Crossword Genius

Greek hero’s painstaking, sick (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

achilles

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'greek hero's' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'painstaking sick' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'sick' could be 'ill' (similar in meaning) and 'ill' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'aches' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for achilles that I've seen before include "Heroic warrior" , "Legendary Greek with injured heel" , "Homeric hero" , "Greek hero with vulnerable heel" , "Legendary Greek hero with weak heel" .)

I've seen this clue in The Hindu.
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