Mysia, Kyzikos EL Stater. Circa 450-330 BC. Thetis, holding wreath and wearing shield, riding dolphin to left; below, tunny to left below / Quadripartite incuse square. Von Fritze I 159; Greenwell 48; Boston MFA 1501 = Warren 1467; SNG BnF 307; BMC 69; Gulbenkian 634; Jameson -; Weber 4994. 16.10g, 16mm.

Near Extremely Fine. Very Rare.

Acquired from Harmers of London.

The goddess Thetis was the mother of Achilles and wife to Peleus, king of Phthia. She had been forced into marriage with Peleus by the gods after a prophecy foretold that she would bear a son who would be mightier than his father, something greatly feared by Zeus, who had overthrown his own father to rule the pantheon. Afraid of the strength of a potential divine child, the gods chose the mortal Peleus to be Thetis’ husband. All the gods attended their wedding, except for Eris (goddess of discord), who, furious at not being invited, threw an apple into the gathering upon which it was written ‘To the Fairest’, thus setting into motion the events that led to the Trojan War. The aforementioned apple played a central part in the judgement of Paris, the outcome of which in turn resulted in his abduction of Helen and the sailing of the Greeks to Troy in retribution.

Thetis was cursed to know that her son would die young due to another prophecy that foretold his death at Troy. In a desperate attempt to spare him from his fate, she hid Achilles on the island of Skyros, disguised as a girl amongst the daughters of king Lycomedes, but he was later discovered there by Odysseus and forced to join the Greek campaign at Troy. During the war Thetis instructed Hephaestos, the blacksmith to the gods, to forge new armour for her son, after his had been lost to the Trojans when Patroclus was killed wearing it. The shield Hephaestos created was a masterpiece of weaponry and is carried by Thetis on this coin. It was a bittersweet gift since, despite this divine armour, Achilles was killed near the end of the Trojan War as had been prophesied.