It was truly a heavenly feast laid on by Kheiron, the oldest and wisest of the centaurs, at his palace on Mount Pelion. This demigod with a body like a horse, was the son of Kronos a Titan. His half-brother Zeus, invited all the gods to this wedding, all with the exception of one – Eris. Zeus knew better than to invite her, the goddess of Strife, to such a happy occasion. It was a bright sunny day gifted with a light breeze from the Aegean Sea, just enough to occasionally carry to them, the fragrance of the thick forest beyond the palace grounds.

 

The air was filled with laughter and Kheiron walked proudly amongst his guests, some that were in awe of the magnificent things he made, it is said, with his own two hands. Most of the gods were seated around the huge table at the centre of the pavilion, decorated with sweet smelling mountain flowers. The lesser gods and mortals were scattered in groups all over the shady garden. Everywhere was plenty to eat and drink in happy celebration of the union between a mortal man and his immortal bride. Gods and mortals peacefully together in one place, celebrating love and happiness. Occasionally the music and sweet sounding laughter of children at play, would be drowned out by the thundering laughter of the male gods around the centre table.

 

Many glorious gifts were presented to the bride and groom, too many to name in one book. There were gifts meant to comfort the soul, some to comfort the body and most to bring happiness in the new home of the two lovers. The little amorini were out in force and under the leadership of their god Eros, who the Romans call Cupido, they were spreading love and affection everywhere. The bride, a sea goddess, received many gifts to compliment and enhance her beauty, silks from Asia, beads from India, potions from Arabia and diamonds set in gold from the lands way beyond Nubia and Kush. Above all from Zeus himself, she received the wings of Arke to attach to the feet of her yet unborn son. The handsome groom also received many gifts, a flute from Athena, jewelry from Aphrodite, the chlamyde or bearskin cloak from Hera and from his father-in-law, Nereus, he received a basket of salt called divine. As hero but mortal groom, he received many gifts to protect him from harm and aid him in battle. His friend Kheiron presented him with a magic brass tipped spear, Hephaistos, the lame one gave him iron clad armour, but his most impressive gift would be revealed a little later, after great pomp and ceremony, with the arrival of the supreme god of the sea, Poseidon.

 

During the laughter and feasting, Zeus grew a bit restless and stood up to address the crowd but more specifically Prometheus that was sitting in the shade nearby:

 

“Welcome my long lost son Prometheus with your trickster soul
After thirty thousand years of harsh daily punishment you are back
Your tricks with the fat and animal bones deceived even me and
In your earthly ways you swayed the sacrifice for the mortal ones.

 

On this joyous gathering of both mortal man that eat from the land
And the gods that rule earth, sky, sea and even control the underworld
Your thieving heart must be happy to see us all together at one feast
Drinking the same wine and eating food cooked from the same fire.

 

Feeding the giant vulture and its sharp-beaked, feathery children from
Your newly grown heart every day with the rise of my sun Apollo.
Can you use their sharp eyes and look for the whereabouts of my
Brother Poseidon and tell me if he has left his imposing Atlantis.”

 

Before Prometheus could respond with an answer the wind started to pick up and come more from the south as Poseidon rode his chariot on the back of the natos (southerly wind) towards the festivities on Mount Pelion. The hippocampii kicked up foam under their hooves and churned the waters, as they foretold the arrival of the glorious god of the seas. Trailing a path of white water behind him he arrived on Mount Pelion with great fanfare and a shuddering of the palace on the mountain slope. Mortals were fearing for their lives and even the gods at the pavilion sat up and took notice. He presented the groom with two immortal horses, called Xanthos and Balios and for the bride a sting of pearls from Persia. The Mousai's sweet voices followed the seven-stringed lyre of Apollo in their praise of Zeus, Poseidon and the other ten gods of Olympia, then followed to sing about the union of the nymph Thetis to the mortal hero Peleus, son of Aiakos. While the Mousai sang their sweet songs Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, noticed the shiny, tear-shaped stone around the neck of Prometheus.

