• Protective Mother

  • Most prominent representation
    • Iliad --> all 13 references to Thetis are to her as mother

    • Odyssey --> only reference

    • Apollodorus --> 2 references

    • Iphigenia at Aulis --> only reference

  • HOMER (IIiad)
    • pleads with Zeus

    • asks Hephaestus for armour

    • guards Patroklos' body

    
    
  • APOLLODORUS
    • disguised Achilles

    • advised Achilles

  • EURIPIDES (Iphigenia at Aulis)
    • as biological mother

• Helpful Goddess

  • saved Hephaestus (Homer)

  • saved Hephaestus (Apollodorus)

  • protected Dionysus

  • buried Ajax

  • helped Argonauts through Scylla and Charybdis

Vase representations: dominated wife

• Representations of Peleus taming Thetis

  • *no literary references examined have Peleus taming Thetis

  • Berlin F 2279
    • common motif

    • Thetis = shape shifter

  • Malibu 77.AE.11

  • Munich 2619A
    • standard representation

  • Boston 1972.850

  • Munich 2648

• Representations of the Wedding of Peleus and Thetis

  • Francois vase (Florence 4209)
    • Peleus outside/Thetis inside

    • procession

  • Tampa 86.44
    • chariot

• Representations of Thetis as mother

  • Berlin F 2294

  • Boston 01.8027

  • Malibu 86.AE.611

• Representation of Thetis in background

  • Berlin F 1737
    • Thetis