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Vol. 2 : Peleus

Zeus called his messenger, Hermes.

"I want you to go to Peleus, king of the Myrmidons," he told Hermes. "Tell him that I will give immortal Thetis to him as his wife because … he has been very good.

"Thetis will not want to marry him, of course. She is immortal and a mortal husband would bring her shame. If he wants her as his wife, he must not use words. He must use force. He must grab her and hold her. She will change into many different shapes, but he must not let go. Then she will be his wife."

Hermes put on his winged sandals and flew down from Mt. Olympus. King Peleus was overjoyed when he heard that an immortal would be his wife. He had heard of her extraordinary beauty, and he immediately went to Thetis to claim her.

Peleus waited, hidden near the cave that was her home. It was dark when she returned to her cave. He saw her swimming through the moonlit waves on the back of a dolphin, and her beauty took his breath away.

She bathed in the river outside her cave and then went in to sleep. Peleus moved quickly. He entered the cave and grabbed her. She screamed and struggled to get free, but he would not let go.

"Zeus has given you to me," he told her. "You must marry me."

She changed herself into a bird, then into a fish, and then into a lion, but he would not let go. She became fire and tried to burn him. She became water and tried to drown him. But he would not let go. Finally, she changed back into her normal shape.

"You have been helped by Zeus himself," she said, sad and tired. "His will is too powerful for me to disobey. I must be your wife."

Peleus made love to her that night.