In
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of ...
, Andromache (; grc, Ἀνδρομάχη, ) was the wife of
Hector, daughter of
Eetion, and sister to
Podes. She was born and raised in the city of
Cilician Thebe, over which her father ruled. The name means 'man battler' or 'fighter of men' or 'man fighter' (note that there was also a famous
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
warrior named ''Andromache'', probably in this meaning) or 'man's battle' (that is: 'courage' or 'manly virtue'), from the Greek stem 'man' and 'battle'.
After the
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ha ...
, following Hector's murder by
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pe ...
and the city's capture and sacking by the Greeks, the Greek herald
Talthybius
Talthybius () was herald and friend to Agamemnon in the Trojan War.
Mythology
Talthybius was the one who took Briseis from the tent of Achilles. Preceding the duel of Menelaus and Paris, Agamemnon charges him to fetch a sheep for sacrif ...
informed her of the plan to kill
Astyanax, her son by Hector, by throwing him from the city walls. This act was carried out by
Neoptolemus who then took Andromache as a concubine and Hector's brother,
Helenus, as a slave.
[Euripides, ''Trojan Women''] By Neoptolemus, she was the mother of
Molossus, and according to
Pausanias,
[Pausanias, 1.11.1] of
Pielus and
Pergamus. When Neoptolemus died, Andromache married Helenus and became Queen of
Epirus
sq, Epiri rup, Epiru
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = Historical region
, image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg
, map_alt =
, map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...
. Pausanias also implies that Helenus' son,
Cestrinus In Greek mythology, Cestrinus (Ancient Greek: Κεστρῖνος means ''"pieces of the fish"'') was the only son of Helenus and Andromache.
Mythology
According to Pausanias, Cestrinus was upset when Andromache's son Molossus succeeded Helenus ...
, was by Andromache. In Epirus Andromache faithfully continued to make offerings at
Hector’s cenotaph.
[Roman, L., & Roman, M. (2010). ] Andromache eventually went to live with her youngest son, Pergamus in
Pergamum, where she died of old age. Andromache was famous for her fidelity and virtue; her character represents the suffering of Trojan women during war.
Description
Andromache was described by the chronicler
Malalas
John Malalas ( el, , ''Iōánnēs Malálas''; – 578) was a Byzantine chronicler from Antioch (now Antakya, Turkey).
Life
Malalas was of Syrian descent, and he was a native speaker of Syriac who learned how to write in Greek later in ...
in his account of the ''Chronography'' as "above average height, thin, well turned out, good nose, good breasts, good eyes, good brows, wooly hair, blondish hair long in back, large-featured, good neck, dimples on her cheeks, charming, quick". Meanwhile, in the account of
Dares the Phrygian
Dares Phrygius ( grc, Δάρης), according to Homer, was a Trojan priest of Hephaestus. He was supposed to have been the author of an account of the destruction of Troy, and to have lived before Homer. A work in Latin, purporting to be a tra ...
, she was illustrated as ". . .bright-eyed and fair, with a tall and beautiful body. She was modest, wise, chaste, and charming."
Life
Families
Andromache was born in Cilian
Thebe
Thebe may refer to:
* Any of several female characters in Greek mythology - see List of mythological figures named Thebe
* Thebe (moon), a moon of Jupiter
* Thebe (currency), 1/100 of a Botswana pula
* Thebe, an Amazon
* Thebe, alternate name ...
, a city that Achilles later sacked, killing her father
Eetion and seven brothers. After this, her mother died of illness (6.425). She was taken from her father's household by Hector, who had brought countless wedding-gifts (22.470-72). Thus
Priam
In Greek mythology, Priam (; grc-gre, Πρίαμος, ) was the legendary and last 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 ...
’s household alone provides Andromache with her only familial support. In contrast to the inappropriate relationship of
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
and
Helen, Hector and Andromache fit the Greek ideal of a happy and productive marriage, which heightens the tragedy of their shared misfortune. Andromache and Hector have a son together, named Scamandrius but called
Astyanax by both the people of Troy and Homer.
Andromache is alone after
Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Çan ...
falls and her son is killed. Notably, Andromache remains unnamed in ''Iliad'' 22, referred to only as the wife of Hector (Greek ''alokhos''), indicating the centrality of her status as Hector's wife and of the marriage itself to her identity. The Greeks divide the Trojan women as spoils of war and permanently separate them from the ruins of Troy and from one another. Hector's fears of her life as a captive woman are realized as her family is entirely stripped from her by the violence of war, as she fulfills the fate of conquered women in ancient warfare (6.450–465). Without her familial structure, Andromache is a displaced woman who must live outside familiar and even safe societal boundaries.