 

She immediately sent Eros to fetch it for her but he refused to part with his beautiful pink diamond. Suddenly the goddess of joy and pleasure wasn't laughing any more and couldn't take her eyes off this captivating stone. While Zeus with his brothers and sisters were laughing around the table, shameless Aphrodite set out to seduce Prometheus and gather the precious stone for her own beauty. With her off-the-shoulder chiton completely exposing one perky breast and a lot of the other one visible while gently shaking with the strides she took, the men couldn't take their eyes off her.  Prometheus was no exception and after thirty thousand years tied up on the steep slope of the mountain they call Dragon Tooth, these soft and gentle curves were a welcome sight. She sat down right next to him and put her one arm seductively around his neck. With her exposed breast almost touching him she took the stone in her other hand for a closer look.

 

“Tell me wise Prometheus, where in the world did you come upon such a brilliant rose coloured diamond or did you ask my lame brother, Hephaistos to dip it in fire and blood?”

 

“No my lady, this stone grew from my own immortal blood in the chest of the vulture that ate my heart every morning.”

 

The goddess of love and pleasure proceeded to sit on his lap and with her head against his shoulder, her long silky hair slid down his chest. She put his arm around her middle to steady her seat and proceeded to hold the stone up against the light. Once the rose-coloured light from the stone fell in her eyes, she could see the tears and sorrow of all mankind fall down like raindrops from the sky! She quickly took the stone away from her eyes and closed her fingers around it to block out the deep feeling of heartache and loss.

 

“You really do care about these mortal beings that eat off the soil of the land. Why gentle Prometheus, do you carry their sadness and mortal despair in your heart?”

 

“No my goddess of beauty and joy, it no longer resides in my heart but is drawn out and captured in the heart of the bird that drank my blood. Once I revealed to your almighty brother Zeus the contents of the prophesy about the nymph Thetis, that is getting married today, he found it in his heart to forgive me. Before he called his strongest son to set me free, the mighty gatherer of clouds gave upon me an instruction both to help and remind me of my sins. Once released from the chains of Hephaistos, open the chest of my bird that will be slain by Heracles and for ever wear its heart around your stubborn neck. In the morn I woke renewed to find your brother at my side quietly sitting on a rock, the skin of the Nemean Lion hardly covering his broad shoulders. He shot the bird from the sky with his bow and then clubbed it to death right at my feet. The chains were no match for the strength of his hand and I could taste freedom again for the first time in thirty millinniums. My debt to your brother leaned heavy on my shoulders and in return I shared with him the mystery about the Apples of the Hesperides. Keen to complete his labour he made haste to find my brother Atlas and get hold of the golden apples.”

 

By this time the goddess of lust and passion was lying innocently in the lap of the titan, almost like a baby cradled in his arms but still holding onto the pink diamond like she wanted to make it her own. Her servant Eros by this time, became occupied somewhere else. She enjoyed his story but wanted to find out more about the pink diamond and how she could possibly get one for herself.

 

“Kind Prometheus, please tell me more about this stone and how it came to be so beautiful with such amazing qualities.”

 

“My beautiful lady, like you rose from the sea, the seed of Uranus, this stone grew from my blood, in the heart of the vultures of Zeus. Every time it ate from my heart, my immortal blood would collect in the heart of the bird. On opening the chest of the dead bird, I saw the sun shining on its heart and pulled it out to wear around my neck as instructed by Zeus. Out in the sun it began to harden and as soon as it touched my chest, heartache, fear, pain and resentment left my heart and was drawn into the stone. From the air around it these painful emotions would be drawn into the stone and it became as hard as a diamond.”

 

Around them the festivities continued unabated and Eros and his group of cupids were hard at work spreading love and passion all around the garden. The lovely bride and handsome groom made a great couple, truly a match made in heaven. Gold-shod Hera, queen of the gods, kept a keen eye on her wandering husband Zeus. In a way she felt relieved that the silver-footed leader of the nymphs, Thetis was being married to the mortal Peleus. She knew that both Zeus and his brother Poseidon were in love with her and trying to bed her. Today everybody was happy and Kheiron could be proud for putting on such a lovely feast. Unbeknown to her, he was already having his hands full with an uninvited guest that insisted that she wanted to join the party.

