles thniskon in Corfu Achilleion autocorrected.JPG|thumb|left|Statue of ''Achilleús Thnēskōn'' (''[[Achilles]] Dying'') in the gardens of the Achilleion]]

In 1889, [[Elisabeth of Bavaria|Empress Elisabeth of Austria]] built a summer palace in the region of [[Gastouri]] (Γαστούρι) to the south of the city, naming it [[Achilleion (Corfu)|Achílleion]] (Αχίλλειον) after the [[Homer]]ic hero Achilles. The structure is filled with paintings and statues of Achilles, both in the main hall and in the gardens, depicting scenes of the [[Trojan War]]. The palace, with the [[Neoclassicism|neoclassical]] Greek statues that surround it, is a monument to [[Platonism|platonic]] [[romanticism]] as well as [[escapism]]. It served as a refuge for the grieving Empress following the tragic death of her only son [[Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria|Crown Prince, Rudolf]].

[[File:Achilles in Corfu.jpg|thumb|upright|Achilles as guardian of the palace in the gardens of the Achilleion. He gazes northward, toward the city. The inscription in Greek reads: ΑΧΙΛΛΕΥΣ i.e. Achilles. It was commissioned by Kaiser Wilhelm II.]]

The Imperial gardens on the hill look over the surrounding green hills and valleys and the [[Ionian Sea]]. The centrepiece of the gardens is a marble statue on a high pedestal, of the mortally wounded Achilles ([[Greek language|Greek]]: Αχιλλεύς Θνήσκων, ''Achilleús Thnēskōn'', Achilles Dying) without [[hubris]] and wearing only a simple cloth and an ancient Greek [[hoplite]] helmet. This statue was carved by German sculptor [[Ernst Gustav Herter]].

The hero is presented devoid of rank or status, and seems notably human, though heroic, as he is forever trying to pull [[Paris (mythology)|Paris]]'s arrow from his heel. His classically depicted face is full of pain. He gazes skyward, as if to seek help from [[Twelve Olympians|Olympus]]. According to [[Greek mythology]], his mother [[Thetis]] was a goddess.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

In contrast, at the great staircase in the main hall is a giant painting of the triumphant Achilles full of [[hubris|pride]]. Dressed in full royal military regalia and erect on his racing chariot, he pulls the lifeless body of [[Hector of Troy]] in front of the stunned crowd watching helplessly from inside the walls of the Trojan citadel.

In 1898, Empress Sissi was assassinated at the age of 60 by an Italian anarchist, [[Luigi Lucheni]], in [[Geneva]], Switzerland. After her death, the palace was sold to the [[German Empire|German]] [[Kaiser]] [[William II, German Emperor|Wilhelm II]]. Following the Kaiser's purchase of the Achilleion, he invited archaeologist [[Reinhard Kekulé von Stradonitz]], a friend and advisor, to come to Corfu to advise him where to position the huge statue of Achilles which he commissioned. The famous salute to Achilles from the Kaiser, which had been inscribed at the statue's base, was also created by Kekulé. The inscription read:<ref name="Röhl1998">{{cite book |author=John C. G. Röhl |title=Young Wilhelm: The Kaiser's Early Life, 1859–1888 |url=https://archive.org/details/youngwilhelmkais00rohl |url-access=registration |access-date=4 May 2013 |year=1998 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-49752-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/youngwilhelmkais00rohl/page/297 297] |quote=After the purchase of the 'Achilleion', Kekule was invited by the Kaiser to go to Corfu to provide advice on the positioning of the ... 94 Without a doubt, Wilhelm's lifelong obsession with the statue of the Gorgon unearthed in Corfu stems from the ...}}</ref> {{blockquote|To the Greatest Greek from the Greatest German}} The inscription was subsequently removed after World War II.<ref name="MarkerBowman2010">{{cite book |author1=Sherry Marker |author2=John S. Bowman |author3=Peter Kerasiotis |title=Frommer's Greek Islands |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pOw1hbQ78H0C&pg=PA476 |access-date=4 May 2013 |date=1 March 2010 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-52664-4 |page=476 |quote=Achilles that the Kaiser had inscribed, to the Greatest Greek from the Greatest German, a sentiment removed after World War II.}}</ref>

The Achilleion was eventually acquired by the Greek state and has now been converted into a museum.