[Peleus Forces Himself Upon Thetis]

Title

[Peleus Forces Himself Upon Thetis]

Period

1550-1600;

Geographic

Ancient Greece

Haemonia

Thessaly

Description

This engraving illustrates Peleus, Jupiter’s grandson, physically forcing himself upon the sea-goddess named Thetis. Thetis is a shapeshifter and changed forms every time Peleus attempted his advances on her. Peleus eventually sought the help of the sea-god Proteus as she continuously rejected him. Proteus is illustrated in the water in the background of the engraving, with Peleus standing on land speaking to him. Proteus suggested to wait until Thetis falls asleep, and then tie her up and hold her tightly until her shape-shifting returns her to her normal form. This is illustrated in the foreground of the engraving, as Thetis is depicted with her head in human form and her body in the shape of an animal with a chain wrapped around her body. Peleus is illustrated with his arm around her. Thetis eventually gives birth to the mighty Achilles.

Image Creator

Virgil Solis (Engraver)

Type

Text

Woodcut Engraving

Identifier

mta:11763

Language

spa

Source Name

Las Transformaciones de Ovidio en lengua Española, repartidas en quinze libros, con las Allegorias al fin dellos, y sus figuras, para prouecho de los Artifices [The Transformations of Ovid in the Spanish language, distributed in fifteen books, with the allegories at the end of them and their figures, for the benefit of the creators]

Parent Collection

Las Transformaciones de Ovidio en lengua Española. Woodcut engravings by Virgil Solis (1595)

Image

mta_11763_OBJ.jpg

Collection

Ovid's Metamorphoses

Subject

Sea-Goddesses

Transformation

Greek Mythology

Roman Mythology

Gods

Sea-Gods