 

“Tell me clever Prometheus about the said prophecy involving the bride that is getting married today, would that come to pass here at her wedding day?”

 

“I heard my mother, the second oracle at Delphi, make a prophecy that the son of Thetis would grow up to become mightier than his father. I know this to be true as she foretold that a descendant of Perseus, none of them yet born, would deliver me from my mountain prison. Once I told your brother about this prophecy, he immediately shared it with Poseidon and it was decreed that she would marry the mortal man, Peleus.”

 

“Tell me more o holder of knowledge, is there any way I can get myself one of these like stones?”

 

“Passionate goddess, that not even I can tell you, what I do know is that many generations of vultures feasted on my heart every day and in doing so you get to know them well. Some were crass and ate from me with no regard for their host, others were a lot more gentle and even looked thankful for their daily meal. They did seem to get wiser as the years went by and I even remember once a female that first showed me her young chick before she started to rip away at my flesh. But always, once they had their fill, would sit nearby for a while, before flying south towards the Mountains of the Moon.”

 

“God of foresight, Prometheus, please tell me if such stones can be found on those far flung Mountains of the Moon?”

 

“My beautiful lady Aphrodite, that knowledge I do not...”

 

With a flash of lightning and a thunderous voice, Zeus called to all on the mountain to lift their drinking vessels and join him in a blessing of good fortune for the wedding couple:

 

“Us gods will grant thee all that thaw hearts deserve
A brave husband and home we grant thee women
A good wife in one accord to dwell in your home
Grief to thy foes and luck and joy to thy friends.”

 

Zeus looked at his wife Hera and they smiled at each other, for very different reasons they were both relieved about this union between a goddess of the sea and a mortal man. He put his hand out to Hera who from the cradle shaped basket, handed him the ritual loaf of bread. Mighty Zeus himself blessed their union by braking the bread over their heads and pronounced the magic words:

 

“Hieros Gamos!”

 

With those words he established a marriage between nymph and mortal, that would be remembered to the end of time. When he sat down, Zeus looked knowingly over to his brother and smiled at him, giving the lord of all the seas the honour of Kyrios, which is to officially hand the bride over to her husband Peleus. Poseidon stood up and gestured the handing over of the bride and the dowry and spoke the words that all proud fathers would say to their sons-in-law from that day on:

 

“I hand over this woman to you for the siring of legitimate children.”

 

With that he stabbed the sky with his trident and Hera caused a rain of seeds and nuts to fall on the couple the extent of which was never seen again at any wedding. Under the rain of seeds and nuts Aphrodite helped Peleus to undo the girdle of Thetis and open up her fertile womb to his mortal seed. Once the cheering and shouting of good blessings died down the ever-sweet voices of the Mousai drifted through the trees as they sang the Wedding Song to Hymenaios:

 

“Zeus, that god sublime,
When the Fates in former time,
Matched him with the Queen of Heaven
At a solemn banquet given,
Such a feast was held above,
And the charming God of Love
Being present in command,
As a bridegroom took his stand
With the golden reins in hand,
Hymen, Hymen, Ho!”

 

Apollo passionately played his golden lyre to accompany them and mischievous Pan fooled around the grounds playing his flute while everybody joined in on the song. Once the couple clapped their hands and bowed in appreciation of the song that would ward off any evil, Peleus took the bread and handed a piece to everyone around the table. He bravely tried to say the words that came out with a slightly squeaky voice:

 

"I have fled from worse and found better."

 

This had everyone shaking in fits of laughter while he sat down quietly and looked at his beautiful new wife for some moral support. She just put her hand on his arm and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Once most of the laughter died down the mother goddess Hera spoke to Thetis in her gentle voice:

 

“I myself carried the bridal torch, grateful for the respect and grace you had shown me. Now my child, please tell us how did the two of you meet and how on earth did he manage to seduce you?”

