Pompeii - Casa di Marco Lucrezio Frontone - Winter Triclinium

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Neoptolemus (; ), originally called Pyrrhus at birth (; ), was the son of the mythical warrior

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

and the princess Deidamia, and the brother of Oneiros. He became the progenitor of the ruling dynasty of the

Molossians The Molossians () were a group of ancient Greek tribes which inhabited the region of Epirus in classical antiquity. Together with the Chaonians and the Thesprotians, they formed the main tribal groupings of the northwestern Greek group. On t ...

of ancient

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

. In a reference to his pedigree, Neoptolemus was sometimes called Achillides (from his father Achilles' name) or, from his grandfather's or great-grandfather's names, Pelides or Aeacides. According to

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

, Neoptolemus was the ancestor of

Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus ( ; ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greeks, Greek king and wikt:statesman, statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. ''Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Molossians, of the royal Aeacidae, Aeacid house, and later he became ki ...

, ''

Parallel Lives * Culture of ancient Greece Culture of ancient Rome Ancient Greek biographical works Ethics literature History books about ancient Rome Cultural depictions of Gaius Marius Cultural depictions of Mark Antony Cultural depictions of Cicero ...

'',
Pyrrhus

Description

In his ''Chronography'' the chronicler Malalas described Neoptolemus as "of good stature, good chest, thin, white, good nose, ruddy hair, wooly hair, light-eyed, big-eyed, blond eyebrows, blond beginnings of a beard, round-faced, precipitate, daring, agile, a fierce fighter". Meanwhile, in the account of Dares the Phrygian, he was described as "large, robust, and easily irritated. He lisped slightly, and was good-looking, with a hooked nose, round eyes, and shaggy eyebrows".

Background and Birth

In '' Cypria'', Achilles sails to Skyros after a failed expedition to

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

, marries princess Deidamia and fathers Neoptolemus with her before being called to arms yet again. In a non-Homeric version of the story, Achilles's mother

Thetis Thetis ( , or ; ) is a figure from Greek mythology with varying mythological roles. She mainly appears as a sea nymph, a goddess of water, and one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the ancient sea god Nereus. When described as a Nereid in Cl ...

had a vision many years before Achilles's birth that there would be a great war, and that her only son was to die in it if he partook. She tried to prevent him from being called to fight in the

Trojan War The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans (Ancient Greece, Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris (mytho ...

by hiding him, disguised as a woman, in the court of

Lycomedes In Greek mythology, Lycomedes (), also known as Lycurgus (mythology), Lycurgus, was the most prominent king of the Dolopians in the island of Skyros, Scyros near Euboea during the Trojan War. Family Lycomedes was the father of seven daughters ...

, the king of Skyros. During his stay, Achilles had an affair with the princess, Deidamea, who then gave birth to Neoptolemus (originally called Pyrrhus, because his father had called himself Pyrrha, the female version of that name, while disguised as a woman). Most accounts mention Deidamia being Neoptolemus's mother, but in some accounts, he was the son of Achilles by Iphigenia instead. In those accounts, his father transported him to the island of Skyros after the sacrifice of his mother.

Trojan War

The Greeks captured the Trojan seer Helenus and forced him to tell them under what conditions they could take Troy. Helenus revealed to them that they could defeat Troy if they could acquire the poisonous arrows of

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

(then in the possession of Philoctetes); steal the

Palladium Palladium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1802 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas (formally 2 Pallas), ...

(which led to the building of the famous wooden horse of Troy); and put Achilles' son in the war. The Greeks then sent Odysseus to retrieve Neoptolemus, then a mere teenager, from Skyros. The two then went to

Lemnos Lemnos ( ) or Limnos ( ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos (regional unit), Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean modern regions of Greece ...

to retrieve Philoctetes (years earlier, on the way to Troy, Philoctetes had been bitten by a snake on Chryse Island). Agamemnon had advised that he be left behind because the wound was festering and smelled bad. Philoctetes's retrieval is the plot of ''Philoctetes'', a play by

Sophocles Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...

