Thetis is one of the aquatic deities of Greek mythology, often known as a sea nymph or a goddess of water. She is one of the daughters of the god Nereus, also called the Nereids.
She is one of the earliest worshipped deities that in early Greece, some even believing her to be the creator of the entire universe. In the Trojan War, she gave birth to hero Achilles – the same Achilles with the wounded heel and who also stared in the ancient epic of Iliad!
A prophecy was revealed that her child would become stronger than the father, which worried some of the other gods, including Zeus. To prevent this from happening, Zeus arranged for her to get married to the mortal man Peleus. They held their wedding on Mount Pelion, where the other deities came to celebrate.
Eventually, they had a new son – Achilles. Though he wasn’t a full god, Thetis tried to clean him of his mortality by washing him the river Styx, also called the river of Hades. Although it made him immortal, she was unable to dip his heels into the water while she held him. This would become his Achille’s heel.
When the Trojan War started, Thetis tried to prevent Achilles from joining and risking his life. To do this, she disguised Achilles as a girl at the court of Lycomedes, but when the court heard the alarm of an incoming attack, Achilles raced for his weapons. After the truth was found out, Thetis accepted fate and had commissioned new armor for her son.
During the Trojan War, she kept in touch with Achilles, often relaying messages between him and the other gods. At one time, the gods had Thetis tells her son that they were angry with him, as he did not return the body of his rival after defeating him.