 

“My mother queen of the gods, I first laid eyes on him when he was asleep at sea during the voyage of the Argo to fetch the Golden Fleece. Once they passed the island of Skopelos and headed into deep water, they trusted their fate in Zephyr the gentle west wind and fell asleep on the ship. Unbeknown to them Boreas, the north wind, was pushing them towards the dangerous waters of the Sporades. I tried to see what kind of sailors would be dieing on the scattered rocks that night when I set eyes on him for the first time. He was sleeping like a baby and he looked so peaceful that my heart could not bear the thought of their destruction. Me and my sisters, out of necessity had to change the wind several times to steer them safely past those rocks. That was the first time I truly understood how ignorant these young men were of their own mortality.”

 

“My kind daughter of the seas, did they even know that you saved their lives and did they offer any sacrifices to the gods of the sea?”

 

“Mother of all women, they slept through most of it and only when the rosy-fingered dawn coloured the sky did he wake from his mortal sleep. When he saw me I gestured for him to remain quiet and close to his ear asked him not to identify me if he would see me again. It was there not far from the headland of Aeolia that I and my Nereid sisters revealed ourselves to them in the light of day. Catullus even sang for us a song which sound like this if I may?”

 

“Of course my dear, let the Mousai sing with my beautiful daughter and I am sure the son of Leto will string you along on the cithara of Hermes.”

 

All at the symposium went quiet with the sweet sound of the lyre and female voices praising the Argonauts in their effort to row their boat and catch the wind with their tightly bound sheets. When she got to her favourite part, Thetis looked at Peleus and sang with all her heart:

 

“It was there in those froth-capped billows, where
Sea-born Nereids marveled at their looks,
That mortals first beheld those ocean-nymphs
Upthrust from the waves, bare to the breast.

 

Then it was, stories say, that Peleus
Burned with love for Thetis, and she herself
Did not spurn to marry him, though mortal,
Nor did Father Nereus withhold her hand.”

 

The whole audience applauded in appreciation, while Doris the mother of Thetis, quietly wiped a tear from her one eye. Hera looked proudly upon the beautiful nymph, for did she not raise her as her own daughter. What Hera was even more proud of is that Thetis resisted the advances from Zeus out of respect for her adopted mother. Hera prompted her to continue with her story.

 

“My child tell us the story of how he managed to subdue you, a nymph from the sea?”

 

“Oh my blessed goddess of marriage, he was just lucky that I liked him and he did of course get help from Proteus, the oldest son of my lord Poseidon. [Some laughter comes from Poseidon's side of the table.] Once I assured his safe return as one of the Argonauts, I knew where he resided and would often ride my dolphin just off the coast down there. My handsome husband gained an unfair advantage when he made sacrifices to that trickster herdsman of the seals and he revealed to this mortal some of our secrets. Maybe my husband should tell us how he and my uncle conspired against me.”

 

Peleus just laughed a shy little laugh and looked over to Proteus for some help, but none came forth. When the anticipation grew, he stood up slowly and looked amongst the gods until his eye fell on Aphrodite.

 

“Oh mighty gods of heaven and earth, you need to look into the heart of a mere mortal like me to see how the fires of the goddess of passion were consuming my soul. I would stand on the headland down there and watch this most beautiful of all the nymphs, ride through the waves on her bridled dolphin completely naked. Her wet body would shine in the light and her golden hair would dance like grass in the wind. I couldn't take my eyes off her and at night when she disappeared into the darkness of the sea, I would lie awake thinking about the most amazing creature that I have ever seen. My dreams would be filled by efforts to pursue her and goddess Aphrodite would spread that passion to my loins. Every day I would hunger for the mere sight of her and then late one afternoon I saw an opportunity to get close to her.”

 

The whole mountain went quiet in anticipation, only Kheiron's voice could be heard far away, talking to a women.

 

“Forgive me my lord Nereus, you who are the gentle 'old man of the sea' would know how beautiful the sea can get when your daughters weave their golden thread over the waters off the coast of Thessaly. Such golden waters filled the sickle-shaped bay of Pagastikos when I saw your incredible daughter ride a path through the golden thread, towards the myrtle grove where the berries grow. On the back of the dolphin, her naked wet body glimmering like gold and with each gallop, her hair would wave in the wind and her breasts sway in unison. The fires of goddess Aphrodite were consuming my body and the desires of my flesh forced me to look for her in the middle cavern down there.”

