Astyanax
Encyclopedia
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, Astyanax (icon; Ancient Greek: Ἀστυάναξ – Astyánax, gen.: Ἀστυάνακτος) was the son of Hector
Hector
In Greek mythology, Hectōr , or Hektōr, is a Trojan prince and the greatest fighter for Troy in the Trojan War. As the first-born son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, a descendant of Dardanus, who lived under Mount Ida, and of Tros, the founder of Troy, he was a prince of the royal house and the...
, Crown Prince of Troy and Princess Andromache
Andromache
In Greek mythology, Andromache was the wife of Hector and daughter of Eetion, and sister to Podes. She was born and raised in the city of Cilician Thebe, over which her father ruled...
of Cilician Thebe. His birth name was Scamandrius (in Greek Σκαμάνδριος or Σκάμανδρος, after the river Scamander
Karamenderes River
Karamenderes is the modern name of the river Scamander, along the lower course of which, according to the Iliad, the battles of the Trojan War were fought. It flows entirely within the Turkish province of Çanakkale....
), but the people of Troy
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
nicknamed him Astyanax (i.e. high king, or overlord, of the city), because he was the son of the city's great defender (Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
VI, 403) and the heir apparent's firstborn son.
During the Trojan War
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
, Andromache hid the child in Hector's tomb but the child was discovered, and his fate was debated by the Greeks, for if he were allowed to live, it was feared he would avenge his father and rebuild Troy. In the version given by the Little Iliad
Little Iliad
The Little Iliad is a lost epic of ancient Greek literature. It was one of the Epic Cycle, that is, the "Trojan" cycle, which told the entire history of the Trojan War in epic verse. The story of the Little Iliad comes chronologically after that of the Aethiopis, and is followed by that of the...
and repeated by Pausanius
Pausanias (geographer)
Pausanias was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for his Description of Greece , a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from firsthand observations, and is a crucial link between classical...
(x 25.4), he was killed by Neoptolemus
Neoptolemus
Neoptolemus was the son of the warrior Achilles and the princess Deidamia in Greek mythology. Achilles' mother foretold many years before Achilles' birth that there would be a great war. She saw that her only son was to die if he fought in the war...
(also called Pyrrhus), who threw the infant from the walls. Another version is given in Iliou persis
Iliou persis
The Iliupersis , also known as The Sack of Troy, is a lost epic of ancient Greek literature. It was one of the Epic Cycle, that is, the "Trojan" cycle, which told the entire history of the Trojan War in epic verse...
. It has also been depicted in some Greek vases that Neoptolemus kills Priam
Priam
Priam 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".- Marriage and issue :...
, 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. In Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
's Metamorphoses, the child is thrown from the walls by the Greek victors (13, 413ff). In Euripides
Euripides
Euripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
's The Trojan Women
The Trojan Women
The Trojan Women is a tragedy by the Greek playwright Euripides. Produced during the Peloponnesian War, it is often considered a commentary on the capture of the Aegean island of Melos and the subsequent slaughter and subjugation of its populace by the Athenians earlier in 415 BC , the same year...
(719 ff), the herald Talthybius
Talthybius
Talthybius was herald and friend to Agamemnon in the Trojan War. He was the one who took Briseis from the tent of Achilles. Preceding the duel of Menelaus and Paris, Agamemnon charges him to fetch a sheep for sacrifice. He died at Aegium in Achaia....
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
Seneca the Younger
Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero...
's version of The Trojan Women, the prophet Calchas
Calchas
In Greek mythology, Calchas , son of Thestor, was an Argive seer, with a gift for interpreting the flight of birds that he received of Apollo: "as an augur, Calchas had no rival in the camp"...
declares that Astyanax must be thrown from the walls if the Greek fleet is to be allowed favorable winds (365–70), but once led to the tower, the child himself leaps off the walls (1100–3). Other sources for the story of the Sack of Troy and Astyanax's death can be found in the Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)
Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)
The Bibliotheca , in three books, provides a comprehensive summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends, "the most valuable mythographical work that has come down from ancient times," Aubrey Diller observed, whose "stultifying purpose" was neatly expressed in the epigram noted by...
, Hyginus
Hyginus
Hyginus can refer to:People:*Gaius Julius Hyginus , Roman poet, author of Fabulae, reputed author of Poeticon astronomicon*Hyginus Gromaticus, Roman surveyor*Pope Hyginus, also a saint, Bishop of Rome about 140...
