Neoptolemus
Neoptolemus was Achilles' fierce son, brought to Troy because a prophecy declared the city could not fall without him.
The Legend of Neoptolemus
Son of Achilles and Deidamia, Neoptolemus was raised on Scyros until Odysseus and Phoenix fetched him when a prophecy declared Troy could not fall without him. He fought with terrifying ferocity, killed Priam at the altar of Zeus during the sack, and hurled Hector's son Astyanax from the walls. He took Andromache as his slave and later married Hermione, daughter of Menelaus and Helen. At Delphi, he quarrelled with Apollo's priests and was killed — some say by Orestes, who wanted Hermione. His savagery marks the darkest chapter of the war Athena helped the Greeks win.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Hector
🗡 heroChampion of Troy
Hector was Troy's greatest warrior, who fought not for glory but to defend his city, wife, and son.
Sarpédon
🗡 heroSon of Zeus who died at Troy
Sarpedon was a son of Zeus and the greatest Lycian warrior at Troy — his death forced Zeus to confront the limits of even divine power.
Promachus
🗡 heroEpigoni, Vengeance, Thebes
Son of Parthenopaeus and member of the Epigoni who succeeded in sacking Thebes where his father had failed.
Agamemnon
🗡 heroKing of Mycenae
Agamemnon led the Greek coalition against Troy but was murdered upon return by his wife Clytemnestra.
Parthenopaeus
🗡 heroSeven Against Thebes, Youth, Arcadia
Young Arcadian hero, one of the Seven Against Thebes, who died at the city walls before seeing his homeland again.
Telamon
🗡 herowar
King of Salamis, Argonaut, companion of Heracles, and father of Ajax the Great and Teucer.
Idomeneus of Crete
🗡 herowar
King of Crete and grandson of Minos who led eighty ships to Troy and made a rash vow to Poseidon on the voyage home.
Democoon
🗡 heroCombat, illegitimacy
Illegitimate son of King Priam who came from Abydos to fight at Troy
Sarpedon
🗡 heroNone recorded
Lycian prince and ally of Troy in the Trojan War, son of Zeus
Acamas
🗡 heroCombat, diplomacy
Trojan warrior and son of Antenor who fought bravely in the defence of Troy
Andromache
🗡 heroWife of Hector
Andromache was Hector's devoted wife whose farewell with him on Troy's walls is the most tender scene in the Iliad — and whose fate after Troy's fall was the cruelest.
Tydeus
🗡 heroThe ferocious warrior who forfeited immortality
A hero of savage courage who fought as one of the Seven Against Thebes but lost Athena's gift of immortality in his final moment.