The ancient Greeks liked to tell the story of Peleus, a mortal who married Thetis, an immortal nymph.
He first saw her when she was riding on a harnessed dolphin, coming to a cave on the beach to take an afternoon nap.
Peleus was outclassed. But he’d taken counsel from the unlikeliest of sources, Cheiron, king of the centaurs. Cheiron told Peleus that whatever he did, he must not let go.
It’s a boy meets girl story. Peleus grabbed the girl and was scorched, drowned, mauled and snake-bit as Thetis turned into fire, water, a lion and then a serpent.
Peleus had no idea what he was dealing with. The only thing he did right was that he didn’t let go.
Thetis eventually decided he’d do. The reasons for that decision might not be clear to the male psyche.
The myths of the ancient Greeks might be a kind of litmus test. I’m not sure what it says about you if you read and wonder about them. But I know that I do. I also know that many others are not amused.
• Robert Graves’s account is in The Greek Myths: 1; Penguin Books, 1975.
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