Nestor
Nestor was the oldest and wisest Greek at Troy, whose long-winded reminiscences and sound counsel made him the archetypal wise old man of Western literature.
The Legend of Nestor
King of Pylos, Nestor had lived three generations of men by a gift from Artemis. At Troy, alongside Agamemnon, Achilles, Odysseus, and Ajax, he was too old to fight effectively but served as chief counsellor. He mediated the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles, advised on strategy, and told stories of his youth among heroes like Heracles and Theseus. Apollo preserved him through every battle. After the war, he sailed home safely — one of the few Greeks to escape Poseidon's wrath. Telemachus visited him at Pylos seeking news of Odysseus.
Parents
Neleus and Chloris
Children
Antilochus, Thrasymedes, and others
Symbols
Fun Fact
A "Nestor" means an elder statesman or wise leader — and Nestor's Cup, found at Pithekoussai (c. 735 BC), bears one of the earliest Greek inscriptions.
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
Laertes
🗡 heroKingship, Old Age, Restoration
Father of Odysseus and aging king of Ithaca who returned to farming during his son's long absence.
Thoas of Aetolia
🗡 heroLeadership, Trojan War, Survival
Aetolian king and capable Greek commander at Troy who led forty black ships and survived the war.
Antilochus
🗡 heroThe young warrior who died saving Nestor
The son of Nestor who died at Troy protecting his elderly father from Memnon — a sacrifice that moved Achilles to avenge him.
Odysseus
🗡 heroKing of Ithaca, hero of the Trojan War
The cleverest of the Greek heroes, whose ten-year journey home from Troy is one of the greatest stories ever told. Odysseus's cunning was his greatest weapon.
Polydamas
🗡 heroNone recorded
Trojan nobleman and wise counsellor to Hector during the war
Odysseus
🗡 heroHero of endurance and cunning
The craftiest of all Greek heroes, whose ten-year voyage home from Troy tested every human capacity for survival and adaptation.
Theseus
🗡 heroSlayer of the Minotaur, king of Athens
The hero who navigated the Labyrinth, slew the Minotaur, and became the legendary king of Athens. Theseus was considered Athens's national hero.
Abas
🗡 heroKingship, warfare
King of Argos renowned as a fierce warrior whose very shield could terrify enemies
Priam
🗡 heroKing of Troy
Priam was the aged king of Troy, father of fifty sons including Hector and Paris, whose night journey to beg Achilles for Hector's body is the Iliad's most moving scene.
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.
Odysseus
🗡 heroMan of many wiles
Odysseus was the most cunning of all Greek heroes — the man of polytropos (many turns), whose intelligence rather than strength defined a new kind of heroism.
Antenor
🗡 herodiplomacy
Trojan elder and counsellor who advocated returning Helen to Menelaus and ending the war.