Priam

In Greek mythology, Priam (Greek Πρίαμος "Priamos") was the king of Troy during the Trojan War and youngest son of Laomedon. Modern scholars derive his name from the Luwian compound "Priimuua", which means "exceptionally courageous". [Starke, Frank. "Troia im Kontext des historisch-politischen und sprachlichen Umfeldes Kleinasiens im 2. Jahrtausend". // Studia Troica, 1997, 7, 447-87.]

Marriage and issue

:"See List of King Priam's children"Priam had a number of wives; his first was Arisbe, who had given birth to his son Aesacus, who met a tragic death before the advent of the Trojan War. Priam later divorced her in favor of Hecuba (or Hecebe), daughter of the Phrygian king Dymas. By his various wives and concubines Priam was the father of fifty sons and several daughters. Hector was Priam's eldest son by Hecuba, and heir to the Trojan throne. Paris, another son, was the cause of the Trojan War. Other children of Priam and Hecuba include the prophetic Helenus and Cassandra; eldest daughter Ilione; Deiphobus; Troilus; Polites; Creusa, wife of Aeneas; Laodice, wife of Helicaon; Polyxena, who was slaughtered on the grave of Achilles; and Polydorus, his youngest son.

Life

Priam was originally called Podarces and he kept himself from being killed by Heracles by giving him a golden veil embroidered by his sister, Hesione. After this, Podarces changed his name to Priam. This is an etymology based on "priatos" "ransomed"; the actual etymology of the name is probably not Greek, but perhaps Lydian in origin.

When Hector is killed by Achilles, Achilles treats the body with disrespect and refuses to give it back. Zeus sends the god Hermes to escort King Priam, Hector’s father and the ruler of Troy, into the Achaean 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. Deeply moved, Achilles finally relents and returns Hector’s corpse to the Trojans. Both sides agree to a temporary truce, and Hector receives a hero’s funeral. Achilles further goes on to give Priam leave to hold a proper funeral for Hector complete with funeral games. He promises that no Greek will engage in combat for 11 days, but on the 12th day of peace, the mighty war between the Greeks and the Trojans would resume.

It has been suggested by Hittite sources, specifically the Manapa-Tarhunta letter that there is historical basis for the archetype of King Priam. The letter describes one Piyama-Radu as a troublesome rebel who overthrew a Hittite client king and thereafter established his own rule over the city of Troy (mentioned as Wilusa in Hittite). There is also mention of an Alaksandu, suggested to be Paris Alexander(King Priam's son from the Iliad), a later ruler of the city of Wilusa who established peace between Wilusa and Hatti(see the Alaksandu treaty).

In later literature

In the sack of Troy, Priam was brutally murdered by Achilles's son Neoptolemus (also known in the "Aeneid" as Pyrrhus), in a scene memorialized both in Virgil's "Aeneid" and Shakespeare's "Hamlet". In said stories, Neoptolemus stormed into the palace of Priam and proceeded to make his way to Priam's chamber. After killing Polites, one of the many sons of Priam, Neoptolemus stabbed Priam in the side with his sword and inserted the blade up to the hilt. In Hamlet, Shakespeare particularly mentions Pyrrhus (Neoptolemus) pausing before killing Priam (i.e. killing him deliberately in cold blood).

In the Prose Edda, Snorri Sturluson claimed that Priam was the ancestor of a race that migrated to Scandinavia and served as a basis for the Aesir.

In popular culture

In "Dark Mirror", a Star Trek novel taking place in the Mirror Universe, Priam has a much darker fate - as he is begging for the release of Hector's body for the burial rites, Achilles kills him in cold blood.

In "" by "David Gemmell", Priam leaps to his death from the Great Tower in Troy.

Family Tree

References