Thetis

/thee"tis/, n. Class. Myth.

a Nereid, the wife of Peleus and the mother of Achilles.

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In Greek mythology, a Nereid loved by both Zeus and Poseidon.

When it was revealed that Thetis was destined to bear a son who would be mightier than his father, the two gods gave her to Peleus, king of the Myrmidons. Unwilling to wed a mortal, Thetis resisted Peleus' advances by changing into various shapes, but Peleus finally captured and married her. Their child was Achilles. Some legends relate that she bore seven children, all of whom perished either when she tried to render them immortal or when she killed them as the offspring of a forced marriage.

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▪ Greek mythology

 in Greek mythology, a Nereid loved by Zeus and Poseidon. When Themis (goddess of Justice), however, revealed that Thetis was destined to bear a son who would be mightier than his father, the two gods gave her to Peleus, king of the Myrmidons of Thessaly. Thetis, unwilling to wed a mortal, resisted Peleus's advances by changing herself into various shapes. But, assisted by the wise centaur Chiron, Peleus finally captured her.

      All the gods brought gifts to their wedding. The child of their union was the warrior Achilles, but, according to some authorities, Thetis bore seven children, all of whom perished either when she attempted to render them immortal by fire or when she destroyed them as the tokens of an unwilling alliance. According to one story, Peleus stymied Thetis's attempt to make Achilles immortal by appearing at the wrong moment, and she deserted him. She saved Zeus when Poseidon, Hera, and Athena revolted against him, and she rescued both Hephaestus and Dionysus from the sea. She had a sanctuary at Sparta.

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