A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

118 PELEUS. PELIAS.
chargedPeleus beforeherhbtsband with having made kingdom of Phthia (Eurip. Troad. 1127, with the
improper proposals to her, aud Acastus, unwilling Schol.), or that the flocks which had been given
to stain his hand with the blood of the man whom by Peleus to Acastus, as an indemnification for
he had hospitably received, and whom he had puri- the murder of his son Actor, were destroyed by a
fled from his guilt, took him to mount Pelion, wolf, who was forthwith changed by Thetis into a
where they hunted wild beasts; and when Peleus, stone (Tzetz. ad Lye. 175, 901), or that Peleus,
overcome with fatigue, had fallen asleep, Acastus being abandoned during the chase by Acastus, was
left him alone, and concealed his sword, that he kindly received by Cheiron, and having acquired
might be destroyed by the wild beasts. When the possession of flocks, he took them to Irus,
Peleus awoke and sought his sword, he was at- as an atonement for his son Eurytion, whom he
tacked by Centaurs, but was saved by Cheiron, who had killed. But Irus refusing to accept them,
also restored to him his sword. (Apollod. iii. 13. Peleus allowed them to wander about without
g 3.) To this account there are some modifications, superintending shepherds, until they were attacked
for instead of Astydameia, Pindar (Nem. iv. 92, by a wolf. (Anton. Lib. 38.) This wolf was sent
v. 46; comp. Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. i. 224, ad by Psamathe, to avenge the murder of Phocus, but
Aristoph. Nub. 1059; Horat. Carm. iii. 7. 18) she herself afterwards, on the request of Thetis,
mentions Hippolyte, the daughter of Cretheus, changed him into stone. (Tzetz. ad Lye. 175; Ov.
and others relate that after Acastus had concealed MIet. xi. 351, &c., 400.) Phoenix, who had been
the sword of Peleus, Cheiron or Hermes brought blinded by his own father Amyntor, and who
him another one, which had been made by He- afterwards became the companion of Achilles, had
phaestus. (Apollon. Rhod. i. 204; Aristoph. his sight restored to him by Cheiron, at the request
I.ueb. 1055.) of Peleus, who also made him king of the Dolopes.
While on mount Pelion, Peleus married the (Lycoph. 421; Hem. If. ix. 438, 480.) Peleus
Nereid Thetis, by whom he became the father of also received in his dominion Epeigeus, son of
Achilles, though some regarded this Thetis as Agacles, and Patroclus who had fled from his home,
different from the marine divinity, and called her and some even relate that Patroclus was the son of
a daughter of Cheiron. (Apollon. Rhod. i. 558; Polymele, a daughter of Peleus. (Hom. II. xvi.
comp. THETIS.) The gods took part in the mar- 571, xxiii. 89; Apollod. iii. 13. ~ 8.) Peleus, who
riage solemnity, and Cheiron presented Peleus had once joined Heracles in his expedition against
with a lance (Hom. II. xvi. 143, xxiv. 61, &c., Troy (Pind. 01. viii. 60), was too old to accompany
which, however, according to Pindar, Nemn. iii. his son Achilles against that city: he remained at
56, Peleus made for himself), Poseidon with the home and survived the death of his son. (Hom. II.
immortal horses, Balius and Xanthus, and the xviii., 434, Od. xi. 495.) [L. S.]
other gods with arms. (Apollod. iii. 13. ~ 5; PELIADES (IIexla8es), the daughters of Pelias.
Hem. II. xvi. 381, xvii. 443, xviii. 84.) According (Eurip. Med. 9; Hygin. Feb. 24.; comp. PEto some, his immortal wife soon left him, though LIAS.) [L. S.]
Homer knows nothing of it (Ji. xviii. 86, 332, PE'LIAS (IeMLas). 1. A son of Poseidon (or
441), for once, as he observed her at night while Cretheus, Hygin. Feb. 12; Schol. ad Theocrit. iii.
she held the infant Achilles over a fire or in a 45) and Tyro. The latter, a daughter of Salmocauldron of boiling water, in order to destroy in neus, was in love, in her youth, with the river-god
him those parts which he had inherited from his Enipeus, and Poseidon assuming the appearance
father, and which were mortal, Peleus was terror- of Enipeus, visited her, and became by her the
struck, and screamed so loud that she was pre- father of Pelias and Neleus. Afterwards she was
vented from completing her work. She therefore married to Cretheus, her father's brother; she became
quitted his house, and returned to her sisters, the by him the mother of Aeson, Pheres, and AmyNereides; but Peleus, or, according to others, thaon. (Hom. Od. xi. 234, &c.; Apoilod. i. 9.
Thetis herself (Orph. Argon. 385), took the boy ~ 8; Hygin. Fab. 157.) Pelias and Neleus were
Achilles toCheiron, whobroughthimup. (Apollod. exposed by their mother, and one of them was
iii. 13. ~ 6.) Homer mentions only Achilles as struck by a mare which passed by, so that his face
the son of Peleus and Thetis, but later writers became black, and a shepherd who found the child
state that she had already destroyed by fire six called him Pelias (from 7reXLco, Eustath. ad 11am.
children, of whom she was the mother by Peleus, p. 1682); and the other child which was suckled
and that as she attempted the same with Achilles, by a she-dog, was called Neleus, and both were
her seventh child, she was prevented by Peleus. brought up by the shepherd. When they had
(Apollon. Rhod. iv. 816; Lycoph. 178; Ptolem. grown up to manhood, they discovered who their
Hephaest. 6.) After this Peleus, who is also men- mother was, and Pelias killed Sidero, the wife of
tioned among the Argonauts, in conjunction with Salmoneus and step-mother of Tyro, at the altar of
Jason and the Dioscuri, besieged Acastus at Iol- Hera, because she had ill used her step-daughter
cus, slew Astydameia, and over the scattered limbs Tyro. After the death of Cretheus, Pelias did not
of her body led his warriors into the city. (Apollod. allow his step-brother Aeson to undertake the
iii. 13. ~ 7; comp. i. 9. ~ 16; Apollon. Rhod. i. government of the kingdom, and after expelling
91; Orph. Argon. 130; Hygin. Fab. 14.) Some even his own brother Neleus he ruled at Iolcus
state that from mount Pelion Peleus, without an (Schol. ad Lurip. Alcest. 255; comp. Paus. iv. 2.
army, immediately returned to Iolcus, slew Acas- ~ 3), whereas according to others, he did not reign
tus and his wife (Schol. ad Apollon. RMod. i. 224; at Iolcus till after'Aeson's death, and even then
Pind. Nerm. iii. 59), and annexed Iolcus to Hae- only as the guardian of Jason, the son of Aeson.
monia. (Thessaly; Pind. Neme. iv. 91.) Respect- (Schol. ad Hom. Od. xii. 70.) It is probably in
ing the feud between Peleus and Acastus, the allusion to his conduct towards his own brothers
legends present great differences. Thus we are that Hesiod (Theog. 996) calls him mvplarTr'S. He
told, for example, that Acastus, or his sons, Ar- married, according to some (Hygin. Fab. 14),
chander and Architeles, expelled Peleus from his Anaxibia, the daughter of Bias, and according to