- Astyanax
:"This article is about the mythological character; for the
fish genus , seeAstyanax (fish) . For thevideo game , seeThe Astyanax . For the MLB player, seeAstyanax Douglass ."In
Greek mythology , Astyanax (Ancient Greek: Ἀστυάναξ, "Astyánax") was the son ofHector andAndromache ."Astyanax". "Oxford Classical Dictionary". Oxford, 1949, p. 111.] His birth name was Scamandrius (in Greek Σκαμάνδριος or Σκάμανδρος, after the river Scamander"A Classical Manual: Being a Mythological, Historical, and Geographical Commentary on Pope's Homer and Dryden's Aeneid of Virgil". J. Murray, 1833, p. 189.] ), but the people ofTroy nicknamed him Astyanax (i.e. high king, or overlord, of the city), because he was the son of the city's great defender ("Iliad " VI, 403) and the heir apparent's firstborn son.During the
Trojan War , Andromache hid the child in Hector's tomb but the child was discovered, and his fate was debated by the Greeks, for if was allowed to live, it was feared he would avenge his father and rebuild Troy. In the version given by the "Little Iliad " and repeated by Pausanius (x 25.4), he was killed byNeoptolemus (also called Pyrrhus), who threw the infant from the walls. Another version is given in "Iliou persis ". (It has also been depicted in some Greek vases that Neoptolemus killsPriam , who has taken refuge near a sacred altar, using Astyanax's dead body to club the old king to death, in front of horrified onlookers.Fact|date=August 2008) InOvid 's "Metamorphoses ", the child is thrown from the walls by the Greek victors (13, 413ff). InEuripides 's "The Trojan Women " (719 ff), the heraldTalthybius reveals to Andromache that Odysseus has convinced the council to have the child thrown from the walls, and the child is in this way killed. In Seneca's version of "The Trojan Women", the prophetCalchas declares that Astyanax must be thrown from the walls if the Greek fleet is to be allowed favorable winds (365-370), but once led to the tower, the child himself leaps off the walls (1100-1103). Other sources for the story of the Sack of Troy and Astyanax's death can be found in the "Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus) ",Hyginus ("Fabula" 109),Tryphiodorus ("Sack of Troy" 644-6). [Graves, Robert. "The Greek Myths" (Volume 2). Pelican, 1955, 1960, p. 343.]There are numerous traditions up through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance that have Astyanax survive the destruction of Troy:
*In one version, eitherTalthybius finds he can't bear to kill him or else kills a slave's child in his place. Astyanax survives to found settlements inCorsica andSardinia .
*The "Chronicle of Fredegar " contains the oldest mention of a medieval legend linking theFranks to the Trojans. [fr icon Hasenohr, Geneviève and Zink, Michel (eds.) "Dictionnaire des lettres françaises: Le Moyen Age". Collection: La Pochothèque. Paris: Fayard, 1992. p. 472, ISBN 2253056626] One legend, as further elaborated through the Middle Ages, established Astyanax, renamed "Francus ", as the founder ofMerovingian dynasty and forefather ofCharlemagne .
*InMatteo Maria Boiardo 's "Orlando innamorato " (1495), Andromache saves Astyanax by hiding him in a tomb, replacing him with another child who is killed along with her by the Greeks. Taken to Sicily, Astyanax became the ruler ofMessina , killed the giant king ofAgrigento (named Agranor) and married the queen of Syracuse. He was killed treacherously byAegisthus , but his wife escaped to Reggio and bore a son (Polidoro), from whom the epic hero Ruggiero is descended (III, v, 18-27). In this tradition, the epic heroRoland 's swordDurendal was the very sword used by Hector, and Roland wins the sword by defeating a Saracen knight (almonte, the son ofAgolant ) who had defeated Ruggiero II.
*InLudovico Ariosto 's "Orlando Furioso ", a continuation of Boiardo's poem, Astyanax is saved from Ulysses by Hector (36.70) who substitutes another baby. Astyanax arrives inSicily and eventually becomes king of Messina, and his heirs later rule overCalabria (36.70-73). From these rulers is descended Ruggiero II, father of the hero Ruggiero, legendary founder of the house ofEste .
* Based on the medieval legend,Jean Lemaire de Belges 's "Illustrations de Gaule et Singularités de Troie" (1510-12) has Astyanax survive the fall of Troy and arrive in Western Europe. He changes his name to Francus and becomes king of Celtic Gaul (while, at the same time, "Bavo", cousin ofPriam , comes to the city ofTrier ) and founds the dynasty leading toPepin andCharlemagne . [fr icon Simonin, Michel (ed.) "Dictionnaire des lettres françaises - Le XVIe siècle". Paris: Fayard, 2001, p. 726, ISBN 2253056634]
*Lemaire de Belges' work inspiredPierre de Ronsard 's epic poem "La Franciade" (1572). In this poem, Jupiter saves Astyanax (renamed "Francus"). The young hero arrives in Crete and falls in love with the princess Hyanthe with whom he is destined to found the royal dynasty of France.
*InJean Racine 's play "Andromaque " (1667), Astyanax has narrowly escaped death at the hands of Ulysses, who has unknowingly been tricked into killing another child in his place. Andromache has been taken prisoner inEpirus by Neoptolemus ("Pyrrhus") who is due to be married toHermione , the only daughter of theSparta n kingMenelaus and Helen of Troy. Oreste, son ofAgamemnon andClytemnestra , brother toElectra andIphigenia , and by now absolved of the crime ofmatricide prophesied by the Delphic oracle, has come to the court of Pyrrhus to plead on behalf of the Greeks for the return of Astyanax.
*InDavid Gemmell 'sTroy Series , Astyanax is the son of Andromache and Aeneas/Helikaon(though he is unaware of this for most of the story). After the Trojan War, Aeneas escapes from Troy with Andromache and Astyanax to Seven hills, a colony in Italy Aeneas and Odysseus found.Other uses
Another Astyanax was the son of
Heracles and Epilais, daughter ofThespius . Astyanax is a genus of fish in the American freshwater familyCharacidae .References
External links
* [http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/astyanax.html Encyclopedia Mythica - Astyanax]
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