Thalis is a literary character created by Robert E. Howard in his story ‘The Slithering Shadow’, published by Weird Tales during September 1933.
Biographical sketch[]
Thalis is a Stygian, the daughter of a king. She was taken to Xuthal as a young girl, having been abducted by a rebel prince. This prince led a force of men into the wilderness, but all but one of his soldiers perished in the desert. That last soldier put Thalis onto a camel, which wandered into Xuthal, Thalis having been driven almost mad by hunger in the meantime. Due to her beauty, the lustful men of Xuthal revived her, and she grew to enjoy their degenerate lifestyle.
Physical Appearance[]
Thalis is described as:
- “…tall, lithe, shaped like a goddess; clad in a narrow girdle crusted with jewels. A burnished mass of night-black hair set off the whiteness of her ivory body. Her dark eyes, shaded by long dusky lashes, were deep with sensuous mystery… her facial outline was Stygian, but she was not dusky-skinned like [most] Stygian women…her limbs were like alabaster.”
Traits and skills[]
Thalis is presented as a temptress with an evil streak, not averse to killing off those she perceives as rivals. She is strong-willed and hard-bitten, as seen in her sadistic treatment of Natala.