Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

, Peleus (;

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

: Πηλεύς ''Pēleus'') was a hero, king of

Phthia In Greek mythology Phthia (; grc-gre, Φθία or Φθίη ''Phthía, Phthíē'') was a city or district in ancient Thessaly. It is frequently mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'' as the home of the Myrmidones, the contingent led by Achilles in the ...

, husband of

Thetis Thetis (; grc-gre, Θέτις ), is a figure from Greek mythology with varying mythological roles. She mainly appears as a sea nymph, a goddess of water, or one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the ancient sea god Nereus. When described as ...

and the father of their son

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pele ...

. This myth was already known to the hearers of Homer in the late 8th century BC.

Biography

Peleus was the son of

Aeacus Aeacus (; also spelled Eacus; Ancient Greek: Αἰακός) was a mythological king of the island of Aegina in the Saronic Gulf. He was a son of Zeus and the nymph Aegina, and the father of the heroes Peleus and Telamon. According to legend, ...

, king of the island of Aegina, and

Endeïs In Greek mythology, Queen Endeïs (; Ancient Greek: Ενδηίς or Ενδαΐς) was the wife of King Aeacus and mother of the heroes Telamon and Peleus (since Peleus was the father of Achilles, Endeïs was Achilles's grandmother). The name is a d ...

, the

oread In Greek mythology, an Oread (; grc, Ὀρειάς, Oreiás, stem grc, Ὀρειάδ-, Oreiád-, label=none, la, Oreas/Oread-, from grc, ὄρος, , mountain, label=none; french: Oréade) or Orestiad (; grc, Ὀρεστιάδες, Orest ...

Mount Pelion Pelion or Pelium (Modern el, Πήλιο, ''Pílio''; Ancient Greek/Katharevousa: Πήλιον, ''Pēlion'') is a mountain at the southeastern part of Thessaly in northern Greece, forming a hook-like peninsula between the Pagasetic Gulf and the ...

in Thessaly. He married the sea-nymph

with whom he fathered

. Peleus and his brother

Telamon In Greek mythology, Telamon (; Ancient Greek: Τελαμών, ''Telamōn'' means "broad strap") was the son of King Aeacus of Aegina, and Endeïs, a mountain nymph. The elder brother of Peleus, Telamon sailed alongside Jason as one of his Argo ...

were friends of Heracles, and served in Heracles' expedition against the Amazons, his war against King

Laomedon In Greek mythology, Laomedon (; grc, Λαομέδων means "ruler of the people") was a Trojan king, son of Ilus and thus nephew of Ganymede and Assaracus. Family Laomedon's mother was variously identified as Eurydice,Apollodorus3.12. ...

, and his quest for the

Golden Fleece In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece ( el, Χρυσόμαλλον δέρας, ''Chrysómallon déras'') is the fleece of the golden-woolled,, ''Khrusómallos''. winged ram, Chrysomallos, that rescued Phrixus and brought him to Colchis, where ...

alongside

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He ...

and the Argonauts. Though there were no further kings in Aegina, the kings of

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

claimed descent from Peleus in the historic period.

Mythology

Peleus and his brother

killed their half-brother

Phocus Phocus (; Ancient Greek: Φῶκος means "seal") was the name of the eponymous hero of Phocis in Greek mythology. Ancient sources relate of more than one figure of this name, and of these at least two are explicitly said to have had Phocis named a ...

, perhaps in a hunting accident and certainly in an unthinking moment, and fled Aegina to escape punishment. In

, Peleus was purified by the city's ruler,

Eurytion Eurytion (Ancient Greek: Εὐρυτίων, "widely honoured") or Eurythion (Εὐρυθίων) was a name attributed to several individuals in Greek mythology: * Eurytion, the king of Phthia. *Eurytion, a Centaur of Arcadia who demanded to marr ...

, and then married the latter's daughter, Antigone, by whom he had a daughter, Polydora. Eurytion received the barest mention among the Argonauts (both Peleus and Telamon were Argonauts themselves) "yet not together, nor from one place, for they dwelt far apart and distant from Aigina;" but Peleus accidentally killed Eurytion during the hunt for the Calydonian boar and fled from Phthia. Peleus was purified of the murder of Eurytion in

Iolcus Iolcus (; also rendered ''Iolkos'' ; grc, Ἰωλκός and Ἰαωλκός; grc-x-doric, Ἰαλκός; ell, Ιωλκός) is an ancient city, a modern village and a former municipality in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local gove ...

