Essay - Achilles and Thetis Coming of Age: Thetis and Achilles on...

Achilles and Thetis

Coming of Age: Thetis and Achilles

On the surface, the conflict between Thetis, the great Achilles' mother, and her warrior-son, seems typical of many *****-son *****s. Thesis is a protective and worried mother, ***** desires her son's security. Achilles is a young m*****n who is reckless and wants a life of glory. But the difference between their conflict ***** the conflict ***** ordin*****ry sons and mothers is that Thet***** is a goddess, and knows without a doubt the future destiny of her son: ***** can live a long ********** quiet life, as a demi-god, or ***** short and glorious life as a warrior. Like many young men, with no fear of death, Achilles chooses the latter.

***** difficulty, ********** accepts her son's choice, even though she believes it is m*****guided. Perhaps Thetis' *****est act ***** love comes in Book 17 of ***** "Iliad," after Patroclus is killed by Hector, and Achilles vows revenge, Thetis comforts ***** son and commissions new armor from him by the smith of ***** gods, Hephaestus, because ***** h***** taken *****' own ***** from the corpse ***** the dead ***** as a spoil of war. Thetis' procurement of new armor, in a more simplistic tale, might be read ***** a mother letting go of a ***** from her **********. ***** in the wisdom of the "*****," an epic that does ********** glorify death *****d *****, Thetis' emotional sacrifice is full of sadness for both son and mother ***** both of them know that Achilles' death will follow the ***** of Hector.

As a mortal, and also simply as a young m*****n, Achilles does not know the full horror of death. His ability to fully apprehend the knowledge his ***** already possesses as age-old immortal ***** afterwards, as Book 11 of the "Odyssey," when Achilles' old compatriot from ***** war comes seek*****g knowledge in the l***** of the dead. Achi*****les, even ***** he lives in ***** Elysian Fields where all of the heroes are celebrated, mourns his current state. He is greeted by Odysseus as happy in life and ***** in death, but Achilles responds, finally intuiting his mo*****r's *****, ***** it is *****tter to be even a sl*****ve and alive, than to be the king of the