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 etymology of the name from the Luwian 𒉺𒊑𒀀𒈬𒀀 (Pa-ri-a-mu-a-, or “exceptionally courageous”), 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.
Some have identified Priam with the historical figure of Piyama-Radu, a warlord active in the vicinity of Wilusa. 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 , 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. This story is attested in the '' Bibliotheca'' and in other influential mythographical works dated to the first and second centuries AD. These sources are, however, dated much later than the first attestations of the name Priamos or Pariya-muwas, and thus are more problematic.

Description

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." 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."

Marriage and children

: ''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.

Life

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." 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.''Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae'' II.2.684–85

Gallery

File:The Death of Priam (SM 1945).png, alt=, ''The Death of Priam'' by Johann Andreas Herrlein
File:Vincenzo Camuccini & Tommaso Piroli - The Death of Priam, 1794-95.jpg, alt=, ''The Death of Priam'' by Vincenzo Camuccini
File:Gavin Hamilton (1723-1798) - Priam Pleading with Achilles for the Body of Hector - T00864 - Tate.jpg, alt=, ''Priam Pleading with Achilles for the Body of Hector'' by Gavin Hamilton (1775)
File:Alexandr Ivanov 005.jpg, alt=, ''Priam asks Achilles to return Hector's body'' by Alexander Ivanov
File:Langlois Priam aux pieds d'Achille.JPG, alt=, '' Priam at the feet of Achilles'' by Jérôme-Martin Langlois
File:Eugène Carrière Priam.jpg, alt=, ''Priam at the feet of Achilles'' by Eugène Carrière (1876)
File:Lefebvre La mort de Priam.JPG, alt=, ''The Death of Priamos'' by Jules Lefebvre
File:Pierre Narcisse Guérin - The Death of Priam, 1817.jpg, alt=, ''The Death of Priam'' by Pierre-Narcisse Guérin
File:Jean Baptiste Regnault - The Death of Priam, 1785.jpg, alt=, ''The Death of Priam'' by Jean-Baptiste Regnault
File:Priam holding the golden urn with the remains of Hector MET 225139.jpg, alt=, ''Priam holding the golden urn with the remains of Hector'' by Giovanni Maria Benzoni
File:Priam Ransoming Hector's Body MET 225137.jpg, alt=, ''Priam Ransoming Hector's Body'' by Giovanni Maria Benzoni
File:Priam Supplicating Achilles for the Body of Hector MET SF40 20 40.jpg, alt=, ''Priam Supplicating Achilles for the Body of Hector'' by Giuseppe Girometti
File:Helen and Priam at the Scaen Gate.jpg, alt=, ''Helen and Priam at the Scaen Gate'' by Richard Cook
File:Wencker Priam aux pieds d'Achille.JPG, alt=, ''Priam at the feet of Achilles'' by Joseph Wencker
File:Théobald Chartran - Priam demandant à Achille le corps d'Hector - PPP4985 - Musée des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Paris.jpg, alt=, ''Priam demandant à Achille le corps d'Hector'' by Théobald Chartran
File:Firmin-Girard 1861.jpg, alt=, ''The Death of Priam'' by François-Marie Firmin-Girard (1861)
File:Leloir, Mort de Priam, 1861.jpg, alt=, ''The Death of Priam'' by Alexandre-Louis Leloir (1861)
File:Luigi Schiavonetti - Priam Begs the Body of Hector, 1805.jpg, alt=, ''Priam Begs the Body of Hector'' by Henry Fuseli 
File:The Sack of Troy- Pyrrhus Killing Priam MET DP803390.jpg, alt=, ''The Sack of Troy: Pyrrhus Killing Priam'' by Franz Cleyn
File:Achilles and Priam, in conversation outside of Troy MET DP878758.jpg, alt=, ''Achilles and Priam, in conversation outside of Troy'' by Lucas Vorsterman II

Family tree

Cultural depiction

''In film''
* ''Helen of Troy'' - played by Cedric Hardwicke.
* ''The Trojan Horse'' - played by Carlo Tamberlani.
* ''Troy'' - played by Peter O'Toole.

''In TV series''
* ''Helen of Troy'' - played by John Rhys-Davies.
* '' Troy: Fall of a City'' - played by David Threlfall.

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

See also

* Priam's Treasure

Notes

References

* 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.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
*Homer, ''Homeri Opera'' in five volumes. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1920.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library

* Smith, William; '' Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', London (1873)
"Priamus"

{{Authority control

Mythological kings of Troy
Kings in Greek mythology
Trojans
Characters in the Aeneid
Characters in the Iliad
Mythology of Heracles