Priam Hecuba Paris Hector Andromache Astyanax Affair Atreus

Priam Hecuba Paris Hector Andromache Astyanax Affair Atreus Helen Menelaos Hermione Aërope Agamemnon (older) Kassandra

Astyanax was the son of Hector and Andromache. His original name was Scamandrius but the people of Troy nicknamed him Astyanax. During the Trojan war Andromache hid Astyanax in the tomb of Hector, however the child was discovered. The child was trown over Troys walls by Neoptolemus also known as Pyrrhus. This is showing the child Astyanax being Thrown from the walls of Troy as his mother Andromache watches

Hecuba Husband of King Priam of Troy. She has a total of 19 children, only a few of them being Paris, Hector, and Kassandra. Hecuba’s father was Dymyas and her mother was Eunoë (who was said to be the daughter of Sangarius the god of the Sangarius River. Hecuba also has a son with Apollo, Troilus. The prophecy said that Troy would not be defeated if Troilus reached the age of twenty, Achilles killed him during the Trojan War. Hecuba was given to Odysseaus as a slave after the fall of Troy. Hecuba was the only one to witness the death of her daughter Polyxena and her grandson Astyanax (child of Hector and Andromache). They were sacrificed to Achilles.

Andromache Is the wife of Hector (in this story a widow) and has a son Astyanax. Her father and brothers were also killed in the Trojan War. Achilles killed all those close to her. When she was captured she was made in to Neoptolemus’s slave and concubine. Neoptolemus, also Pyrrhus, is the only son of Achilles. His mother is Deidamea, King Peleus’s daughter. Greek Herald Talthybios threw her son Astyanax from the city walls. They feared he would avenge his Father Hector if they let him live. "Andromache Mourning Hector" by Jacques-Louis David, 1783

Kassandra Daughter of Priam and Hecuba. She is sister of Paris and Hector. Apollo has given her the gift of prophecy (seeing into the future) because of her beauty. We learn that in The Oresteia, a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus, that Kassandra made a promise to Apollo to be his companion, but broke it releasing his wrath. So no one believer her predictions. She foresees the Trojan War and the death of Agamemnon but can’t do anything about it because no one believes her. During the fall of Troy she hides in the temple of Athena where she was abducted and raped by Ajax the Lesser, then taken as a concubine for King Agamemnon. She is killed by Clytemnestra (Agamemnon’s wife) and her lover Aegisthus. Ajax and Cassandra by Solomon Joseph Solomon, 1886.

Helen Before the Trojan War The daughter of Zeus and Leda (the wife of Spartan king Tyndareus). At about the age of seven Theseus and Pirithous abducted her. Theseus chose Helen; he left her with his mother Aethra because she was not of marrying age. During the selection process of Helen’s husband Menelaus sent his brother Agamemnon to represent him. Tyndareus chooses Menelaus as Helen’s husband. However, before the decision was made all the suitors swore an oath to defend the chosen husband against whoever should come against him. Helen of Troy by Evelyn de Morgan (1898, London)

Helen During/After the Trojan Women Years later Paris had been appointed by Zeus to proclaim the most beautiful goddess, Aphrodite promised Paris the most beautiful woman in the world. Paris chooses Aphrodite’s offer earning the wrath of Athena and Hera. So Paris abducted Helen. Once Menelaus discovered that his wife was missing he called upon Helen’s suitors to fulfill their oaths, which began the Trojan War. There are several theories on Helen’s role in the Trojan War, a couple being that she became a traitor. After the fall of Paris and Hector, she married their younger brother Deïphobus, but ultimately betrayed him ask well leaving him to Menelaus and Odysseus. In the end when Menelaus found her he was going to kill her, but before he could she dropped her robe and before he could kill her he was overwhelmed by her beauty and could not kill her. The Love of Helen and Paris by Jacques-Louis David (oil on canvas, 1788, Louvre, Paris

Menelaus He is the King of Sparta, the husband of Helen, and brother to Agamemnon When Menelaus married Helen, he and Odysseus as well as other suitors of Helen made a solemn oath to defent the chosen husband of Helen in any quarrel. When Paris abducted Helen, Menelaus called on this suitors to fufill their oath. After the Trojan War, Menelaus was returning home but his ship was blown of course and he became stranded in Egypt. His marriage with Helen was strained because of the Trojan war and because she could not produce a male heir.