< Peleus, son of Aeacus >

1 Origin

Peleus was born in Aegina in 1280 BC.

Peleus' father was Aeacus, son of Actor.

Peleus' mother was Endeis, daughter of Scyrius.

2 Family

2.1 Wife Polydora

Peleus took Polydora, daughter of Perieres, who lived near the Spercheius River, to Aegina as his wife.

Peleus and Polydora had a daughter, Philomela (or Polymele).

Perieres is presumed to be the son of Actor.

Peleus and Polydora were therefore cousins.

2.2 Wife Antigone

Peleus emigrated from Aegina to Eurytion, son of Actor, who lived in Phthia.

Peleus married Antigone, daughter of Eurytion, and had a daughter, Polydora.

Eurytion was the brother of Aeacus, the father of Peleus, and Peleus and Antigone were cousins.

2.3 Wife Thetis

Peleus rescued Thetis from Iolcus, which had been destroyed by the Minyans, and married her.

Thetis was presumably the wife of the son of Acastus, the son of Pelias, who lived in Iolcus.

Peleus and Thetis had a son, Achilles.

3 Others

3.1 Emigration to Phthia

In 1256 BC, Peleus emigrated from Aegina to Eurytion in Phthia.

Phthia was the birthplace of Peleus' father Aeacus, and Eurytion was Peleus' uncle.

Peleus' brothers, Phocus and Telamon, also left Aegina.

The reason for the migration of Aeacus' sons is presumed to be as follows:

In 1264 BC, in the war between Minos and Aegeus, king of Athens, the inhabitants of Aegina and Salamis sided with Aegeus.

Aeacus' wives in Aegina were Aegeus' sisters.

Cychreus of Salamis was Aegeus' brother.

The Cretans migrated to Aegina, and the Aeacus family lived with them.

After Aeacus' death, his sons left Aegina and migrated to various places.

3.2 Expulsion of the Minyans

In 1236 BC, Peleus expelled the Minyans, who had rebelled and destroyed Iolcus.

As a result, it is believed that Phthia took over trade with the Black Sea coast, which was the source of Iolcus' wealth.

3.3 Exile of Phoenix

In 1230 BC, Peleus entrusted Dolopia to Phoenix, the son of Amyntor. Phoenix had fled from Ormenium to Peleus after fighting with his father.

Peleus was the son of Aeacus, the son of Actor, the brother of Eupolemeia, the mother of Ormenus, the father of Amyntor, the father of Phoenix.

In other words, Peleus was a second cousin of Amyntor, the father of Phoenix.

3.4 Death of Peleus

In 1227 BC, Heracles fought against the Lapiths who lived in Gyrton, Itonus, and Ormenium.

These towns were adjacent to Peleus' territory, but Peleus does not appear in the battle between Heracles and the Lapiths. Ceyx of Trachis, who was in Heracles' army, was the half-brother of Peleus' father Aeacus and Peleus' uncle. If Peleus had lived, he would have been in Heracles' army.

It is likely that Peleus was dead by this time.