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Chiron
Peleus is the king of Phthia, Achilles’s father, and sea-nymph Thetis’s husband. The gods forced Thetis to marry and have sex with Peleus, which was meant as a reward for Peleus’s piety. Peleus is known to be clever, handsome, and a benevolent ruler; he fosters many young boys on Phthia, including an exiled Patroclus. But Patroclus eventually realizes Peleus may have an ulterior motive for doing so: the young boys are trained as soldiers and will eventually prove to be a uniquely loyal army. Still, Peleus is kind to Patroclus and seemingly deferential to Thetis, who loathes him; he has no control over her choices, including her choice to send Achilles to Scyros instead of allowing him to fight in Troy. After Patroclus becomes Achilles’s companion—something Peleus personally allowed—he often tells the two boys stories of heroes he fought with, all of which demonstrate his modesty. After Achilles is sent to Scyros, Patroclus coerces Peleus into divulging Achilles’s location, and he notices that Peleus seems worn out and has little control over his kingdom. Achilles, meanwhile, doesn’t tell his father that he’s fated to die in the Trojan War; later, when Thetis tells Achilles that the gods predict the death of the “best of the Myrmidons” (Achilles’s kinsmen), Achilles and Patroclus believe the prophecy refers to Peleus, though it really refers to Patroclus. Patroclus once notes that Peleus is what Achilles will be like when he’s old, before remembering that Achilles will never grow old. Peleus’s long life therefore represents an impossibility for Achilles, who is destined to die young.
Peleus Quotes in The Song of Achilles
The The Song of Achilles quotes below are all either spoken by Peleus or refer to Peleus. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 3
Quotes
Its king, Peleus, was one of those men whom the gods love: not divine himself, but clever, brave, handsome, and excelling all his peers in piety. As a reward, our divinities offered him a sea-nymph for a wife. It was considered their highest honor. […] Divine blood purified our muddy race, bred heroes from dust and clay. And this goddess brought a greater promise still: the Fates had foretold that her son would far surpass his father. Peleus' line would be assured. But, like all the gods' gifts, there was an edge to it; the goddess herself was unwilling.
Everyone, even I, had heard the story of Thetis' ravishment. The gods had led Peleus to the secret place where she liked to sit upon the beach. They had warned him not to waste time with overtures—she would never consent to marriage with a mortal.
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Chapter 5
Quotes
His movements were so precise I could almost see the men he fought, ten, twenty of them, advancing on all sides. He leapt, scything his spear, even as his other hand snatched the sword from its sheath. He swung out with them both, moving like liquid, like a fish through the waves.
He stopped, suddenly. I could hear his breaths, only a little louder than usual, in the still afternoon air.
"Who trained you?" I asked. I did not know what else to say.
"My father, a little."
A little. I felt almost frightened. "No one else?"
"No."
I stepped forward. "Fight me."
He made a sound almost like a laugh. “No. Of course not."
"Fight me." I felt in a trance. He had been trained, a little, by his father. The rest was—what? Divine? This was more of the gods than I had ever seen in my life.
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Chapter 6
Quotes
Her desire was ambitious. It was a difficult thing, to make even a half-god immortal. True, it had happened before, to Heracles and Orpheus and Orion. They sat in the sky now, presiding as constellations, feasting with the gods on ambrosia. But these men had been the sons of Zeus, their sinews strong with the purest ichor that flowed. Thetis was a lesser of the lesser gods, a sea-nymph only. In our stories these divinities had to work by wheedling and flattery, by favors won from stronger gods. They could not do much themselves. Except live, forever.
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Peleus Quotes in The Song of Achilles
The The Song of Achilles quotes below are all either spoken by Peleus or refer to Peleus. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 3
Quotes
Its king, Peleus, was one of those men whom the gods love: not divine himself, but clever, brave, handsome, and excelling all his peers in piety. As a reward, our divinities offered him a sea-nymph for a wife. It was considered their highest honor. […] Divine blood purified our muddy race, bred heroes from dust and clay. And this goddess brought a greater promise still: the Fates had foretold that her son would far surpass his father. Peleus' line would be assured. But, like all the gods' gifts, there was an edge to it; the goddess herself was unwilling.
Everyone, even I, had heard the story of Thetis' ravishment. The gods had led Peleus to the secret place where she liked to sit upon the beach. They had warned him not to waste time with overtures—she would never consent to marriage with a mortal.
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Chapter 5
Quotes
His movements were so precise I could almost see the men he fought, ten, twenty of them, advancing on all sides. He leapt, scything his spear, even as his other hand snatched the sword from its sheath. He swung out with them both, moving like liquid, like a fish through the waves.
He stopped, suddenly. I could hear his breaths, only a little louder than usual, in the still afternoon air.
"Who trained you?" I asked. I did not know what else to say.
"My father, a little."
A little. I felt almost frightened. "No one else?"
"No."
I stepped forward. "Fight me."
He made a sound almost like a laugh. “No. Of course not."
"Fight me." I felt in a trance. He had been trained, a little, by his father. The rest was—what? Divine? This was more of the gods than I had ever seen in my life.
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Chapter 6
Quotes
Her desire was ambitious. It was a difficult thing, to make even a half-god immortal. True, it had happened before, to Heracles and Orpheus and Orion. They sat in the sky now, presiding as constellations, feasting with the gods on ambrosia. But these men had been the sons of Zeus, their sinews strong with the purest ichor that flowed. Thetis was a lesser of the lesser gods, a sea-nymph only. In our stories these divinities had to work by wheedling and flattery, by favors won from stronger gods. They could not do much themselves. Except live, forever.
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