. Some sources portray Neoptolemus as brutal. He killed at least six on the field of battle and several more during the subsequent fall of Troy (

Priam In Greek mythology, Priam (; , ) 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 Most scholars take the e ...

, Eurypylus, Polyxena, Polites and

Astyanax In Greek mythology, Astyanax (; ''Astyánax'', "lord of the city") was the son of Hector, the crown prince of Troy, and of his wife, Princess Andromache of Cilician Thebe."Astyanax". ''Oxford Classical Dictionary''. Oxford, 1949, p. 101 (''s.v. ...

(Hector and Andromache's infant son) among others). He captured Helenus, and made Andromache his concubine. The ghost of Achilles appeared to the survivors of the war, demanding the Trojan princess Polyxena to be sacrificed before anybody could leave for home; Neoptolemus was the one to carry out the sacrifice. (In scene (ll 566–575) of

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, 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 attributed ninety-five plays to ...

's play ''Hekabe'' (also known as ''Hecuba'') Neoptolemus is shown as a torn young man who kills Polyxena in the least painful way possible, contrasting with his usual brutal and uncompassionate image.) With Andromache, Helenus and Phoenix, Neoptolemus then sailed to the Epirot Islands and became the king of

. By the enslaved Andromache, daughter of Cilician king Eëtion, Neoptolemus was the father of Molossos (and, according to the myth, therefore an ancestor of

Olympias Olympias (; c. 375–316 BC) was a Ancient Greeks, Greek princess of the Molossians, the eldest daughter of king Neoptolemus I of Epirus, the sister of Alexander I of Epirus, the fourth wife of Philip of Macedon, Philip II, the king of Macedonia ...

, the mother of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

), Pielus, Pergamus and Amphialus. Hyginus has a section on Amphialus:

Neoptolemus, son of Achilles and Deidamia, begat Amphialus by captive Andromache, daughter of Ēëtion. But after he heard that Hermione his betrothed had been given to Orestes in marriage, he went to Lacedaemon and demanded her from Menelaus. Menelaus did not wish to go back on his word, and took Hermione from Orestes and gave her to Neoptolemus. Orestes, thus insulted, slew Neoptolemus as he was sacrificing to Delphi, and recovered Hermione. The bones of Neoptolemus were scattered through the land of
Ambracia Ambracia (; , occasionally , ''Ampracia'') was a city of ancient Greece on the site of modern Arta. It was founded by the Corinthians in 625 BC and was situated about from the Ambracian Gulf, on a bend of the navigable river Arachthos (or ...
, which is in the district of Epirus.Hyginus, ''Fables'' 123

By Lanassa, granddaughter of

, he fathered eight children. Like in Euripides's ''Hekabe'',

's ''Philoctetes'' also shows him as a much kinder man, who honours his promises and shows remorse when he is made to trick Philoctetes.

After the War

There are two differing accounts of Neoptolemus's death: he was either killed after he attempted to take Hermione from

Orestes In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; ) was the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and the brother of Electra and Iphigenia. He was also known by the patronymic Agamemnonides (), meaning "son of Agamemnon." He is the subject of several ...

, or after he denounced

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

, the murderer of his father. In the first case, he was killed by Orestes; in the second, the

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...

c priest of Apollo named Machaereus took revenge. After Neoptolemus's death his kingdom was partitioned. According to Virgil's ''Aeneid'', Helenus (who later married Andromache) took part of it: "Helenus, a son of Priam, was king over these Greek cities of Epirus, having succeeded to the throne and bed of Pyrrhus ...".

