The Wedding of Peleus and Thetis
The Wedding of Peleus and Thetis
The Wedding of Peleus and Thetis
By Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem
The Wedding of Peleus and Thetis
The Wedding of Peleus and Thetis
The Wedding of Peleus and Thetis
A classical story of the gods: the wedding of the sea goddess Thetis and the human Peleus, to which all the gods were invited except Eris, the goddess of discord. In revenge she threw (above left) a golden apple (of discord) ‘for the most beautiful’ of the goddesses present. The shepherd Paris was asked to choose among them (above right): Hera, who promised him wealth, Athena, who offered wisdom, and Aphrodite, who promised him the most beautiful woman in the world: Helen of Troy. Paris’ choice of Aphrodite was the indirect cause of the Trojan War. The painting was intended as a warning against discord: the city commissioned it for the stadholders’ guest-residence in Haarlem, the Prinsenhof.