Historiae Romanorum

The Hero Peleus

Peleus, was the son of Aeacus, the king of Aegina.  He and his brother Telamon killed their half-brother Phocus during a contest, in order to please their mother.  Aeacus then bansished the brothers.  Telamon went to Salamis, and Peleus went with his followers, called the Myrmidons, to Phthia in Thessaly, where he was purified of the murder.  There, the king Eurytion gave Peleus his daughter Antigone and one-third of his land.  During the Calydonian Boar Hunt, Peleus accidentally killed Eurytion.  Once again, Peleus had to find another home.

He now journeyed to Iolcus in Thessaly.   There, the queen Astydameia fell in love with Peleus.  She propositioned him, and he refused.  Astydameia was outraged and sought revenge against Peleus.  She sent a letter to his wife Antigone, which stated that Peleus would soon abandon her and remarry.  Devastated, Antigone committed suicide.  Secondly, Astydameia went to her husband Acastus, the king, and told him that Peleus had tried to seduce her.  Outraged, Acastus devised a plot to kill the powerful Peleus.

Acastus took Peleus on a trip to Mount Pelion, which was located inside the land of the Centaurs.  That night, Acastus and the rest abandoned Peleus in his sleep and hid his sword.  The next day, the first Centaur that Peleus encountered was Cheiron, who would later train the great Achilles.  After defeating Cheiron in hand-to-hand combat, Cheiron was impressed and retrieved Peleus' sword for him.  Now armed, Peleus made his way back to Iolcus.  Once there, he killed the king and queen and left Iolcus behind.  Peleus returned to Phthia, where he was made the king.

As a reward for his great deeds in spite of bad fortune, Zeus gave to Peleus a new bride, the goddess Thetis.  Ovid writes that first Peleus had to capture his bride, who changed shapes constantly to avoid him.  It was the wedding of Thetis and Peleus that caused the Trojan War, because of the golden apple.  Thetis produced for Peleus a son, the great warrior Achilles.  Afterwards Peleus followed Thetis to the underworld, where she was dipping him the newborn Achilles into the river Styx, causing Achilles' heel to be unprotected.  Upset, Thetis left him and returned to the sea.

Peleus remained on the throne for a long while, eventually handing it over to his grandson Neoptolemus.  Finally, he returned to the sea with his former wife Thetis and became an immortal.

Source(s):

1. Apollodorus.  Bibliotece.

2. Ovid.  Metamorphoses.

This page was last updated on July 21, 2004.