Not many can gain the favor of a God, but the sea-nymph Thetis helped the King of the Gods, Zeus, in a way that gained such favor from him. For someone as powerful as Zeus, what did Thetis do that would give her enough power to ask Zeus for a favor?
When a coup was started by the other Gods who were led by Hera, Poseidon, and Athena, Zeus was tied to the bed by unbreakable chains so that he would submit to their requests. Fortunately, Thetis helped Zeus by summoning Briareus to help free the God from his shackles. Hence, making Zeus owe Thetis a favor.
To gain the favor of a God is already a fortune, but to gain a favor from someone as powerful as Zeus is nearly unheard of considering that the God didn’t need much help. What did Thetis do to gain Zeus’ favor and how was this favor repaid?
How Did Thetis Gain A Favor from Zeus?
Coups don’t happen often in Mount Olympus as everyone legitimately fears the King of the Gods, Zeus, for his might. Zeus alone can win the entire Greek pantheon when it comes to strength but that doesn’t mean coups don’t happen at all.
Zeus was a powerful God but this made him very arrogant as he constantly bullied the other Gods with his superior authority and capabilities. This gains the irk of many Gods including the likes of his brother, Poseidon, his wife, Hera, and his daughter, Athena.
One day, Hera thought of recruiting the power of the other Gods as she alone couldn’t overthrow her husband. She was wary of his adultery and wanted to teach her husband a lesson in humility.
She gained the favor of Poseidon, who hated his brother for winning over the throne on Mount Olympus, and Athena, who hated her father for swallowing her mother whole. All three Gods then managed to gather other Olympians who wanted to end Zeus’ arrogance. Their plan was a simple but effective one.
They were to chain the God in his sleep while under the influence of Hypnos, the God of Sleep, to ensure that he wouldn’t be startled. The King of the Gods would be tied with an unbreakable chain and distanced from his weapons for good measure.
The plan was carried out and Zeus woke up perplexed by his position. The Gods explained their current situation and the prideful Zeus did nothing but laugh at their attempt. The God soon realized that he couldn’t break out of his imprisonment and threatened them with destruction.
Fortunately for Zeus, the sea-nymph Thetis overheard the plan way before and recruited the help of Briareus to help free the God from his chains. The Gods obliged when they saw him.
What Happened After Zeus’ Release?
As promised, Zeus would punish most of the Gods that led the coup instead of the ones that were nothing but complaints. The three main gods that would receive punishment were Hera, Poseidon, and Apollo.
Poseidon and Apollo were banished from Mount Olympus for a year and had to serve the mortal, King Laomedon of Troy, for living wages. They were also responsible for building the impenetrable wall that would prevent Troy from being taken for 10 years during the war.
Hera had it the worst as she tasted the full wrath of Zeus for leading the coup. Zeus would use the same chain she had to tie her from the sky. An anvil was hung from her feet to weigh her down. She was in horrible pain and was only freed after the Olympians and herself begged Zeus to free her, vowing to never again rebel against him.
Athena, being the favored child of Zeus, was let off without punishment, to the dismay of the other Gods. Thetis would then approach Zeus and tell him of her involvement in his release. The God would then grant Thetis a favor which she would later use for the betterment of her son Achilles, the War hero of Greece during the Trojan War.
How Did Zeus Repay His Favor to Thetis?
During the Trojan War, a plague struck the Achaeans, the Greeks, which was brought on by the God of the Sun, Apollo. He demanded the return of Chryseis, a daughter of one of his priests, who was the war prize of Agamemnon, the leader of the Greek army during the war.
Dismayed and wanting to keep his pride to his troops, Agamemnon returned Chryseis to her father but took Briseis, the war prize of Achilles, as his own. This act greatly disgraced the war hero and he immediately withdrew all his troops in retaliation.
Achilles was angry towards this disrespect and prayed to his mother for retribution by persuading Zeus to make the Achaeans lose the battle so that Agamemnon would see the error in his ways and regret his disrespect towards the war hero.
Thetis would go to Zeus and remind him of the favor that the God owes her. Zeus would have no choice but to oblige as he, as the King of the Gods, must honor his part of the promise no matter the request. Zeus would then send a dream to Agamemnon with a deceived sense of victory.
He was told by the King of the Gods that he would win the war against the Trojans if he led a full-scale attack against the walls of Troy. To anyone else, this plan was as foolish as ever but the King obliged as he thought the Gods were on his side.
Before that, he wanted to test his soldiers by asking them to pack up and go home, expecting them to refuse. Unfortunately, his men had obliged his request and started a retreat from the battle. Luckily, a part of the army stayed and fought after being convinced by Odysseus. Odysseus and his army managed to win the war against Troy with the help of the Goddesses, Hera and Athena.
Conclusion
It wasn’t easy to gain the favor from the King of the Gods, but the sea-nymph Thetis managed to do so by helping him out during his time of need. A coup was staged within Olympus which would have led to the downfall of Zeus.
Though Hera, Athena, and Poseidon would successfully enact a plan to restrain Zeus, Thetis managed to catch wind of the plan and recruited the help of Briareos to save the King of the Gods from his restraints. The Gods who revolted against Zeus were punished, except Athena, and Thetis gained a favor from Zeus which would eventually be used to help her son, Achilles, to regain his honor as a war hero.
Zeus repaid his favor by sending a dream to Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks during the Trojan War, promising him a false victory. This would result in the full retreat of the Greek army though the hero, Odysseus, managed to convince a part of the army to stay and fight.