Acastus Acastus (; Ancient Greek: Ἄκαστος) is a character in Greek mythology. He sailed with Jason and the Argonauts, and participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. Family Acastus was the son of Pelias, then king of Iolcus, and Anaxi ...

. Acastus' wife, Astydameia, fell in love with Peleus and after he scorned her, she sent a messenger to Antigone to tell her that Peleus was to marry Acastus' daughter. As a result, Antigone hanged herself. Astydameia then told Acastus that Peleus had tried to rape her. Acastus took Peleus on a hunting trip atop Mount Pelion and once Peleus fell asleep, Acastus hid his sword away and abandoned him on the mountainside. Peleus woke up and as a group of centaurs was about to attack him, the wise centaur

Chiron In Greek mythology, Chiron ( ; also Cheiron or Kheiron; ) was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs". Biography Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology ...

, or, according to another source,

Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, wikt:Ἑρμῆς, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travelle ...

, returned his sword to him and Peleus managed to escape. He pillaged Iolcus and dismembered Astydameia, then marched his army between the rended limbs. Acastus and Astydamia were dead and the kingdom fell to

's son,

Thessalus In Greek mythology, the name Thessalus is attributed to the following individuals, all of whom were considered possible eponyms of Thessaly. *Thessalus, son of Haemon,Strabo, 9.5.23 son of Chlorus, son of Pelasgus. *Thessalus, son of Poseidon ...

Marriage to Thetis

After Antigone's death, Peleus married the sea-nymph

. He was able to win her over with the aid of Proteus, who instructed Peleus to hold onto her tightly through all of her physical transformations she used to try to escape. Their wedding feast was attended by many of the Olympian gods. As wedding presents, Poseidon gave Peleus two immortal horses:

Balius and Xanthus Balius (; Ancient Greek: Βάλιος, ''Balios'', possibly "dappled") and Xanthus (; Ancient Greek: Ξάνθος, ''Xanthos'', "blonde") were, according to Greek mythology, two immortal horses, the offspring of the harpy, Podarge and the West ...

Hephaestus Hephaestus (; eight spellings; grc-gre, Ἥφαιστος, Hḗphaistos) is the Greek god of blacksmiths, metalworking, carpenters, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metallurgy, fire (compare, however, with Hestia), and volcanoes.Walter B ...

gave him a knife, Aphrodite a bowl with an embossed

Eros In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; grc, Ἔρως, Érōs, Love, Desire) is the Greek god of love and sex. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire").''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. In the ear ...

, Hera a chlamys, Athena a flute,

Nereus In Greek mythology, Nereus ( ; ) was the eldest son of Pontus (the Sea) and Gaia ( the Earth), with Pontus himself being a son of Gaia. Nereus and Doris became the parents of 50 daughters (the Nereids) and a son ( Nerites), with whom Nereus ...

a basket of the divine salt which has an irresistible virtue for overeating, appetite and digestion and

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

gave Thetis, as present, the wings of Arke. During the feast, Eris, in revenge for not being invited, produced the

Apple of Discord An apple of discord is the core, kernel, or crux of an argument, or a small matter that could lead to a bigger dispute. It is a reference to the Golden Apple of Discord ( grc, ) in the story of the '' Judgement of Paris'' which, according to ...

, which started the quarrel that led to the

Judgement of Paris Judgement (or US spelling judgment) is also known as ''adjudication'', which means the evaluation of evidence to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. The term has at least five distinct uses. Aristotle ...

and eventually the Trojan War. The marriage of Peleus and Thetis produced seven sons, six of whom died in infancy. The only surviving son was

Peleus' son Achilles

attempted to render her son

invulnerable. In the well-known version, she dipped him in the River Styx, holding him by one heel, which remained vulnerable. In an early and less popular version of the story, Thetis anointed the boy in ambrosia and put him on top of a fire to burn away the mortal parts of his body. She was interrupted by Peleus and she abandoned both father and son in a rage, leaving his heel vulnerable. A nearly identical story is told by Plutarch, in his ''On Isis and Osiris'', of the goddess Isis burning away the mortality of Prince Maneros of

Byblos Byblos ( ; gr, Βύβλος), also known as Jbeil or Jubayl ( ar, جُبَيْل, Jubayl, locally ; phn, 𐤂𐤁𐤋, , probably ), is a city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. It is believed to have been first occupied between 8 ...

