Peleus

A king of Phthia, in Thessaly. Peleus (Πηλεύς) was the son of Aeacus (Aiacos), king of Aegina, and Endeïs.

He and his brother Telamon plotted to kill their half-brother Phocus, son of Aeacus by the Nereïd (Nereid) Psamathe, because he excelled in sport. One of them (most likely Peleus) killed Phocus and hid the body, but his father found out about the murder and banished them from his island. (See Aegina and Aeacus for some more detail about the death of Phocus).

Peleus wandered all the way to Phthia where king Eurytion or his son Actor purified him for murder. The king gave a third of his land to Peleus as well as his daughter Antigone in marriage. Antigone bore him a daughter, Polydora.

Peleus helped the Lapiths to fight the Centaurs during the wedding of Peirithoüs (Peirithous) and Hippodameia. Peleus killed the following Centaurs (according to Ovid): Demoleon, Phlegraeus, Hyles, Iphinous, Clanis and Dorylas.

Together with Telamon, they joined the Argonauts and the Calydonian Boar Hunt. But during the hunt, his miscast spear accidentally killed Eurytion, his father-in-law.

He was banished from Phthia for a year or two. He went to Iolcus where Acastus, son of Pelias, purified him for the killing. As guest of Acastus, he had trouble with Acastus' wife, who fell in love with him and tried to seduce the hero. Peleus rejected her advances. In a rage, she told Acastus that Peleus had tried to rape her.

Acastus was unable to kill his guest outright, since he had purified him. Acastus invited Peleus to a hunting trip. They made a wager of who would make the most kills. Peleus won the wager by cutting out the tongues of the animals, as proof of his kills. While Peleus slept in the camp, Acastus and his men stole and hid his sword before returning to Iolcus. Because they had camped in Centaur country, Peleus was unarmed and would be helpless if he came across a group of Centaurs. However, a wise and friendly Centaur named Cheiron helped Peleus to find his sword and took him to safety.

Outraged at Acastus' action, Peleus swore revenge. When his banishment ended, he became king of Phthia. Peleus gathered an army against Acastus. Aided by fellow-Argonauts, Jason and the Dioscuri, he captured Iolcus, killing Acastus and his wife.

When his wife Antigone died, the gods decided that the hero was the most worthy to marry the sea-goddess Thetis. All the gods and goddesses except Eris were invited to the wedding. Peleus received many gifts from the gods. They included magical armour made by Hephaestus and a pair of immortal horses: Xanthus and Balius. The wedding of Peleus and Thetis was marred by a disruption that would lead to event known as Judgment of Paris which ultimately caused the Trojan War. (See Thetis or Judgement of Paris for the cause of Trojan War)

The marriage with Thetis did not last long after the birth of their son, Achilles. They had seven sons. Thetis wanted to make all of them immortal by protecting each infant with ambrosia and burning away their mortal part. However, Peleus disrupted Thetis while she was burning away Achilles' mortal body. Achilles' body was invulnerable against all weapons except for his heels, where Thetis held him. Angry for the disruption, Thetis left Peleus and her son.

Peleus and the Centaur Cheiron brought Achilles up and trained him in fighting and hunting. When Achilles decided to join the Greeks in their war against Troy, Peleus gave his son his magic armour and a pair of immortal horses; he had received his wedding gifts from the gods.

Peleus however outlived his son and his grandson Neoptolemus, son of Achilles. Achilles died fighting in the last year of the war. Neoptolemus also fought in the war. Neoptolemus brought home Andromache, former wife of Hector, who was now his concubine. Neoptolemus and Andromache had several children.

Neoptolemus later married Hermione, daughter of Menelaüs (Menelaus) and Helen. But Orestes, son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, also wanted to marry Hermione and plotted to have Neoptolemus killed. After Orestes murdered Neoptolemus, the aged Peleus had to rescue his great-grandsons, children of Andromache and Neoptolemus. Peleus, together with Andromache and her sons, fled to Epeirus, where his grandsons founded kingdoms of their own.

Thetis later took Peleus to her home in the sea and made him immortal.