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Iliad Interview

Your name

Class

Professor

Due Date

Hello Good Morning Mrs. Thetis. Thank you for taking the time to sit down for an interview.
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Thetis: It is my pleasure, thank you for taking the time to listen to my story and what I have to
say.

Interviewer: Of course, to begin, can you tell me a bit about yourself?

Thetis: I am best known for being Achilles' mother. This is often the story of most women, we
are defined not by who we are, but our relationship to the males in our lives. I am a minor sea de-
ity known as a Nereid. I have fifty sisters. I am also the daughter of Nereus, He rules over the
Greek sea deity associated with the Aegean Sea. I am also the daughter of Doris, who is
Oceanus and Tethys' Oceanid daughter.

Originally, my family held a higher position as a sea god. My father was the son of Gaia and
Pontus. My father, Nereus was an early deity, but his position as a sea god was greatly marginal-
ized by the advent of the Olympian gods. Once Poseidon being the major sea god of the Mediter-
ranean and gained province, my family’s position was reduced. I have a sister that is also well
known in Greek mythology. Her name is  Amphitrite, and she is the wife of Poseidon. We often
joke that we are the famous wives and mothers of men.

That being said, I am best known for my role in The Iliad by Homer. I am married to Peleus,
“There, the love of Peleus for his sea-nymph led him to lie naked with
the untouched virgin, and within the year she bore a son, Achilles” and have a son named
Achilles (Homer & Butler, 2018). a sea goddess who was the wife of Peleus, the warrior, and the
heavenly mother of Achilleus. Achilleus' mother I am Thetis, a goddess of the sea. My husband
is the mortal Peleus, despite often being physically separated.

Interviewer: How would you describe yourself?

Thetis: I am kind and I care about my child, Achilles a lot. While he gets a large part of the credit
for the story, I often felt torn between helping him each step of the way knowing his eventual
fate. predicted my son’s fate in book one. “My son, woe is me that I should have born or sucked
you. Would indeed that you have lived your span free from all sorrow at your ships, for it is all
too brief, alas, that you should be at once shower of life and long of sorrow above your peers:
Woe, therefore, was the hour in which I bore you” (Homer & Butler, 2018, p. 7).

As a mother, I am always trying to help my son Achilles. I asked Jove for help, “I will go to the
snowy heights of Olympus, and tell this tale to Jove if h will hear our prayer” (Homer & Butler,
2018, p. 7). Thus, I am often helpful, willing to go the extra mile, and have scaled the tallest
mountain in the world to help my son. It is difficult to be a mother, you often run back and forth
between trying to let your child be independent, and yet you want to make sure they have all the
tools to succeed.

Physically, since I am a Nereid I am considered one of the most beautiful creatures of the sea. I
am considered one of the most attractive Nereid nymphs, however, all Nereids were considered
lovely. Many gods are drawn to any Nereid's beauty, just ask my sister Amphitrite. Originally
the brothers Poseidon and Zeus attempted to court me. Unfortunately, the Themis, the Greek
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goddess of justice, opened her mouth and told everyone a prophecy. That my son (future
Achilles) would be being greater than his father. This prophecy put a stop to Poseidon and Zeus'
courtship of me! Since neither god could handle a son who was more powerful than them. Seri-
ously, maybe if they worked on being better fathers we could work on progress. Does Zeus even
talk to all of his children?

Well, that was not the end of that. Zeus determined that there was only one choice for me. He
made me marry a mortal. This was to ensure that any son I had, even if he was more powerful
than his father would not be more powerful than the Gods. While I do have a supporting husband
it was not fair for Zeus to determine who I could and could not marry. Regardless, since Peleus
is mortal, Achilleus does not inherit immortality from me.

Int4erviewr: Tell me about how you and your husband, Peleus met and became husband and
wife?

Thetis: Sure, as you know Peleus was a mortal. Peleus is the grandson of Zeus by Aeacus. Zeus
handpicked my husband. Despit4e being a goddess, I had very little said in my life, decisions
over my body, or life. During the timer period of

Peleus was an Argonaut and a member of the Calydonian Hunt and was a well-known hero of
the time. Peleus was delighted with the proposal, but Zeus had not contacted me. Honestly, I had
no desire to marry a mortal, regardless of his great reputation.

Since I did not want to marry him, he resorted to bondage. Peleus waited at the entrance to the
Thermaean Gulf, and when I came by, he grabbed me. He also tied my thanks to the centaur Ch-
iron's suggestion. The cords were so tight that I couldn't get out of them even when I
shapeshifted.
When it became clear that there was no way out, Thetis agreed to marry Peleus.

Interviewer: It is clear that you had little said in who you married, can you describe the roles and
rights of women at that time? How was it to be a woman?

Thetis: I’ve touched on this briefly at other points of the interview. First, women were consid-
ered inferior to men in many ways. For background during the Archaic era (750–550 BC), "The
Illiad" was composed approximately “probably wrote it in 762 B.C., give or take 50 years” (Ser-
vice, 2013). Due to widespread migration, this was a period of great economic and social trans-
formation in Greek history, resulting in the establishment of new city-states.
Women's roles in Greek society are well-represented through citizenship and political rights.
Women became the legal wards of their husbands when they married, just as they had been of
their fathers when they were still unmarried. A parent would frequently sell his young daughter
into marriage, and the young woman had little said in who she chose as her suitors. The girl was
in her early teens at the time, while the groom was ten to fifteen years older.
Thus, my situation mirrors this. I was considered a ward of the gods. Who I could marry was
limited.
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While women’s roles differed between the states of Sparta and Athens, The woman's primary
function was in the house. Households were therefore reliant on women, whose work enabled the
family to become economically self-sufficient and male citizens to engage in the polis's public
life. In his writings, the Odyssey and Iliad, Homer reflects his culture's view of women as either
aids or hindrances or restrictions to males, even though they are fundamentally insignificant in
their own right. Personally, I felt that I was a help to my son Achilles,d epistle knowing what his
eventual fate would be.

It is important to note that that there is an intersectionality. Goddesses akin to your caucasian fe-
males had an elevated status. They are permitted greater independence than flesh-and-blood
ladies, for example, since they are already representations of some random abstract value, possi-
bly a principle, or beauty, and so have their own job to fulfill. In contrast black women, slaves,
or those from lower classes were not awarded the same rights. An example of this is Thersites
was given less credence than Nestor. While both examples are male, the class system proves the
point.

Interviewer: Is there anything else you would like for us to know?

Thetis: Life is complicated. Even when we know one’s destiny do we not try to change it? I tried
to get rid of my son’s mortality. I anointed Achilles in ambrosia before throwing him in a fire to
burn away the mortal aspects of his body. This was common, but my husband did not under-
stand. I had failed to inform her husband what she was attempting to do. As a result, Peleus
stopped me. Instead of talking to me, he saw his wife attempting to murder his son, he became
enraged. Thetis would abandon Achilles and flee to the Aegean Sea, abandoning their house.
I tried to do my best despite my position in society and the cards I was given. The time was a
very different one in Greece.

Interviewer: Thank you for your time.

Thetis: Thank you for hearing my story and truly listening.

References

Greek Legends and Myths. (2020). Thetis in Greek Mythology. Greek Legends and Myths.

https://www.greeklegendsandmyths.com/thetis.html

Homer, & Butler, S. (2018). The Iliad. Inkflight.

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Service, J. N. S., Inside Science News. (2013, February 27). Geneticists Estimate Publication

Date of The Iliad. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ge-

neticists-estimate-publication-date-of-the-illiad/