Human-Animal Transformation

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Painting on pottery representing Peleus trying to hold the goddess Thetis (V century B.C.), now in the Preussischer Kulturbesitz (Staatliche Museen), Berlin, Germany. Thetis, a marine deity, had been destined, by Zeus’s will, to marry a mortal. The chosen candidate was Peleus, who had to face the refusal of the goddess, transforming herself into the shape of various animals. Notwithstanding these difficulties, Peleus was able to hold her, during her multiple metamorphoses, until she regained her human form and consented to marriage. All the gods participated to the sumptuous wedding, but one goddess, Eris the goddess of discord, who was not invited. She caused a competition among the goddesses to decide who was the fairest one, thus determining the background for the subsequent events leading to the Trojan war. The main character in the epic conflict between Greeks and Trojans was Achilles, son of Peleus and Thetis.
In this case too, it can be emphasized the particular link between the water divinities and the capacity to change shape: Nereus, for example, who was frequently called the “Old Man of the Sea”, could manifest himself under several aspects, while Proteus as well, another marine divinity, was able to assume the shape of every animal. This capacity of transformation has to be put in relationship with the fluid nature, shapeless and mobile, of the aquatic element, which is often regarded as the original matter of the cosmos. Moreover, the fact that water is an indispensable ingredient for every form of life renders it the most apt to represent the fertilizing and regenerating power for excellence (Rudhardt 1981).


[Source: http://www.lordkat.com/blog/3356/079-quest-golden-fleece-assembling-crew-and-construction-argo.html]