 

Peleus pointed to a turquoise bay with a shallow sandy floor safely cradled in the arms of the Aeolian headland. Against the high white cliffs in the middle of the bay, not far from the myrtle grove, three caves could be found, leading directly to the beach. Formed by the flooded stream that now runs quietly through the middle cave and into the sea.

 

“My great gods, rulers of mortal man, when my eyes saw her in the cave by the sea, my fear was overcome by my desire to hold this women and make her mine. She was the most beautiful sight my eyes beheld lying there naked on the sand only her feet being licked by the gentle mountain stream. She just lay there lapped in sleep, her hair like a bounty of gold spread about her and my unruly passions vanquished any trace of reason. Her breasts looked soft an inviting, heaving like mighty mountains with each breath she took. I meant to surprise her, softly creeping up to her, I wound my arms around her neck and tried to kiss her. Kissed she did not want to be as right away I burnt my lips on the fire that were her lips. The most beautiful face I had just gazed on changed right in front of my eyes as I was hit by a tree trunk, so hard that after that my eyes deceived me and I could no longer be sure what was in front of me. There were the flapping of wings, the roar of a tiger, great wind and the crashing of giant waves as she resorted to her tricks to deceive me. The clawing of the tiger did great damage to my back and legs but I held on tight as my sight slowly returned to face the furious eyes of a stripy tigress and still my grip could not be broken. Then from the hand of the tiger a snake was darting at me, which caused my brave spirit to leave me at once and out of fear I let her get away."

 

The mighty gods, especially Zeus found this very funny and his thunderous laugh rolled all the way down the mountain and into the fertile plains of  Iolcus. Having lost his prize, Peleus set out to sacrifice to the seagods, offering wine that he poured into the water, he put smoke of incense adrift on the water and burned the flesh of sheep on the beach, until it pleased the gods of the sea. Once he fell asleep on the beach, he heard the voice of Proteus from the abyss of the briny waters:

 

“Peleus, you shall gain the bride you seek if, while she is asleep in her sandy cave, you catch her off guard and bind her tight with ropes that won't give way and, though she takes a hundred spurious shapes don't be deceived but grapple it, whatever it is, until she forms again the shape she had before.”

 

Still the fair Thetis did not shun her favourite cavern and a few days later, once she and her gold-spindled sisters finished weaving the late afternoon fabric over the bay, sought the grotto and resumed her usual couch. The mortal son of Aiakos, again sang her praises and explained with big eyes how he was mesmerized by this naked goddess riding towards the cave on her dolphin.

 

“My heart was beating so load in my chest, I thought I heard it echo in the cave. I was sure that she could hear me and only with the help of the seagod Proteus, was the sound of it smothered by the waves. With a slip-knot ready in my hands and the strongest rope I could find, coiled around my shoulder, I slowly crept closer. With her hands above her head and her feet in the water she must be the most beautiful thing in all the world. No matter how much care I took, as soon as I pulled the knot tight around her lovely wrists, she was already changing from shape to shape. My deceiving eyes saw water, fire, snakes and a raging lioness before I shut them to the spectacle and braced to hold her tight no matter what. My passion, by the name of the goddess that rose from the sea, was burning like a wild fire and I was determined to hold on even if it cost me my life. I was thrown to the ground, lifted into the air, pushed under the water and all the time I managed to tighten the rope around her gracious limbs. Once she felt her body trussed; arm tight above her head; her legs pinioned apart, I ravaged her and drank from her beauty like a man possessed. Once the deed was done she stopped struggling and sighed, ‘with some god's help,’ she said, ‘you have won.' It was a bitter sweet victory because in her heart she carried grief and from my victory I walked away like a thief.”

