Chapter XIV.—Peleus and Thetis, Prometheus, Achilles, and Polyxena.

“And the marriage banquet, at which Zeus held the feast on the occasion of the marriage of the Nereid Thetis and the beautiful Peleus, has in it this allegory,^10721072    [Comp. chap. 2, and Recognitions, 40, 41.—R.]—that you may know, Appion, that you are not the only one from whom I have heard this sort of thing.  The banquet, then, is the world, and the twelve are these heavenly props of the Fates,^10731073    The Latin takes “moira” in the sense of “district,” and translates, “these props of the districts of the sky.” called the Zodiac.  Prometheus is foresight (prometheia), by which all things arose; Peleus is clay (pelos), namely, that which was collected^10741074    This is Wieseler’s conjecture for reading of the mss., “contrived.” from the earth and mixed with Nereis, or water, to produce man; and from the mixing of the two, i.e., water and earth, the first offspring was not begotten, but fashioned complete, and called Achilles, because he never put his lips (cheile) to the breast.^10751075    This is Schwegler’s restoration of the passage.  Davisius proposes, “He is in the bloom of life, at which time if any one desires,” etc.  Still in the bloom of life, he is slain by an arrow while desiring to have Polyxena, that is, something other than the truth, and foreign (xene) to it, death stealing on him through a wound in his foot.