Life after the fall of Troy
After Troy falls, Andromache is given as a concubine to
Neoptolemus, also called Pyrrhus, son of
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pe ...
, after her son Astyanax is murdered at the suggestion of
Odysseus
Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odys ...
, who fears he will grow up to avenge his father Hector.
She goes with him to Phthia, where
Thetis
Thetis (; grc-gre, Θέτις ), is a figure from Greek mythology with varying mythological roles. She mainly appears as a sea nymph, a goddess of water, or one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the ancient sea god Nereus.
When described as ...
and
Peleus
In Greek mythology, Peleus (; Ancient Greek: Πηλεύς ''Pēleus'') was a hero, king of Phthia, husband of Thetis and the father of their son Achilles. This myth was already known to the hearers of Homer in the late 8th century BC.
Biogr ...
, the parents of Achilles, lived.
[Euripides, ''Andromache''] Hyginus calls her son
Amphialus, while Euripides gives his name as
Molossus and Pausanias says that she has three children, named Molossus, Pielus and
Pergamus.
In Euripides' ''Andromache'', Hermione, the wife of Neoptolemus and daughter of Helen and
Menelaus
In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; grc-gre, Μενέλαος , 'wrath of the people', ) was a king of Mycenaean (pre-Dorian) Sparta. According to the ''Iliad'', Menelaus was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the Spartan contingent of t ...
, tries to kill Andromache because she believes Andromache has cursed her with infertility. In the play, Neoptolemus is killed by
Orestes, who marries Hermione, and the goddess
Thetis
Thetis (; grc-gre, Θέτις ), is a figure from Greek mythology with varying mythological roles. She mainly appears as a sea nymph, a goddess of water, or one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the ancient sea god Nereus.
When described as ...
announces that Andromache will marry her ex-brother-in-law
Helenus and live with him in "the land of the Molossians", where her son Molossus will start "an unbroken succession of kings who will live happy lives".
In Pausanias' account Helenus' son
Cestrinus In Greek mythology, Cestrinus (Ancient Greek: Κεστρῖνος means ''"pieces of the fish"'') was the only son of Helenus and Andromache.
Mythology
According to Pausanias, Cestrinus was upset when Andromache's son Molossus succeeded Helenus ...
was the child of Andromache.
Aeneas
In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus (mythology), Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both ...
also visits Andromache and Helenus when they are living in Chaonia, where Helenus gives him a prophecy and Andromache brings robes and a Phrygian cloak for Aeneas' son Ascanius and tells him he is "the sole image left to
erof
erAstyanax". Pausanias, writing in the 2nd century AD, says that "there is still a shrine
o Andromache
O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), ...
in the city" that was named after her son Pergamus.
Role in society
Mourning her husband
Andromache's gradual discovery of her husband's death and her immediate lamentation (22.437–515) culminate the shorter lamentations of Priam and
Hecuba upon Hector's death (22.405–36). In accordance with traditional customs of mourning, Andromache responds with an immediate and impulsive outburst of grief (''goos'') that begins the ritual lamentation. She casts away her various pieces of headdress (22.468-72) and leads the Trojan women in ritual mourning, both of which they did (22.405–36). Although Andromache adheres to the formal practice of female lamentation in Homeric epic, the raw emotion of her discovery yields a miserable beginning to a new era in her life without her husband and, ultimately, without a home. The final stage of the mourning process occurs in ''Iliad'' 24 in the formal, communal grieving (''thrēnos'') upon the return of Hector's body (24.703–804). In a fragment of
Ennius
Quintus Ennius (; c. 239 – c. 169 BC) was a writer and poet who lived during the Roman Republic. He is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was born in the small town of Rudiae, located near modern Lecce, Apulia, (Ancient Calabr ...
' ''Andromacha'', quoted by
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the est ...
in the Tusculan Disputations (3.44-46), Andromacha sings about her loss of Hector.