In art and literature

*Neoptolemus is one of the main characters in '' Philoctetes'', a tragedy by

. *'' Andromache'', a tragedy by

. Neoptolemus does not appear on stage but his death at Delphi is described *'' Apollodorus' Library'', in Book 3 and in the Epitome 5.10–12, 5.21, 5.24 *'' The Aeneid'' by

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

*'' Trojan Women'' by Seneca *''The Posthomerica'', an epic poem by Quintus of Smyrna *In ''

Historia Regum Britanniae (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a fictitious account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the List of legendary kings o ...

'', he enslaved Helenus and other Trojans in revenge for the death of his father *In '' Confessio Amantis'' Book 4 line 2161ff he is the slayer of the Amazon Penthesilea *''The Tragedy of Dido'' by

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe ( ; Baptism, baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), also known as Kit Marlowe, was an English playwright, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the English Renaissance theatre, Eli ...

*Pyrrhus features in the player's speech in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' (Act 2, Scene 2) where his killing of Priam is described *''The Second Part of the Iron Age'', the final play in the Ages series by

Thomas Heywood Thomas Heywood (early 1570s – 16 August 1641) was an English playwright, actor, and author. His main contributions were to late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre. He is best known for his masterpiece ''A Woman Killed with Kindness'', a ...

*Pyrrhus is a leading character in '' Andromaque'' (1667), a play by

Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ; ; 22 December 1639 – 21 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 tr ...

*''Astianatte'' (1725), an opera by Leonardo Vinci *'' Andromaque'' (1780), an opera by Grétry based on Racine's play *'' Ermione'' (1819), an opera by

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...

based on Racine's play *'' An Arrow's Flight'', a novel by Mark Merlis (1998) *''

The Song of Troy ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

,'' a novel written by Colleen McCullough (1998) *'' The Golden Prince'', a novel written by Ken Catran (1999) *'' The Song of Achilles'', a novel by Madeline Miller (2011) *'' The Silence of the Girls'', a novel written by Pat Barker (2018) Mentioned briefly in Euripides's plays '' Trojan Women'' and ''

Hecuba Hecuba (; also Hecabe; , ) was a queen in Greek mythology, the wife of King Priam of Troy during the Trojan War. Description Hecuba was described by the chronicler John Malalas, Malalas in his account of the ''Chronography'' as "dark, good eyes ...

'', simply stating that Andromache, wife of Hector, was his promised spear bride.

Notes

References

Dares Phrygius Dares Phrygius (), according to Homer, was a Trojan priest of Hephaestus. He was later thought to have been the author of an account of the destruction of Troy. A work in Latin, purporting to be a translation of this, and entitled ''Daretis Phry ...

, ''from The Trojan War.'' ''The Chronicles of Dictys of Crete and Dares the Phrygian'' translated by Richard McIlwaine Frazer, Jr. (1931-). Indiana University Press. 1966
Online version at theio.com
*

Gaius Julius Hyginus Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Augustus, and reputed author of the '' Fabulae'' and the '' De astronomia'', although this is disputed. Life and works ...

, ''Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
* Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Publius Ovidius Naso, ''The Epistles of Ovid.'' London. J. Nunn, Great-Queen-Street; R. Priestly, 143, High-Holborn; R. Lea, Greek-Street, Soho; and J. Rodwell, New-Bond-Street. 1813
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Publius Ovidius Naso. ''Amores, Epistulae, Medicamina faciei femineae, Ars amatoria, Remedia amoris''. Edition by R. Ehwald; Rudolphi Merkelii; Leipzig. B. G. Teubner. 1907
Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

Publius Vergilius Maro Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 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: the ''Eclogues'' ...

, ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

.'' Theodore C. Williams. trans. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1910
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Publius Vergilius Maro, ''Bucolics, Aeneid, and Georgics''. J. B. Greenough. Boston. Ginn & Co. 1900
Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Publius Vergilius Maro, ''Bucolics, Aeneid, and Georgics''. J. B. Greenough. Boston. Ginn & Co. 1900
Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library

External links

* * {{Authority control Achaean Leaders Characters in the Aeneid Ancient Epirotes Characters in Greek mythology Skyros Greek regicides