, son of Queen

Astarte Astarte (; , ) is the Hellenized form of the Ancient Near Eastern goddess Ashtart or Athtart ( Northwest Semitic), a deity closely related to Ishtar ( East Semitic), who was worshipped from the Bronze Age through classical antiquity. The name ...

, and being likewise interrupted before completing the process. Later on in life, Achilles is killed by Paris when he is shot in his vulnerable spot, the heel. This is where the term "Achilles' heel" is derived from. Peleus gave

to the centaur

, to raise on Mt. Pelion, which took its name from Peleus. In the '' Iliad'', Achilles uses Peleus' immortal horses and also wields his father's spear.

In hero-cult

Though the tomb of Aeacus remained in a shrine enclosure in the most conspicuous part of the port city, a quadrangular enclosure of white marble sculpted with bas-reliefs, in the form in which

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

saw it, with the tumulus of

nearby, there was no ''

temenos A ''temenos'' ( Greek: ; plural: , ''temenē''). is a piece of land cut off and assigned as an official domain, especially to kings and chiefs, or a piece of land marked off from common uses and dedicated to a god, such as a sanctuary, holy gr ...

'' of Peleus at Aegina. Two versions of Peleus' fate account for this; in Euripides' ''Troades'', Acastus, son of

Pelias Pelias ( ; Ancient Greek: Πελίας) was king of Iolcus in Greek mythology. He was the one who sent Jason on the quest for the Golden Fleece. Family Pelias was the son of Tyro and Poseidon. His wife is recorded as either Anaxibia, daughte ...

, has exiled him from

; and subsequently he dies in exile; in another, he is reunited with

and made immortal. In antiquity, according to a fragment of Callimachus' lost ''Aitia'', there was a tomb of Peleus in Ikos (modern Alonissos), an island of the northern

Sporades The (Northern) Sporades (; el, Βόρειες Σποράδες, ) are an archipelago along the east coast of Greece, northeast of the island of Euboea,"Skyros - Britannica Concise" (description), Britannica Concise, 2006, webpageEB-Skyrosnotes " ...

; there Peleus was venerated as "king of the

Myrmidons In Greek mythology, the Myrmidons (or Myrmidones; el, Μυρμιδόνες) were an ancient Thessalian Greek tribe. In Homer's ''Iliad'', the Myrmidons are the soldiers commanded by Achilles. Their eponymous ancestor was Myrmidon, a king of ...

" and the "return of the hero" was celebrated annually. And there was his tomb, according to a poem in the Greek Anthology. The only other reference to veneration of Peleus comes from the Christian

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria ( grc , Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; – ), was a Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen an ...

, in his polemical ''Exhortation to the Greeks''. Clement attributes his source to a "collection of marvels" by a certain "Monimos" of whom nothing is known, and claims, in pursuit of his thesis that ''

daimon Daimon or Daemon ( Ancient Greek: , "god", "godlike", "power", "fate") originally referred to a lesser deity or guiding spirit such as the daimons of ancient Greek religion and mythology and of later Hellenistic religion and philosophy. The wor ...

''-worshipers become as cruel as their gods, that in "Pella of Thessaly human sacrifice is offered to Peleus and Cheiron, the victim being an Achaean". Of this, the continuing association of Peleus and Chiron is the most dependable detail.By way of apology for Clement, Farnell suggests "human sacrifice was occasionally an adjunct of hero-cults, and this at Pella may have been an exceptional rite prescribed at a crisis by some later oracle." (Farnell 1921:311). Dennis D. Hughes, ''Human Sacrifice in Ancient Greece'' (Routledge, 1991) offers a skeptical view of the actuality of human sacrifices during historical times.

