Peleus loved his wife, but she did not love him. Sad and silent, Thetis could only think of returning to her home in the sea, and she was ashamed of her mortal husband.
But Thetis loved her half-mortal son, Achilles, and she wanted to make him immortal.
One night, she took the baby to the River Styx, the river that separates the world of the living from the world of the dead. She knew that if Achilles was dipped in the river, he could never be killed. So, holding him by one of his feet, she let the black water wash over him.
Peleus saw his wife return secretly to the palace, and later he went to her room to ask her where she had been. Outside the door, he stopped. He heard the baby crying and smiled, imagining his wife and son together.
Then he entered.
The baby was on the fire, screaming. Thetis stood over him, a smile on her beautiful face. Peleus ran across the room. He pushed Thetis away and grabbed Achilles off the fire.
"Fool!" Thetis shouted angrily.
"What were you doing to him?" Peleus asked.
"I was making him immortal."
"By burning him?"
"I rubbed ambrosia on him and put him on the fire. The mortal part of him would have burned away, but now, because of you, he cannot be immortal. Because of you, your son will die. How could you have done that to him?"
Peleus was silent. Ashamed, he would not look at Thetis.
Then Thetis cursed Peleus. She cursed him and she ran out of the palace and
into the sea. Peleus never saw her again. He continued to love Thetis after she was gone, and he never married again.
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