Priam

Mythological king of Troy

"Priamus" redirects here. For other uses, see Priam (disambiguation).

Priam, Last King of Troy

King of Troy

Scene from the Trojan War: Cassandra clings to the Palladium, the wooden cult image of Athene, while Ajax the Lesser is about to drag her away in front of her father Priam (standing on the left).

Predecessor| Laomedon
Genealogy
Parents| Laomedon and Placia or Strymo (or Rhoeo) or Zeuxippe or Leucippe
Siblings| Tithonus, Lampus, Hicetaon, Clytius, Hesione, Cilla, Astyoche, Proclia, Aethilla, Medesicaste and Clytodora
Consort| (1) Hecuba
(2) Castianeira
(3) Laothoe
(4) Alexirrhoe or Arisbe
(5) unknown”
Offspring| (1) Hector, Paris, Cassandra, Helenus, Deiphobus, Troilus, Laodice, Polyxena, Creusa, Polydorus, Polites, Antiphus, Pammon, Hipponous and Iliona
(2) Gorgythion
(3) Lycaon
(4) Aesacus
(5) others

In Greek mythology, Priam (/ˈpraɪ.əm/; Greek: Πρίαμος, pronounced [prí.amos]) was the legendary and last[1] king of Troy during the Trojan War. He was the son of Laomedon. His many children included notable characters such as Hector, Paris, and Cassandra.

## Etymology

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Most scholars take the etymology of the name from the Luwian 𒉺𒊑𒀀𒈬𒀀 (Pa-ri-a-mu-a-, or “exceptionally courageous”),[2][3] attested as the name of a man from Zazlippa, in Kizzuwatna. A similar form is attested transcribed in Greek as Paramoas near Kaisareia in Cappadocia.[4] Some have identified Priam with the historical figure of Piyama-Radu, a warlord active in the vicinity of Wilusa.[5] However, this identification is disputed, and is highly unlikely, given that he was known in Hittite records as being an ally of the Ahhiyawa against Wilusa.

A popular folk etymology derives the name from the Greek verb priamai, meaning 'to buy'. This in turn gives rise to a story of Priam's sister Hesione ransoming his freedom with a veil, from Heracles, thereby 'buying' him.[6] This story is attested in the Bibliotheca and in other influential mythographical works dated to the first and second centuries AD.[7] These sources are, however, dated much later than the first attestations of the name Priamos or Pariya-muwas, and thus are more problematic.[citation needed]

## Description

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Priam was described by the chronicler Malalas in his account of the Chronography as " tall for the age, big, good, ruddy-colored, light-eyed, long-nosed, eyebrows meeting, keen-eyed, gray, restrained".[8] Meanwhile, in the account of Dares the Phrygian, he was illustrated as ". . .had a handsome face and a pleasant voice. He was large and swarthy".[9]

## Marriage and children

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See List of children of Priam

Priam is said to have fathered fifty sons and many daughters, with his chief wife Hecuba, daughter of the Phrygian king Dymas and many other wives and concubines. These children include famous mythological figures such as Hector, Paris, Helenus, Cassandra, Deiphobus, Troilus, Laodice, Polyxena, Creusa, and Polydorus. Priam was killed when he was around 80 years old by Achilles' son Neoptolemus.

Priam killed by Neoptolemus, detail of an Attic black-figure amphora, ca. 520–510 BC

## Life

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In Book 3 of Homer's Iliad, Priam tells Helen of Troy that he once helped King Mygdon of Phrygia in a battle against the Amazons.

When Hector is killed by Achilles, the Greek warrior treats the body with disrespect and refuses to give it back. According to Homer in book XXIV of the Iliad, Zeus sends the god Hermes to escort King Priam, Hector's father and the ruler of Troy, into the Greek camp. Priam tearfully pleads with Achilles to take pity on a father bereft of his son and return Hector's body. He invokes the memory of Achilles' own father, Peleus. Priam begs Achilles to pity him, saying "I have endured what no one on earth has ever done before - I put my lips to the hands of the man who killed my son."[10] Deeply moved, Achilles relents and returns Hector's corpse to the Trojans. Both sides agree to a temporary truce, and Achilles gives Priam leave to hold a proper funeral for Hector, complete with funeral games. He promises that no Greek will engage in combat for at least nine days, but on the twelfth day of peace, the Greeks would all stand once more and the mighty war would continue.

