THE GREATEST HERO, he shall be. my son, achilles. i shall make him invulnerable for nothing shall stand in his path to greatness. he shall wear golden laurels and wreaths; men will fall before his spear like leaves on a windy evening.

ᐧ ᐧ ᐧ  

"the son of thetis shall be greater than his father.'

zeus heaved a dramatic sigh and prometheus 

drifted back slowly, 

waiting for a wrathful outburst

but the king of gods only smiled thinly at prometheus.

'i thank you, titan,' he cried, 'we shall marry thetis to a mortal

and may their son be

the last of the heroes and 

let the iron age; 

the age of ordinary men follow.' 

the mortal destined to be wed to the sea nympth

went by the name of peleus. 

once, he had assisted the mighty heracles and telamon 

to sack the city called troy

when the foolish king laomedon refused 

to keep an oath he had made to heracles. 

peleus lived at ioclus,

and he lived content and at peace,

but the beautiful queen astydamia 

fell for him, 

the young, handsome hero he was. 

but peleus would not betray his dear friend- 

the man the queen had married. 

o zeus, the queen was furious. 

her mad love turned to white hot hatred 

and she fabricated such tales-

such scandalous, horrifying tales-

that her husband decided to end peleus's life-

peleus, his dear, dear friend. 

a hunting trip it was called, 

when peleus woke up from a short nap, 

alone and weaponless 

for the king and his men had stolen his weapons 

and left him for dead.  

unafraid,

 the brave hero walked the forest alone,

the dry leaves crunching beneath his feet and the 

warm wind slapping his face-

peleus was uncomfortable,

and how he was scared. 

a few hours later, when the hero was 

dehydrated and tired, 

he came across a brilliant white stallion with the head and torso

of a man. the creature had a beautiful wooden

bow slung across his back and he regarded

young peleus with the warm eyes of

one who has seen more than he wished;

years of wisdom and years of pain.

'my name is chiron, hero.' the centaur spoke. 

'i am peleus.' he said, his throat scratchy and dry. 

chiron led him to his crystal cave where peleus 

was fed well and told 

how to catch and hold the sea nymph thetis, his destined bride. 

one particularly bright morning,

 peleus caught her unawares. 

the beautiful sea-nymph changed into 

a lion, a cuttlefish, a fire, a serpent:

and when she was a fish, peleus grabbed her tightly 

and she returned to her own form- 

one of a black haired, pale faced woman, 

with eyes the colour of obsidian. 

when she learned that her son would be the 

most powerful hero to fight at troy, 

thetis happily obliged to be peleus' wife. 

on the slope of pelion, by the cave of chiron,

such a wedding-feast was prepared as had never 

been seen on earth, 

sweet nectar and ambrosia flowed form the heavens,

flowers in a thousand colours adorned intricate pillars and sculptures

and table were covered with countless 

silver and gold jugs and platters of 

the most beautifully prepared food. 

the immortals bought gifts for the couple

and even hera smiled, her peacocks fluttering by her side.

xanthus and balius, the two deathess horses 

were give to the honored bride and groom, 

their coats shining like they had bathed 

in moonlight.

the muses sang sweetly to the company 

and the nymphs danced in joy,

a rainbow shed a heavenly radiance over all. 

it should have been the most glorious wedding to take place on earth.

but alas, one immortal was forgotten that day and 

she did not take kindly to it. 

eris, the goddess of discord,

hated by the olympians and feared 

by the mortals. 

she arrived, she did. 

and with her she bought an air of melancholy 

and chaos, and the atmosphere of the wedding 

dimmed quicker than a fire extinguished. 

she spread her long arms and announced harshly, 

'i have come! and i have bought a present!' 

she reached into the fold of her dark dress and 

bought forth an golden apple when she placed on the table

for the stunned company to see. 

'for the fairest.' she said, her thin lips quirking into a wicked smile

and she disappeared in a shower of dark feathers. 

as the immortal had intended, 

discord broke out where all had been peace and happiness before,

now there was strike as to who would claim the apple. 

'it is mine!' queen hera exclaims. 'for i am the queen of olympus.' 

she was indeed beautiful and she was indeed mighty. 

'i claim it,' said athena, the lady of wisdom, 'i, the eldest daughter of zeus.' 

her voice was leveled,

like the calm before a storm. 

'you are both mistaken,' murmured a gentle voice. aphrodite smiled softly, her face growing more beautiful by the second. 'it is mine, am i not the immortal lady of love and beauty?'

the years had increased zeus' wisdom and he stilled 

the wrangling of the three goddess 

at least for the moment. 

before long peleus, 

having disposed off acastus and his queen,

had began ruling ioclus alongside his wife 

but their happiness was short-lived for 

all their six children disappeared mysteriously

and he could never learn what happened 

to his beloved children.

thetis grew silent and desolate;

the twinkle from her eyes disappeared until 

they resembled muddy pools of water 

instead of a brilliant blue sea.

she longed to return to her sea-waves caved 

where she had resided before her marriage, 

then a seventh son was born, and they named him achilles. 

he was a beautiful young child, 

his skin the colour of honey and 

his face serious and strong. 

thetis was determined not to lose her child again and 

the sea-nymph swore to make her son invulnerable. 

she carried him to the river styx, the black river of the underworld 

and dipped him in the cold, back waters.

she held him by the heel; 

and the heel alone remained untouched by the 

waters of the river. 

peleus wept in joy when his wife and his son 

returned from their voyage to the underworld 

and he hugged young achilles, 

relieved to see him alive. 

but the king's suspicions of his wife had not faded so

he pretended to be asleep that night 

as thetis crept out of bed and took the baby from his golden cradle. 

peleus watched anxiously as she advanced to the fire

and to his greatest horror, she placed the baby in the leaping flames.  

peleus jumped out of bed and

snatched up his son from the fireplace-

too shocked and too overcome wit fury to realize that

achilles was not burnt. 

thetis was overjoyed. 'oh, you fool! had you left him in the fire, 

his mortal part would have burnt away and oh, 

oh our son could have been a god! 

it is true, our other children have perished in the fire 

but achilles, my sweet babe! he is invulnerable!

farewell now, peleus. i shall return to my caves 

and never shall you call me your wife again.'

with a final sigh,

the sea-nymph disappeared like a swift breeze,

leaving behind only a crying babe and

her faint scent of the salty seas.