According to myth, Achilles' mother Thetis was a sea nymph, and therefore immortal. His father Peleus, however, was not immortal, which meant that any of Thetis' children would be only semi-divine and therefore wholly susceptible to pain, mortality, and general fatalistic death.
Thetis was understandably not very pleased with the idea of her children dying, and proceeded to attempt a “Make My Children Immortal” campaign using a “Do It Yourself” home kit. This involved shoving her children into fires, dunking them in boiling tar, dropping them down dangerous rapids and lightly broiling them in casserole dishes with diced onions and lots of oil. However, Achilles was saved from this tasty fate by his father who managed to stop Thetis from charbroiling his last son.
In disgust, Thetis tried the next best option by dipping Achilles into the River Styx, which would make him immune to all axes, arrows and anything spiky enough to puncture skin. However, she held on to his ankle to do so and as a result, Achilles' heel was left untouched. Thus his dodgy heel.
No one knows why Thetis forgot, or why she didn't just dip him in holding one heel and then hold the other one so the first heel could get a dunking. But it can be assumed she certainly kicked herself after Achilles was subsequently killed to death by means of said heel being penetrated with a poisoned arrow during his daring raid in the battle at Troy.
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