Thetis – Mythopedia Thetis married Peleus, a mortal hero who gained fame as one of the Argonauts, with whom she had a son: Achilles, the greatest hero of the Trojan War Mythology Origins Thetis was born to the sea gods Nereus and Doris, one of fifty daughters known as the Nereids She was said to have been raised by Hera, wife of Zeus and queen of the gods
Achilles – Mythopedia Thetis dipping Achilles in the River Styx by Thomas Banks (1789) Victoria and Albert Museum, London Public Domain In another version, Thetis anointed the infant Achilles with ambrosia by day and held him over the fire by night But one night Peleus interrupted Thetis during this process and snatched Achilles away in horror
Nereids - Mythopedia Thetis, for example, married the mortal hero Peleus and became the mother of the great Achilles; Amphitrite married Poseidon, the Olympian god of the sea, and became the mother of Triton and Rhode (among others); Psamathe was the mother of Phocus (by Aeacus) and of Theoclymenus and Theonoe (by Proteus); and so on
Tethys - Mythopedia Etymology The origin of the name “Tethys” (Greek Τηθύς, translit Tēthýs) remains elusive In antiquity, the philosopher Plato suggested a fanciful etymology for the name, seeing it as a compound of the Greeks words διαττώμενον (diattṓmenon, “strained”) and ἠθούμενον (ēthoúmenon, “filtered”)
Iliad: Book 18 (Full Text) - Mythopedia Thetis goes to the palace of Vulcan to obtain new arms for her son The description of the wonderful works of Vulcan: and, lastly, that noble one of the shield of Achilles The latter part of the nine-and-twentieth day, and the night ensuing, take up this book: the scene is at Achilles’ tent on the sea-shore, from whence it changes to the
Eurynome - Mythopedia The two goddesses took Hephaestus in and nursed him back to health Because of this kindness, Hephaestus always loved and honored both Eurynome and Thetis Illustration showing Eurynome and Thetis nursing the young Hephaestus by John Flaxman (1910) John Flaxman's Zeichnungen zu Sagen des Klassischen Altertums Public Domain
Themis – Mythopedia Themis was a Greek Titan most famous for embodying the concept of justice Unlike the other Titans, she sided with the Olympians in their celestial war with her brethren Today, her image survives as “Lady Justice,” wearing a chiton (a kind of tunic) and holding a set of balanced scales
Hera – Mythopedia Thetis and Peleus later became the parents of Achilles Detail from an Attic red-figure kylix showing Peleus capturing Thetis as she changes shape, attributed to Douris (ca 490 BCE) Cabinet des Médailles, Paris Jastrow Public Domain It was at the wedding of Thetis and Peleus that the events leading to the Trojan War were first set in motion
Dionysus – Mythopedia When Dionysus introduced his cult in Thrace, he was met with resistance from Lycurgus, the king of the Edonians In one early tradition, Lycurgus attacked Dionysus’ band of followers, and Dionysus was only able to escape by leaping into the sea and taking refuge with the kindly sea goddess Thetis (who later became the mother of Achilles)
Naiads - Mythopedia See, for example, Alcaeus, frag 44, where the Nereid Thetis is described as a Naiad, as well as Nonnus, Dionysiaca 26 355, where the Oceanid Ceto is described as a Naiad ↩; See Timothy Gantz, Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993), 142 ↩