Duties as wife
In ''Iliad'' 22, Andromache is portrayed as the perfect wife, weaving a cloak for her husband in the innermost chambers of the house and preparing a bath in anticipation of his return from battle (22.440–6). Here she is carrying out an action Hector had ordered her to perform during their conversation in ''Iliad'' 6 (6.490–92), and this obedience is another display of womanly virtue in Homer's eyes. However, Andromache is seen in ''Iliad'' 6 in an unusual place for the traditional housewife, standing before the ramparts of Troy (6.370–373). Traditional gender roles are breached as well, as Andromache gives Hector military advice (6.433–439). Although her behavior may seem nontraditional, hard times disrupt the separate spheres of men and women, requiring a shared civic response to the defence of the city as a whole. Andromache's sudden tactical lecture is a way to keep Hector close, by guarding a section of the wall instead of fighting out in the plains. Andromache's role as a mother, a fundamental element of her position in marriage, is emphasized within this same conversation. Their infant son, Astyanax, is also present at the ramparts as a maid tends to him. Hector takes his son from the maid, yet returns him to his wife, a small action that provides great insight into the importance Homer placed on her care-taking duties as mother (6.466–483). A bonding moment between mother and father occurs in this scene when Hector's helmet scares Astyanax, providing a moment of light relief in the story. After Hector's death in ''Iliad'' 22, Andromache's foremost concern is Astyanax's fate as a mistreated orphan (22.477–514).
Classical treatment
*
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the '' Iliad'' and the '' Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of ...
, ''
The Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyss ...
'' VI, 390–470: XXII 437–515
*
Sappho
Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while accompanied ...
,
Fragment 44
*
Euripides
Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...
, ''
Andromache''.
*
Euripides
Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...
, ''
The Trojan Women
''The Trojan Women'' ( grc, Τρῳάδες, translit=Trōiades), also translated as ''The Women of Troy'', and also known by its transliterated Greek title ''Troades'', is a tragedy by the Greek playwright Euripides. Produced in 415 BC during ...
''.
*
Ennius
Quintus Ennius (; c. 239 – c. 169 BC) was a writer and poet who lived during the Roman Republic. He is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was born in the small town of Rudiae, located near modern Lecce, Apulia, (Ancient Calabr ...
, ''Andromacha'' ''TrRF'' II 23.
*
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...
, ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...
'' III, 294–355.
*
Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the ...
, ''
Ars Amatoria'' III, 777–778.
*
Seneca, ''The Trojan Women''.
* ''
Bibliotheca'' III, xii, 6, ''
Epitome
An epitome (; gr, ἐπιτομή, from ἐπιτέμνειν ''epitemnein'' meaning "to cut short") is a summary or miniature form, or an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment. Epitomacy represents "t ...
'' V, 23; VI, 12.
Modern treatment
She is also the subject of a tragedy by French classical playwright
Jean Racine
Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western tradit ...
(1639–1699), entitled ''
Andromaque'', and a minor character in
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
's ''
Troilus and Cressida
''Troilus and Cressida'' ( or ) is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1602.
At Troy during the Trojan War, Troilus and Cressida begin a love affair. Cressida is forced to leave Troy to join her father in the Greek camp. M ...
''. "The Andromache" is referenced in The Duc De L'Omelette written by Edgar Allan Poe in published in 1832. In 1857, she also importantly appears in
Baudelaire's poem, "Le Cygne", in ''
Les Fleurs du Mal''. Andromache is the subject of a 1932
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...
by German composer
Herbert Windt
Herbert Windt (15 September 1894, Senftenberg, Brandenburg – 2 November 1965, Deisenhofen, now a part of Oberhaching, Bavaria) was a German composer who became one of the most significant film score composers of the Third Reich. He was best kno ...
and also a lyric scena for soprano and orchestra by
Samuel Barber
Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Proba ...
. She was portrayed by
Vanessa Redgrave in the 1971 film version of Euripides' ''
The Trojan Women
''The Trojan Women'' ( grc, Τρῳάδες, translit=Trōiades), also translated as ''The Women of Troy'', and also known by its transliterated Greek title ''Troades'', is a tragedy by the Greek playwright Euripides. Produced in 415 BC during ...
'', and by
Saffron Burrows in the 2004 film ''
Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Çan ...
''. She also appears as a character in
David Gemmell's ''Troy'' series. In the 2018 TV miniseries ''
Troy: Fall of a City'', she was portrayed by
Chloe Pirrie.
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andromache
Characters in the Aeneid
Princesses in Greek mythology
Trojans
Women of the Trojan war
Women in Greek mythology
Characters in Greek mythology