Polydorus or Polydoros (; , i.e. "many-gift d) is the youngest son of

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 ...

in the

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

of 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 ...

. While Homer states his mother is

Laothoe In Greek mythology, Laothoe (Ancient Greek: Λαοθόη) can refer to the following women: *Laothoe, consort of King Porthaon of Calydon and mother of Sterope, Stratonice and Eurythemiste. *Laothoe or Antianeira, daughter of Menetus (Mere ...

, later sources state his mother is

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 ...

. Polydorus is an example of the fluid nature of myth, as his role and story vary significantly in different traditions and sources.

Mythology

In the ''Iliad''

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient 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. Despite doubts about his autho ...

's Greek epic the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) 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 ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'', Polydorus is depicted briefly as a foe to

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, ...

. According to this source, Polydorus was the youngest son of Priam, and thus his father would not let him fight. Achilles, however, sees him on the battlefield showing off his great speed running through the lines and spears him, ending his life. Seeing his brother Polydorus' death causes Hector to challenge Achilles.

In ''Hecuba'' and ''Metamorphoses''

Bauer - Polydorus Polymnestor-recoloured

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 ...

' tragedy ''

'', the ghost of Polydorus is a character, and his death is the cause of the main conflict of the play. Polydorus' ghost presents the prologue of the play, explaining that he was sent to

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

under the protection of King Polymestor in case Troy fell. With his son, Priam sent gold so that if Troy should fall his son could continue to support himself. Once Troy fell, however, Polymestor killed Polydorus by throwing him into the sea and stole the gold. Polydorus laments the fact that his body is adrift in the sea without the proper death rites. Later in the play, a slave woman tells Hecuba that Polydorus' body has been found washed up on shore. Hecuba explains that she saw the murderer of Polydorus in a dream and it is Polymestor. Aided by

Agamemnon In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans during the Trojan War. He was the son (or grandson) of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of C ...

and the other captive women, Hecuba proceeds to avenge her son's murder by killing Polymestor's sons and blinding him. This same story of Polydorus is the subject of an episode in

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

's ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...

''.

In the ''Aeneid''

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 ...

's Roman epic the ''

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 ...

'',

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas ( , ; from ) was a Troy, 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 ...

lands in Thrace hoping to establish a colony for his people. The land is overgrown with various plants, and Aeneas begins to uproot a bush of Myrtle, which he sees growing on mysterious mound, so he can protect an altar he has just made with the boughs. The branches begin to spout blood upon being uprooted. The plant begins to speak and explains that it is Polydorus - the spears that were used to kill him stuck into the ground and took root, transforming into plants. It is explained that Priam sent Polydorus to Thrace with payment to the Thracian king so that he would be protected if Troy fell. When Troy did fall, the king broke his pact with the Trojans, killed Polydorus in order to ingratiate himself with Agamemnon and kept the payment. Aeneas goes on to give Polydorus a proper burial.

In ''Fabulae''

According to the tradition of

Hyginus Hyginus may refer to: People *Hyginus, the author of the '' Fabulae'', an important ancient Latin source for Greek mythology. *Hyginus, the author of the ''Astronomia'', a popular ancient Latin guide on astronomy, probably the same as the author ...

' ''Fabulae'', Priam and Hecuba entrusted Polydorus' upbringing to his sister, Iliona, who was the wife of Polymestor. In order to ensure Polydorus' safety, she raised him as her own son, while she raised her and Polymestor's true son, Deipylus, as her brother. After the fall of Troy, the Achaeans offered Polymestor Agamemnon’s daughter

Electra Electra, also spelt Elektra (; ; ), is one of the most popular Greek mythology, mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, ''Electra (Sophocles play), Electra'' by Sophocles and ''Ele ...

to be his wife if he killed Polydorus. Polymestor agreed, but because of the switch that Iliona executed, he instead killed Deipylus. As this occurred, Polydorus went to the oracle of Apollo in order to learn of his true parentage. Here he was told that his home city had been destroyed, his father killed, and his mother captured. Upon returning home, and still believing that he was the son of Polymestor and Iliona, he asked Iliona why the oracle had been wrong, at which point she tells him the truth of his ancestry. He proceeds to blind and kill Polymestor at his sister's advice.

pseudo-Apollodorus The ''Bibliotheca'' (Ancient Greek: ), is a compendium of Greek myths and heroic legends, genealogical tables and histories arranged in three books, generally dated to the first or second century AD. The work is commonly described as having been ...

, R. Scott Smith, Stephen Trzaskoma, and C. Julius. Hyginus. ''Apollodorus' Library and Hyginus' Fabulae: Two Handbooks of Greek Mythology''. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub., 2007:134.

Namesake

* 4708 Polydoros, Jovian asteroid named after Polydorus

Notes

References

* William Smith. '' A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology vs
Polydorus
'' London. John Murray: printed by Spottiswoode and Co., New-Street Square and Parliament Street. 1849. *Apollodorus, R. Scott Smith, Stephen Trzaskoma, and C. Julius. Hyginus. ''Apollodorus' Library and Hyginus' Fabulae: Two Handbooks of Greek Mythology''. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub., 2007. Print. * Euripides, and Marilyn Nelson. ''Hecuba''. U Penn Press, 1998. Print. * Homer, and Stanley Lombardo. ''Iliad''. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub., 1997. Print. * Ovidius, Naso Publius, and Alan D. Melville. ''Metamorphoses''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986. Print. * Virgil, and Robert Fitzgerald. ''The Aeneid''. New York: Knopf, 1992. Print

External links

{{Characters in the Iliad Trojans Characters in Roman mythology Children of Priam Princes in Greek mythology Characters in the Aeneid