Priam is killed during the Sack of Troy by Achilles' son Neoptolemus (also known as Pyrrhus). His death is graphically related in Book II of Virgil's Aeneid. In Virgil's description, Neoptolemus first kills Priam's son Polites in front of his father as he seeks sanctuary on the altar of Zeus. Priam rebukes Neoptolemus, throwing a spear at him, harmlessly hitting his shield. Neoptolemus then drags Priam to the altar and there kills him too. Priam's death is alternatively depicted in some Greek vases. In this version, Neoptolemus clubs Priam to death with the corpse of the latter's baby grandson, Astyanax.[11]

## Gallery

[edit]

* The Death of Priam by Johann Andreas Herrlein

* The Death of Priam by Vincenzo Camuccini

* Priam Pleading with Achilles for the Body of Hector by Gavin Hamilton (1775)

* Priam asks Achilles to return Hector's body by Alexander Ivanov

* Priam at the feet of Achilles by Jérôme-Martin Langlois

* Priam at the feet of Achilles by Eugène Carrière (1876)

* The Death of Priamos by Jules Lefebvre

* The Death of Priam by Pierre-Narcisse Guérin

* The Death of Priam by Jean-Baptiste Regnault

* Priam holding the golden urn with the remains of Hector by Giovanni Maria Benzoni

* Priam Ransoming Hector's Body by Giovanni Maria Benzoni

* Priam Supplicating Achilles for the Body of Hector by Giuseppe Girometti

* Helen and Priam at the Scaen Gate by Richard Cook

* Priam at the feet of Achilles by Joseph Wencker

* Priam demandant à Achille le corps d'Hector by Théobald Chartran

* The Death of Priam by François-Marie Firmin-Girard (1861)

* The Death of Priam by Alexandre-Louis Leloir (1861)

* Priam Begs the Body of Hector by Henry Fuseli

* The Sack of Troy: Pyrrhus Killing Priam by Franz Cleyn

* Achilles and Priam, in conversation outside of Troy by Lucas Vorsterman II

## Family tree

[edit]

* v
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* e

Trojan race

| | | | | | | Oceanus| | Tethys

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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | | Atlas| | Pleione| | Scamander| | Idaea| | Simoeis
| | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| |
| | | Zeus/Jupiter| | Electra| | | | Teucer| | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Dardanus| | | | | | Batea| | | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | Ilus| | Erichthonius| | Astyoche| | |

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | Callirrhoe| | | | | | Tros| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Ilus| | | Ganymede| | | Assaracus| | Hieromneme

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Laomedon| | | Themiste| | Capys

| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Priam| | | | | Anchises| | Aphrodite/Venus| | Latinus

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Creusa of Troy| | | | | | | Aeneas| | | | Lavinia
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Ascanius| | | | | | Silvius
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Aeneas Silvius
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Latinus Silvius|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Alba
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Atys
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Capys
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Capetus
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Tiberinus Silvius
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Agrippa
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Romulus Silvius
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Aventinus
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Procas
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | Numitor| | Amulius
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Ares/Mars| | Rhea Silvia/Ilia

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | | Hersilia| | Romulus| | Remus

## Cultural depiction

[edit]

In film

* Helen of Troy (film) \- played by Cedric Hardwicke.
* The Trojan Horse (film) \- played by Carlo Tamberlani.
* Troy (film) - played by Peter O'Toole.
* Troy: Fall of a City \- played by David Threlfall.

In TV series

* Helen of Troy \- played by John Rhys-Davies.

In theater

* Les Troyens in which King Priam plays a minor role.
* King Priam.