 

Most of the men did not even hear his final confession, they were cheering him so loudly as Zeus gave his mortal grandson a hefty pat on the back. He declared Peleus such a good storyteller that henceforth this mountain, the abode of Kheiron, will be known as Pelion, in honour of Peleus. Beneath the male celebration, mother Hera spoke softly to her stepdaughter and took her hand across the table.

 

“My lovely child, please forgive the mortal Peleus, for he will be a good husband to you. It is the flames that Aphrodite light in their loins that make them to behave like beasts. In the case of Peleus he also found himself encouraged by my husband and would not normally have done such a thing to you.”

 

“My mother of the gods, logic dictates that which you say but in my heart I truly loved him and I knew that he was creeping up to me. My female heart was also bouncing in my chest and I am sure that he is right when he said that my breasts were heaving up and down because of that. I even allowed him to tie me up and once I gave him a good test of his warrior skills, returned to my original shape to hand him the prize in victory. But then he thought so little of me that he ravaged my virginity like I was a cheap whore in a foreign port. I tried to tell him...”

 

Suddenly there was a commotion behind the pavilion and Kheiron shouted for Zeus to help him. The goddess of Strife had overpowered the guards and before Zeus and Kheiron could remove her from the grounds, she threw a golden apple onto the table that landed between the gods. Her parting words dripped with resentment and spite as she shouted:

 

“A gift to the fairest in the land!”

 

Thetis immediately assumed that it was a wedding gift for the bride and put her hand out to take the apple. When she tried to retrieve it, she found the powerful hand of Athena holding onto it from the other side of the table. This action by Eris sparked a vain contest between the goddesses that would reverberate through all of eternity. In front of their eyes was clearly engraved on the golden apple the ominous inscription: 'ΤΗΙ ΚΑΛΛΙΣΤΗΙ' – 'to the fairest'. Hera recognized the apple as one of her golden apples from the garden in Libya, guarded by the three nymphs, the daughters of Hesperus. Ownership of this grove of immortality giving fruit was given to her by her mother Gaia on occasion of her marriage to Zeus. The mother goddess was also very beautiful in her own right and because it was one of her golden apples, saw it as rightfully hers. When Hera, goddess of marriage put her hand on it to claim it as her own, Thetis immediately withdrew her hand, just to be replaced by that of Aphrodite. Now the fight was on with three of the most beautiful goddesses each claiming the 'apple of discord' as belonging to her. With none of them prepared to let go of their claim, they took the matter to Zeus.

 

He knew better than to get involved in a dispute between his aunt, Aphrodite and his two sisters, Hera and Athena. He gave the apple to his youngest son Hermes with the explicit instruction to assign the task to the young Prince Paris of Troy. Paris had shown exemplary fairness in a previous dispute by awarding the prize to Ares after a bullfight that happened. The three goddesses were instructed to accept the judgement of the young mortal without question. With Hermes as their guide they first bathed in the spring of Mount Ida and then confronted the unsuspecting Paris where he was herding the royal goats on the plains of Troy. The competition was fierce as each one of the goddesses believed themselves to be the most beautiful and therefore entitled to the golden apple. They went as far as stripping off their clothes and paraded naked in front of the young Prince that could by that time, out of necessity only observe them, while he was sitting down.

 

In order to help him make up his mind, each of the goddesses also attempted to bribe the young prince of Troy. Hera offered to make him the king of Europe and Asia, Athena offered him wisdom and skill in battle, while Aphrodite offered him the most beautiful mortal woman in the world as a wife. This woman was Helen of Sparta and in his vainness Paris chose Aphrodite, a decision that ultimately led to ten years of war and a lot of bloodshed.

 

On Mount Pelion the wedding fizzled out on a sour note and the wise Kheiron apologized to his guests for the disruptions. Zeus and Poseidon left shortly after the three goddesses and once they were gone the celebrations seem to loose its luster. Brave Peleus took his new bride to a freshly prepared home that he had specially built for her near the sea. She put on a brave face and decided to forgive him for his indiscretion, that day on the beach. Less than a year later a baby was born in Phthia, half god and half mortal. He was born while his father was away and she decided to call him Achilles because he was born out of grief. Grief for what her husband did to her that day on the beach but also because she had the gift of prophecy, and could see what was in store for her son.

