Protesilaus
Protesilaus was the first Greek to set foot on Trojan soil — and the first to die.
The Legend of Protesilaus
An oracle declared that the first Greek ashore at Troy would die. When Agamemnon's fleet landed, Achilles, Odysseus, Ajax, and Diomedes all held back. Protesilaus leapt from his ship and was killed by Hector. His young wife Laodamia begged the gods for one more meeting. Hermes escorted Protesilaus from Hades for a single night; when he descended again, Laodamia killed herself to follow. His tomb near Troy became a sacred site. The tale echoes Orpheus's failed rescue of Eurydice and shows that Zeus's wars demand their first payment in mortal blood.
Parents
Iphicles and Astyoche
Symbols
Fun Fact
His tomb's elm trees were said to die when tall enough to see Troy, then regrow — forever reaching toward the city that killed him.
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
Protesilaos
🗡 herosacrifice, first death
The first Greek to die at Troy, who leapt ashore knowing a prophecy decreed the first to land would perish.
Elpenor
🗡 heroNone recorded
Young companion of Odysseus who died from a drunken fall on Circe's island
Podarces
🗡 heroThessalian leadership, brotherhood
Brother of Protesilaus who took command of the Phylacean contingent after his brother was the first Greek killed at Troy
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.
Tenes
🗡 heroPurity, Betrayal, Apollo
Prince of Colonae and first ruler of Tenedos, killed by Achilles despite his divine protection by Apollo.
Amphiaraus
🗡 heroThe prophet who foresaw his own death at Thebes
A warrior-prophet who knew the Seven Against Thebes would fail but marched to his death anyway, swallowed by the earth.
Idmon
🗡 heroprophecy, sacrifice
A seer among the Argonauts who foresaw his own death on the voyage but sailed anyway, embodying the Greek ideal of knowingly accepting fate.
Alcestis
🗡 heroWife who died for her husband
Alcestis was the devoted wife who volunteered to die in place of her husband Admetus — the only person willing to make the sacrifice.
Laius
🗡 heroNone recorded
King of Thebes whose attempt to cheat fate led directly to the Oedipus tragedy
Iphition
🗡 heroCombat, wealth
Trojan ally and lord of a wealthy city who was the first man Achilles killed upon returning to battle
Amphiaraus
🗡 heroSeer-warrior swallowed by earth
Amphiaraus was a warrior-prophet who foresaw his death in the Seven Against Thebes but marched anyway, bound by his wife's betrayal.
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.