## See also

[edit]

* Ancient Greece portal
* Myths portal

* Priam's Treasure

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ "Priam | Myth, Significance, & Trojan War | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
2. ^ Frank Starke, “Troia im Kontext des historisch-politischen und sprachlichen Umfeldes Kleinasiens im 2. Jahrtausend”, Studia Troica 7 (1997), 458, n. 114, referring to the author's previous work, Untersuchungen zur Stammbildung des keilschrift-luwischen Nomens (1990), 455, n. 1645: “Priya-muwa- ‘der hervorragenden, vortrefflichen Mut hat’”.
3. ^ Haas, Die hethitische Literatur: Texte, Stilistik, Motive (2006), 5.
4. ^ Calvert Watkins, "The Language of the Trojans", Troy and the Trojan War: A Symposium Held at Bryn Mawr College, October 1984, ed. Machteld Johanna Mellink (Bryn Mawr, Penn: Bryn Mawr Commentaries, 1986), 57, citing L. Zgusta, Kleinasiatische Personennamen (Prague 1964), 417:1203-1 and Anatolische Personennamensippen I (Prague 1964), 157.
5. ^ S.P. Morris, "A Tale of Two Cities", American Journal of Archaeology 93 (1989), p. 532.
6. ^ Jenny March, The Penguin Book of Classical Myths (London: Penguin Books, 2008), p. 300
7. ^ Apollodorus, 2.6, f.n. 15
8. ^ Malalas, Chronography 5.105
9. ^ Dares Phrygius, History of the Fall of Troy 12
10. ^ The Iliad, Fagles translation. Penguin Books, 1991, p. 605.
11. ^ Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae II.2.684–85

## References

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* Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
* Homer, The Iliad with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. ISBN 978-0674995796. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Homer, Homeri Opera in five volumes. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1920. ISBN 978-0198145318. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Smith, William; Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London (1873). "Priamus"

* v
* t
* e

Characters in the Iliad

Achaeans|

* Acamas
* Achilles
* Agamemnon (king of Mycenae)
* Agapenor
* Ajax the Greater (king of Salamis)
* Ajax the Lesser
* Alcimus
* Anticlus
* Antilochus
* Arcesilaus
* Ascalaphus
* Automedon
* Balius and Xanthus
* Bias
* Calchas (prophet)
* Diomedes (king of Argos)
* Elephenor
* Epeius
* Eudoros
* Euryalus
* Eurybates
* Eurydamas
* Eurypylus
* Guneus
* Helen (queen of Sparta)
* Ialmenus
* Idomeneus (king of Crete)
* Iphigenia (princess of Mycenae)
* Leitus
* Leonteus
* Lycomedes
* Machaon
* Medon
* Meges
* Menelaus (king of Sparta)
* Menestheus
* Meriones
* Neoptolemus
* Nestor (king of Pylos)
* Nireus
* Odysseus (king of Ithaca)
* Palamedes
* Patroclus
* Peneleos
* Philoctetes
* Phoenix
* Podalirius
* Podarces
* Polites
* Polypoetes
* Promachus
* Protesilaus
* Prothoenor
* Schedius
* Sinon
* Stentor
* Sthenelus
* Talthybius
* Teucer
* Thersites
* Thoas
* Thrasymedes
* Tlepolemus

Trojans|

* Aeneas (royal demigod)
* Aesepus
* Agenor
* Alcathous
* Amphimachus
* Anchises
* Andromache
* Antenor (king's brother-in-law)
* Antiphates
* Antiphus
* Archelochus
* Asius
* Asteropaios
* Astyanax
* Atymnius
* Axylus
* Briseis
* Calesius
* Caletor
* Cassandra (princess of Troy)
* Chryseis
* Chryses (priest of Apollo)
* Clytius
* Coön
* Dares Phrygius
* Deiphobus (prince of Troy)
* Dolon
* Epistrophus
* Euphemus
* Euphorbus
* Glaucus
* Gorgythion
* Hector (prince of Troy)
* Hecuba (queen of Troy)
* Helenus
* Hyperenor
* Hypsenor
* Iamenus
* Ilioneus
* Imbrius
* Iphidamas
* Kebriones
* Laocoön
* Lycaon (prince of Troy)
* Melanippus
* Memnon (King of Ethiopia)
* Mentes
* Mydon
* Mygdon of Phrygia
* Othryoneus
* Pandarus
* Panthous
* Paris (prince of Troy)
* Pedasus
* Peirous
* Penthesilea (Queen of the Amazons)
* Phorcys
* Podes
* Polites
* Polydamas
* Polybus
* Polydorus (prince of Troy)
* Polyxena (princess of Troy)
* Priam (king of Troy)
* Pylaemenes
* Pylaeus
* Pyraechmes
* Rhesus of Thrace
* Sarpedon (king of Lycia)
* Scamandrius
* Theano
* Ucalegon