(Fabula 109), Tryphiodorus
Tryphiodorus
Tryphiodorus , fl. 3rd or 4th century, was an epic poet native to Egypt. His only surviving work is The Taking of Ilios, in 691 verses...
(Sack of Troy 644–6).
Survival
There are numerous traditions up through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance that have Astyanax survive the destruction of Troy:- In one version, either TalthybiusTalthybiusTalthybius was herald and friend to Agamemnon in the Trojan War. He was the one who took Briseis from the tent of Achilles. Preceding the duel of Menelaus and Paris, Agamemnon charges him to fetch a sheep for sacrifice. He died at Aegium in Achaia....
finds he can't bear to kill him or else kills a slave's child in his place. Astyanax survives to found settlements in CorsicaCorsicaCorsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
and SardiniaSardiniaSardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
. - The Chronicle of FredegarChronicle of FredegarThe Chronicle of Fredegar is a chronicle that is a primary source of events in Frankish Gaul from 584 to around 641. Later authors continued the history to the coronation of Charlemagne and his brother Carloman on 9 October 768....
contains the oldest mention of a medieval legend linking the FranksFranksThe Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
to the Trojans. One legend, as further elaborated through the Middle Ages, established Astyanax, renamed "FrancusFrancusFrancus, the invention of Merovingian scholars, is a legendary eponymous king of the Franks, a descendant of the Trojans, founder of the Merovingian dynasty and forefather of Charlemagne. In the Renaissance, Francus was generally considered to be another name for the Trojan Astyanax saved from...
", as the founder of Merovingian dynasty and forefather of CharlemagneCharlemagneCharlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
. - In Matteo Maria BoiardoMatteo Maria BoiardoMatteo Maria Boiardo was an Italian Renaissance poet.Boiardo was born at, or near, Scandiano ; the son of Giovanni di Feltrino and Lucia Strozzi, he was of noble lineage, ranking as Count of Scandiano, with seignorial power over Arceto, Casalgrande, Gesso, and Torricella...
's Orlando innamoratoOrlando InnamoratoOrlando Innamorato is an epic poem written by the Italian Renaissance author Matteo Maria Boiardo. The poem is a romance concerning the heroic knight Orlando .-Composition and publication:...
(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 of Messina, killed the giant king of AgrigentoAgrigentoAgrigento , is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy, and capital of the province of Agrigento. It is renowned as the site of the ancient Greek city of Akragas , one of the leading cities of Magna Graecia during the golden...
(named Agranor) and married the queen of Syracuse. He was killed treacherously by AegisthusAegisthusIn Greek mythology, Aegisthus was the son of Thyestes and of Thyestes' daughter, Pelopia....
, but his wife escaped to Reggio and bore a son (Polidoro), from whom the epic hero RuggieroRuggiero (character)Ruggiero is a leading character in the Italian romantic epics Orlando innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo and Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto. Ruggiero had originally appeared in the twelfth-century French epic, Aspremont, reworked by Andrea da Barberino as the chivalric romance Aspramonte...
is descended (III, v, 18-27). In this tradition, the epic hero RolandRolandRoland was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. Historically, Roland was military governor of the Breton March, with responsibility for defending the frontier of Francia against the Bretons...
's sword DurendalDurendalDurendal or Durandal is the sword of Charlemagne's paladin Roland in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France....
was the very sword used by Hector, and Roland wins the sword by defeating a Saracen knight (almonte, the son of AgolantAgolantAgolant or Agolante is a fictional character in Medieval and Renaissance romantic epics dealing with the Matter of France, including Orlando innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo and Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto...
) who had defeated Ruggiero II. - In Ludovico AriostoLudovico AriostoLudovico Ariosto was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic Orlando Furioso . The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato, describes the adventures of Charlemagne, Orlando, and the Franks as they battle against the Saracens with diversions...
's Orlando FuriosoOrlando FuriosoOrlando Furioso is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its complete form until 1532...
, a continuation of Boiardo's poem, Astyanax is saved from Odysseus by Hector (36.70) who substitutes another baby. Astyanax arrives in SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
and eventually becomes king of Messina, and his heirs later rule over CalabriaCalabriaCalabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
(36.70–73). From these rulers is descended Ruggiero II, father of the hero Ruggiero, legendary founder of the house of EsteEsteThe House of Este is a European princely dynasty. It is split into two branches; the elder is known as the House of Welf-Este or House of Welf historically rendered in English, Guelf or Guelph...