In Athenian tragedy

A ''Peleus'' by Sophocles is lost. He appears as a character in Euripides' tragedy ''

Andromache In Greek mythology, Andromache (; grc, Ἀνδρομάχη, ) was the wife of Hector, daughter of Eetion, and sister to Podes. She was born and raised in the city of Cilician Thebe, over which her father ruled. The name means 'man battler ...

'' (c. 425 BC).

Gallery

Peleus and Thetis

File:Thetis Peleus Louvre G373.jpg, File:Thetis Peleus Louvre G65.jpg, File:Peleus Thetis Staatliche Antikensammlungen 1415.jpg, File:Peleus Thetis Staatliche Antikensammlungen Schoen64.jpg, File:Kylix by Peithinos - Altes Museum Berlin.JPG, File:Pyxis Peleus Thetis Louvre L55 by Wedding Painter.jpg,

Wedding of Peleus and Thetis

File:The wedding of Peleus and Thetis, by Joachim Wtewael.jpg, File:The Wedding of Peleus and Thetis by Peter Paul Rubens.jpg, File:Gillis van Valckenborch - The marriage of Peleus and Thetis.jpg, File:WLANL - legalizefreedom - De bruiloft van Peleus en Thetis.jpg, File:The feast of the gods at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis.jpg, File:Hans Rottenhammer - Götterfest, Hochzeit von Peleus und Thetis (Ermitage).jpg, File:1715 Elliger Hochzeit von Peleus und Thetis anagoria.JPG, File:WeddingPeleusThetisWtewael.jpg, File:Jan van Balen (attr.) - The Marriage Feast of Peleus and Thetis.jpg, File:PeleusThetisWtewael2.jpg, File:Golden Apple of Discord by Jacob Jordaens.jpg, File:The Wedding Feast of Peleus and Thetis LACMA M.88.91.100.jpg, File:Jan Brueghel and Hendrick van Balen - The Marriage of the Goddess of the Sea, Thetis, and King Peleus, 1610.jpg, File:Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem - The Wedding of Peleus and Thetis (detail) - WGA05246.jpg, File:Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem - The Wedding of Peleus and Thetis (detail) - WGA05245.jpg, File:The Marriage of Peleus by Mazzola.jpg, File:Hendrick van Balen-Les noces de Thétis et Pêlée.jpg, File:The Feast of Peleus - Edward Burne-Jones.jpg, File:Agostino Carracci, Teti e Peleo, Palazzo del Giardino, Parma.jpg, File:Giovanni - Noces de Thétis et Pelée, Louvre RF 1346.jpg, File:Risdm-62-058Wtewael.jpg, File:Mythologisches Gastmahl flämisch 17Jh.jpg, File:Hans Rottenhammer 001.jpg, File:Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem - Massacre of the Innocents - WGA05256.jpg, File:Jan Erasmus Quellinus - Thetis Dips Achilles in a Vase with Water from the Styx - WGA18567.jpg,

Notes

References

* Apollodorus, ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
*Pseudo-Apollodorus, '' Bibliotheke'' I, ix, 16 and III, ix,2 and xii, 6- xiii,7; ''Epitome'' vi, 13. * Apollonius Rhodius, '' Argonautica'' translated by Robert Cooper Seaton (1853-1915), R. C. Loeb Classical Library Volume 001. London, William Heinemann Ltd, 1912
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
*Apollonius Rhodius, ''Argonautica''. George W. Mooney. London. Longmans, Green. 1912
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Apollonius Rhodius, '' Argonautica'' IV,805- 879 * Catullus, Poem 64 * Homer, ''The Iliad'' with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
*Homer, ''Homeri Opera'' in five volumes. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1920.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Homer, '' Iliad'' XVIII, 78–87 * Publius Ovidius Naso, '' Metamorphoses'' translated by Brookes More (1859-1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
*Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Metamorphoses.'' Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892
Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

, '' Metamorphoses'' VIII, 299–381. * Euripides, ''

'' with an English translation by David Kovacs. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1994
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
{{Authority control Argonauts Greek mythological heroes Mythological swordfighters Kings of the Myrmidons Kings in Greek mythology Characters in the Argonautica Aeginetan characters in Greek mythology Characters in Greek mythology Achilles Thessalian mythology