Gods|

* Aphrodite
* Apollo
* Ares
* Artemis
* Athena
* Dionysus
* Eris
* Hades
* Helios
* Hephaestus
* Hera
* Hermes
* Hypnos
* Iris
* Leto
* Poseidon
* Scamander
* Thanatos
* Thetis
* Zeus

* v
* t
* e

Virgil's Aeneid (19 BC)

Characters|

| Deities|

* Alecto
* Crinisus
* Cupid
* Hecate
* Hymen
* Juno
* Jupiter
* Mars
* Mercury
* Saturn
* Tiberinus
* Venus

|

Trojans|

* Achates
* Aeneads
* Aeneas
* Aeolus
* Aletes
* Anchises
* Andromache
* Antiphates
* Ascanius
* Caieta
* Capys
* Cassandra
* Clonius
* Corynaeus
* Creusa
* Dardanus
* Dares Phrygius
* Deiphobus
* Elymus
* Entellus
* Euryalus
* Gyas
* Helenus
* Hippocoon
* Ilioneus
* Laocoön
* Mimas
* Misenus
* Mnestheus
* Nisus
* Ornytus
* Palinurus
* Pandarus
* Panthous
* Paris
* Polites
* Priam
* Ripheus
* Sergestus
* Theano
* Thymoetes
* Ucalegon

Phoenicians|

* Acerbas
* Anna Perenna
* Belus
* Dido
* Mattan I
* Pygmalion of Tyre

Others|

* Acestes
* Achaemenides
* Actor
* Ajax the Lesser
* Amata
* Androgeus
* Automedon
* Aventinus
* Butes
* Camilla
* Catillus
* Clytius
* Cydon
* Cydonians
* Diomedes
* Erulus
* Evander of Pallene
* Halaesus
* Iarbas
* Juturna
* Latinus
* Lausus
* Lavinia
* Macar
* Messapus
* Metabus
* Mezentius
* Neoptolemus
* Pallas
* Picus
* Rutuli
* Salius
* Sinon
* Turnus
* Ufens
* Umbro
* Venulus

Film and TV|

* The Avenger (1962)
* Eneide (1971–2)
* Eneyida (1991)

Literature|

* Historia Brittonum (c. 828 history of Britain)
* Roman d'Enéas (1160 poem)
* Dido, Queen of Carthage (c. 1593 play)
* Amelia (1751 novel)
* The Dunciad (1729 poem)
* Eneida (1798 mock epic)
* Lavinia (2008 novel)

Opera|

* Didone (1641 Cavalli)
* Achille et Polyxène (1687 Lully/Collasse)
* Dido and Aeneas (1688 Purcell)
* Didon (1693 Desmarets)
* Didone abbandonata (1724 libretto Metastasio)
* Didone abbandonata (1724 Sarro)
* Didone abbandonata (1724 Albinoni)
* Didone abbandonata (1726 Vinci)
* Didone abbandonata (1762 Sarti)
* Didon (1783 Piccinni)
* Dido, Queen of Carthage (1792 Storace)
* Les Troyens (1858 Berlioz)

Manuscripts|

* Book of Ballymote
* Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 31
* Vergilius Augusteus
* Vergilius Romanus
* Vergilius Vaticanus

Phrases|

* Ad astra
* Annuit cœptis
* Experto crede
* Fortune favours the bold
* Lacrimae rerum
* Mind over matter
* Obscuris vera involvens
* Quos ego
* Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes

Art|

* Laocoön and His Sons (25 BC)
* Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius (1619)
* The Dream of Aeneas (1660–65)
* Ascanius Shooting the Stag of Sylvia (1689)
* Dido building Carthage (1815)
* The Golden Bough (1834)

Music|

* "And Then There Was Silence"
* Gates of Fire

Study|

* Aposiopesis
* Dactylic hexameter
* Hysteron proteron
* Sortes Vergilianae

Related|

* Brutus of Troy
* Eneados
* The Golden Bough
* Parallels between Virgil's Aeneid and Homer's Iliad and Odyssey
* Political commentary of the Aeneid
* Sulpicius Apollinaris
* Trojan Horse

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* 2
* 3

National|

* France
* BnF data
* Germany
* Israel
* United States

Other|

* IdRef

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