Famed for his stubborness he was led to Charon's ferry on numerous occasions, refusing to board on each and returning to the land of the living. His attempts to cheat death soon enraged Hades, god of the underworld, who saw them as a presumption to godhood by Thales and so cursed him to climb all the world's mountains for eternity, but never to know the location of Mount Olympus. Thales fought alo
ngside Odysseus during the Trojan War, sacrificing himself to save Odysseus who would then go on to break the defence of the city through his creation of the Trojan Horse. This act earned Thales the favour of Odysseus’ protectoress, the goddess Athena. A thousand years later, Thales sought her aid and fought with the army of her patron city and its allies, the Athenian League, in the liberation of his homeland of Rhodes from the Persians in 478 BC. Thales was then said to be present at many significant events in the history of Rhodes, including the unification of the island and foundation of the city of Rhodes in 408 BC, and the defense of the city from the siege of Demetrius in 305 BC. Thales’ final documented appearance in the classical texts occurs soon after the breaking of the siege a year later, at the construction of a statue erected by the Rhodians in honour of their god, Helios - the Colossus of Rhodes.
