MYTHOLOGY
TIMES
Sunday,
Jan. 11
Thetis' Disguise
By
Elizabeth Darter
This week I got another chance to sit down with Thetis, Achilles' mother. She had a very funny story to tell. You see, when Achilles' turned nine years old, it was let known that Troy's fate involved him. And some said that it could never be taken without him. Like any mother, Thetis was devastated, for she knew that her son's fate was to die in war. What would you do as a mother in a situation like this? Thetis decided to take drastic measures. "I realized the only choice I had was to disguise my son as a girl in order to prevent him from being sent to war." So she set out to gather all the things she would need to transform her son into a girl. She bought a fine dress and new shoes, and even new makeup and a wig. Thetis began to laugh and said, "I will tell you that Achilles was not very fond of my idea. He was a tough and independent boy, even when he was young, and he did not want to take the easy way out. He thought war would be all glory." Eventually, Thetis was able to talk Achilles into taking part in her plan to keep him safe. After disguising him, Thetis then sent him as a maiden to the king of Scyros, Lycomedes. Now Lycomedes had a beautiful daughter who Achilles immediately had eyes for. Thetis admitted that this may have been the only way Achilles continued to agree to keep his disguise as a girl. Thetis describes Achilles as "a very awkward looking girl" and said that it was very funny to watch him around Lycomedes' daughter. Thetis' lie about her son went on for a while, but, like most disguises, it was eventually discovered. Odysseus had a thought that this girl might be Achilles, and decided to blast a trumpet to find out. He reasoned that girls and boys react differently to the sound of a trumpet, and sure enough, he was able to bring to light Thetis' and Achilles' secret. So we now know of one more of Achilles' adventure, although this one may be more lighthearted and humorous.
Achilles Among the Daughters of Lycomedes
Erasmus Quelinus (1607-1678)
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Achilles.html
Bibliography
"Achilles: Life and Deeds."
By Carlos Parada
Weblink: http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Achilles.htm
This week I got another chance to sit down with Thetis, Achilles' mother. She had a very funny story to tell. You see, when Achilles' turned nine years old, it was let known that Troy's fate involved him. And some said that it could never be taken without him. Like any mother, Thetis was devastated, for she knew that her son's fate was to die in war. What would you do as a mother in a situation like this? Thetis decided to take drastic measures. "I realized the only choice I had was to disguise my son as a girl in order to prevent him from being sent to war." So she set out to gather all the things she would need to transform her son into a girl. She bought a fine dress and new shoes, and even new makeup and a wig. Thetis began to laugh and said, "I will tell you that Achilles was not very fond of my idea. He was a tough and independent boy, even when he was young, and he did not want to take the easy way out. He thought war would be all glory." Eventually, Thetis was able to talk Achilles into taking part in her plan to keep him safe. After disguising him, Thetis then sent him as a maiden to the king of Scyros, Lycomedes. Now Lycomedes had a beautiful daughter who Achilles immediately had eyes for. Thetis admitted that this may have been the only way Achilles continued to agree to keep his disguise as a girl. Thetis describes Achilles as "a very awkward looking girl" and said that it was very funny to watch him around Lycomedes' daughter. Thetis' lie about her son went on for a while, but, like most disguises, it was eventually discovered. Odysseus had a thought that this girl might be Achilles, and decided to blast a trumpet to find out. He reasoned that girls and boys react differently to the sound of a trumpet, and sure enough, he was able to bring to light Thetis' and Achilles' secret. So we now know of one more of Achilles' adventure, although this one may be more lighthearted and humorous.
Achilles Among the Daughters of Lycomedes
Erasmus Quelinus (1607-1678)
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Achilles.html
Bibliography
"Achilles: Life and Deeds."
By Carlos Parada
Weblink: http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Achilles.htm
Apollodorus,
Library
and Epitome
Originally published in Sir James George Frazer: Apollodorus, The Library.
Weblink: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Aabo%3Atlg%2C0548%2C001&query=3%3A13%3A8
Originally published in Sir James George Frazer: Apollodorus, The Library.
Weblink: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Aabo%3Atlg%2C0548%2C001&query=3%3A13%3A8
Author's
Notes
This story is one of my favorites of all the stories I have considered
using. I had fun changing it and writing it as a newspaper
article. I added a lot of details without really changing the
story. I tried to put several quotes in that were directly from
Thetis. I also really liked the image I found. I thought it
really put a picture in the reader's head of what Achilles looked like
and how he was disguised. I thought this story was a good one to
include because it is something that I think very few probably know
about! I had never read about this part of Achilles' life, and I
found it very interesting and humorous. So I thought everyone
else might enjoy reading this article. I did expand a lot because
this was a short story and wasn't given much thought in most of the
sources I found. I hope you all enjoy it also!
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