Terracotta stamnos (jar)
Attributed to the Altamura Painter
Obverse, Peleus wrestles with the sea nymph Thetis while her two companions flee
Reverse, two sea nymphs approach their father, Nereus
Both Zeus and Poseidon desired Thetis; but, after they learned that she was fated to bear a son who would be stronger than his father, she was married off to Peleus, a mortal. As Peleus tried to catch her, she evaded him by changing into many different forms. Here, however, he has finally secured his bride, the future mother of the great hero Achilles.
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