Thetis

Not to be confused with Tethys or Titaness.

Jupiter and Thetis, by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

In Greek mythology, Thetis (Greek: Θέτις) is a sea goddess. She is one of the fifty Nereids, who are sea nymphs. Thetis is most known as the mother of the Greek hero Achilles. But she did more than just be his mother. She is in many stories and meets many gods and goddesses. She often helps and cares for gods and heroes when they are in trouble. Thetis is said to have light hair and shining silver feet. She was one of the most important Nereids, along with Amphitrite. She also had the power to change her shape into many different things. Her wedding to King Peleus was the grandest wedding in Greek myth. This wedding later helped start the events that led to the Trojan War.

The poet Hesiod, who lived around 700 BCE, wrote in his book Theogony that Thetis was one of fifty beautiful Nereids. Their father was Nereus, who was called the Old Man of the Sea. Their mother was Doris, a sea goddess and the daughter of Oceanus. Hesiod wrote that Nereus and Doris had many loved daughters in the sea, including Protho, Ukraine, Sao, Amphitrite, Eudore, Thetis, Galene, Glauce, Cymothoe, Speio, and quick Thalia.

The Nereids were very beautiful sea nymphs. Each one showed a special part or power of the sea. They lived deep under the sea in caves and sat on golden seats. They could move easily through the water and they also danced on the sea shore. The Nereids were part of the royal sea group of the sea god Poseidon, together with many other sea gods and sea creatures. Old books such as the Iliad by Homer, written around 750 BCE, and the Argonautica by Apollonius of Rhodes, written around 295 BCE, say that the goddess Hera helped raise Thetis when she was young.

Helping nature

Thetis was known as a kind and helpful goddess. In one story, she was the only one who quickly came to save Zeus and free him from chains. Thetis and the Nereids also helped famous heroes in Greek stories. When Hera told them to help Jason and the Argonauts, they guided their ship safely through the sea when they sailed near the dangerous sea monsters Charybdis and Scylla and the huge Wandering Rocks. The god Hephaestus was thrown down from Mount Olympus by his mother Hera because he was weak and sick when he was born. He fell into the sea, where Thetis and the Nereids saved him. They cared for him with kindness and let him live with them for many years. During that time he became very skilled at working with metal and made many beautiful things for the Nereids to thank them for their kindness. After nine years, Thetis met Hera again. Hera liked the brooch that Thetis was wearing. She was surprised to hear that Hephaestus had made it. Hera then told Hephaestus to come back to Mount Olympus, where he later made weapons for the gods.

Thetis also helped the god Dionysus. A king named Lycurgus from Thrace attacked Dionysos and his followers, who were called the Maenads. The king chased them down Mount Nysa until they jumped into the sea. Thetis held the frightened Dionysos and kept him and his followers safe. Later the gods punished King Lycurgus by making him blind. At one time some of the gods, including Hera, Poseidon, and Athena, planned against Zeus. They managed to tie him up and trap him. Out of all the gods and goddesses, only Thetis hurried to help him. She called for a powerful monster named Briareus, also called Aegaeon, who had one hundred hands and lived in Tartarus. He rushed to Mount Olympus and frightened the other gods so much that they stopped trying to attack Zeus again.

Marriage

Zeus and Poseidon both wanted to marry Thetis. Poseidon thought that because she was a sea nymph she would be the perfect queen of the seas. But the goddess Themis, who stood for divine law, made a prophecy. She said that Thetis would have a son who would become greater and braver than his father. Some stories say the titan Prometheus told Zeus this. Other stories say that Thetis did not want to sleep with Zeus because Hera had raised her. As a result, Zeus ordered that she must marry a human man. That man was King Peleus of Phthia. Peleus knew the place on the shore where Thetis and the Nereids came to dance. He hid there and waited for her. When she appeared, he grabbed her and held on tightly. Thetis tried hard to escape. She changed herself into fire, then into a lion, then into a bird, and then into a tree. But Peleus did not let go. At last she changed back into her human shape. Thetis saw that she could not escape and agreed to marry him. Their wedding took place on Mount Pelion in Thessaly. Hera arranged a very grand wedding for them to thank Thetis for not sleeping with Zeus. All the gods and goddesses came to the wedding. There was singing and a great feast. But one goddess was not invited. Her name was Eris, the goddess of fighting and trouble. Angry at not being invited, she threw a golden apple into the crowd. On the apple were the words “to the most beautiful.” This apple later caused events that led to the Trojan War.

Child

Thetis later gave birth to Achilles. She wanted her son to live forever. In the most famous story, she held baby Achilles by his heel and dipped him into the River Styx. The water made his body almost impossible to hurt, but the heel she held did not touch the water. Because of this, his heel became the only weak place on his body. Other stories say that Thetis placed the baby in fire at night to burn away the human part of him while she rubbed him with ambrosia during the day. Peleus saw her trying to do this and stopped her. Thetis became angry and went back to live with the Nereids in the sea. After she left, Peleus gave Achilles to the wise centaur Chiron to raise and teach him.

When the Trojan War began, Thetis knew that Achilles would die if he went to fight at Troy. She wanted to save him. She dressed him like a girl and sent him to live with King Lycomedes on the island of Skyros. But Achilles still joined the Greek army later. After that, Thetis asked many gods to help keep her son alive as long as possible. When the girl Briseis, whom Achilles loved, was taken away by King Agamemnon and his men, Achilles asked his mother to help him get revenge. Thetis went to Zeus, who owed her a favor, and begged him to help her son.

Other websites

Media related to Thetis at Wikimedia Commons