 

In order to protect him she set off to visit her aunt, the sister of her real mother Doris, who lived in her lofty grotto by the entrance of the house of Hades. This aunt of Thetis was one of the first to bring her four children in support of Zeus, during the war with the Titans. Zeus rewarded her by allowing her to stay in her famous palace under the towering rocks, all supported by silver columns and by making her streams the agent of the binding oath of the gods. She was not at all surprised when she opened the huge doors and invited Thetis into her home.

 

“My child, pride of my sister Doris, I have been waiting for you and my heart has been longing to see your beautiful boy.”

 

“Oh sister of my mother Doris, with her gift of bounty, I come to you with a heavy heart and in grief and fear I came down to the void of Tartarus. His possible fate has been revealed to me in a dream and because of the sadness in my soul, I named him Achilles. Like his father he will be involved in many battles and I beg you to help me protect his mortal flesh from the damage that can be inflicted by blades of steel. Please help me to dip my infant son in the springs of your river Styx.”

 

Therefore with the help of her aunt, the anxious nymph took her infant son down into the dark caverns under the towering rocks and while holding him by his heel, dipped the boy into the dark cold waters that flowed forth from the underworld. Afterwards they dried him off, anointed him with ambrosia and wrapped him in a soft blanket to warm up his tiny body. They both noticed the dim glow of immortality starting to shine from him. Thetis felt relieved that her son will one day be protected against bodily harm while involved in some of his glorious battles. She also revealed to her aunt that the boy was destined to be an even greater hero than his father. They both agreed that he was the most beautiful baby that they have ever seen.

 

On his return, the father Peleus, was very proud of his strong beautiful son that displayed knowledge and wisdom far beyond his age. When other children his age started to crawl, he was already running around his fathers house. Soon his father left again, because he still had some scores to settle. By now he was the king of the Myrmidons and he set out to lay siege to Iolcus, where he once lived as the guest of their king Acastus. The new king Acastus, was also one of the Argonauts and they knew each other well. It was then, in Iolcus that he was humbled by Atalanta when he lost a wrestling match against the maiden huntress. In spite of his loss, the wife of Acastus, still fell in love with him. The new queen, Astydameia, made some romantic proposals to him, which he rejected outright. She retaliated by sending a secret message to his wife in Phthia. The message informed her of his intention to stay in Iolcus and that he would soon marry Sterope, the daughter of Acastus. On receiving this information, Antigone, the devoted wife of Peleus, killed herself. The bitter Astydameia further charged Peleus before her husband with having made improper proposals to her.

 

Acastus, had purified Peleus from the accidental death of another king, Eurytion in Phthia. Unwilling to stain his hands with the blood of the man whom he had purified from his guilt, took Peleus to Mount Pelion, where they hunted wild beasts. When the exhausted Peleus fell asleep, Acastus concealed his sword and left him there alone in the mountains to be killed by the wild animals. When Peleus woke up and looked for his sword, he was attacked by a group of savage centaurs. Lucky for him he was saved just in time by the hippocentaur Kheiron, who resided in his own palace on Mount Pelion. He became friends with Kheiron, who gave him an even better sword, one which was made by the fire god Hephaestus, whom the Romans call Vulcan. Peleus didn't forget the treachery of Acastus and the deceit of his wife and went back to extract his revenge. After many days and hard work and determination by the Myrmidons, the city fortifications were breached. With the help of Jason and two other crew members of the Argo, Kastor and Pollux, the twin brothers of Helen of Sparta, they defeated Acastus and sacked the city. It was recorded that Peleus slew Acastus and Astydameia, then dismembered her and over the scattered limbs of her body marched his warriors into the city.

 

Dear reader please forgive all the mistakes, this is still very much "work in progress" that I put up as I complete the different parts. The second part to this chapter will deal with the life and glory of their son Achilles.

 

Please feel free to help me out with corrections and suggestions, I welcome anything that will make this, easier and more enjoyable to read.