. - Based on the medieval legend, Jean Lemaire de BelgesJean Lemaire de BelgesJean Lemaire de Belges was a Walloon poet and historian who lived primarily in France.He was born in Hainaut , the godson and possibly a nephew of Jean Molinet, and spent some time with him at Valenciennes, where the elder writer held a kind of academy of poetry. Lemaire in his first poems calls...
'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 GaulGaulGaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
(while, at the same time, Bavo, cousin of PriamPriamPriam 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".- Marriage and issue :...
, comes to the city of TrierTrierTrier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
) and founds the dynasty leading to Pepin and CharlemagneCharlemagneCharlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
. - Lemaire de Belges' work inspired Pierre de RonsardPierre de RonsardPierre de Ronsard was a French poet and "prince of poets" .-Early life:...
'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. - In Jean RacineJean RacineJean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...
's play AndromaqueAndromaqueAndromaque is a tragedy in five acts by the French playwright Jean Racine written in alexandrine verse. It was first performed on 17 November 1667 before the court of Louis XIV in the Louvre in the private chambers of the Queen, Marie Thérèse, by the royal company of actors, called "les Grands...
(1667), Astyanax has narrowly escaped death at the hands of Odysseus, who has unknowingly been tricked into killing another child in his place. Andromache has been taken prisoner in EpirusEpirusThe name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
by Neoptolemus (Pyrrhus) who is due to be married to HermioneHermione (mythology)In Greek mythology, Hermione was the only daughter of Menelaus and Helen; however, some sources state that her mother also had a daughter, Iphigenia, by Theseus, as well as three younger sons, one by Menelaus, the others by Paris, prince of Troy.Hermione was nine when her mother left with Paris...
, the only daughter of the SpartaSpartaSparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
n king MenelausMenelausMenelaus may refer to;*Menelaus, one of the two most known Atrides, a king of Sparta and son of Atreus and Aerope*Menelaus on the Moon, named after Menelaus of Alexandria.*Menelaus , brother of Ptolemy I Soter...
and Helen of Troy. OresteOrestesOrestes was the son of Agamemnon in Greek mythology; Orestes may also refer to:Drama*Orestes , by Euripides*Orestes, the character in Sophocles' tragedy Electra*Orestes, the character in Aeschylus' trilogy of tragedies, Oresteia...
, son of AgamemnonAgamemnonIn Greek mythology, Agamemnon was the son of King Atreus and Queen Aerope of Mycenae, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra, and the father of Electra and Orestes. Mythical legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area...
and ClytemnestraClytemnestraClytemnestra or Clytaemnestra , in ancient Greek legend, was the wife of Agamemnon, king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Mycenae or Argos. In the Oresteia by Aeschylus, she was a femme fatale who murdered her husband, Agamemnon – said by Euripides to be her second husband – and the Trojan princess...
, brother to ElectraElectraIn Greek mythology, Electra was an Argive princess and daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra. She and her brother Orestes plotted revenge against their mother Clytemnestra and stepfather Aegisthus for the murder of their father Agamemnon...
and Iphigenia, and by now absolved of the crime of matricideMatricideMatricide is the act of killing one's mother. As for any type of killing, motives can vary significantly.- Known or suspected matricides :* Amastris, queen of Heraclea, was drowned by her two sons in 284 BC....
prophesied by the Delphic oracleDelphiDelphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...
, has come to the court of Pyrrhus to plead on behalf of the Greeks for the return of Astyanax.
Modern literature
Astyanax is also the subject of several modern works:- In David GemmellDavid GemmellDavid Andrew Gemmell was a bestselling British author of heroic fantasy. A former journalist and newspaper editor, Gemmell had his first work of fiction published in 1984. He went on to write over thirty novels. Best known for his debut, Legend, Gemmell's works display violence, yet also explore...
's Troy SeriesTroy SeriesThe Troy Series is a sequence of historical fantasy novels by writer David Gemmell, adapting events surrounding the Greek legend of the Trojan War. All three novels have been published, the last two posthumously.*Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow...
, 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 hillsSeven hills of RomeThe Seven Hills of Rome east of the river Tiber form the geographical heart of Rome, within the walls of the ancient city.The seven hills are:* Aventine Hill * Caelian Hill...
, a colony in Italy Aeneas and Odysseus found. - In S. P. SomtowS. P. SomtowS. P. Somtow is a Thai-American musical composer. He is also a science fiction, fantasy, and horror author writing in English...
's fantasy novel The Shattered Horse, Astyanax's playmate, dressed in the prince's armor, is mistakenly killed in his place; Astyanax survives to manhood and encounters many of the principal characters of IliadIliadThe Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
.