Editing Neoptolemus

{{Short description|Greek mythological figure; son of Achilles}}
{{Other people}}
{{Primary sources|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Greek
| name = Neoptolemus
| deity_of = Prince of [[Skyros]]
| member_of = 
| image = Amphora death Priam Louvre F222.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = ''Neoptolemus killing Priam''
| other_names = Pyrrhus, Achillides, Pelides, [[Aeacides]]
| affiliation = 
| cult_center = 
| abode = Skyros
| consort = (1) [[Andromache]]<br>(2) [[Hermione (mythology)|Hermione]]
| parents = (a) [[Achilles]] and [[Deidamia of Scyros|Deidamia]]<br>(b) Achilles and [[Iphigenia]]
| siblings = Oneiros
| offspring = (1) [[Molossus (son of Neoptolemus)|Molossus]], [[Pielus (mythology)|Pielus]], [[Pergamus]] and [[Amphialus]]<br>(2) eight children
| predecessor = 
| successor = 
| Roman_equivalent = 
| Etruscan_equivalent = 
}}[[File:Pompeii - Casa di Marco Lucrezio Frontone - Winter Triclinium.jpg|thumb|Scene from the tragedy [[Andromache (play)|Andromache]] by [[Euripides]]: [[Orestes]] kills Neoptolemus at the altar of Apollo in Delphi. Despairing [[Hermione (mythology)|Hermione]], wife of Neoptolemus but previously promised to Orestes, kneels at the foot of the altar. Roman fresco in [[Pompeii]]]]
[[File:Map of ancient Epirus and environs (English).svg|thumb|Neoptolemus's Kingdom, Epirus]]

In [[Greek mythology]], '''Neoptolemus''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|n|iː|ə|p|ˈ|t|ɒ|l|ᵻ|m|ə|s}}; {{Langx|grc|Νεοπτόλεμος|Neoptólemos|new warrior}}), originally called '''Pyrrhus''' at birth ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɪ|r|ə|s}}; {{Langx|grc|Πύρρος|Pýrrhos|red|label= none}}), was the son of the mythical warrior [[Achilles]] and the princess [[Deidamia (mythology) |Deidamia]], and the brother of Oneiros.<ref>[[Ptolemy Hephaestion]], ''New History'' 3 as cited in [[Photius]], ''Bibliotheca'' [http://remacle.org/bloodwolf/erudits/photius/ptolemee.htm 190.20]</ref> He became the progenitor of the ruling dynasty of the [[Molossians]] of ancient [[Epirus]]. In a reference to his pedigree, Neoptolemus was sometimes called '''Achillides''' (from his father Achilles' name)<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Heroides]]'' 8.3</ref> or, from his grandfather's or great-grandfather's names, '''Pelides''' or [[Aeacidae|'''Aeacides''']].<ref>[[Virgil]], ''[[Aeneid]]'' 2.263 & 3.296</ref> According to [[Plutarch]], Neoptolemus was the ancestor of [[Pyrrhus of Epirus]].<ref name="Plutarch">[[Plutarch]], ''[[Parallel Lives]]'', "[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Pyrrhus*.html Pyrrhus]"</ref>

== Description ==
In his ''Chronography'' the chronicler [[John Malalas|Malalas]] described Neoptolemus as "of good stature, good chest, thin, white, good nose, ruddy hair, wooly hair, light-eyed, big-eyed, blond eyebrows, blond beginnings of a beard, round-faced, precipitate, daring, agile, a fierce fighter".<ref>[[John Malalas|Malalas]], ''Chronography'' [https://topostext.org/work/793#5.104 5.104]</ref> Meanwhile, in the account of [[Dares Phrygius|Dares the Phrygian]], he was described as "large, robust, and easily irritated. He lisped slightly, and was good-looking, with a hooked nose, round eyes, and shaggy eyebrows".<ref>[[Dares Phrygius]], [https://www.theoi.com/Text/DaresPhrygius.html 13]</ref>

=== Background and Birth ===

In ''[[Cypria]]'', Achilles sails to [[Skyros]] after a failed expedition to [[Troy]], marries princess Deidamia and fathers Neoptolemus with her before being called to arms yet again.<ref>[http://mcllibrary.org/Hesiod/cypria.html Fragments of the Cypria]</ref>

In a non-Homeric version of the story, Achilles's mother [[Thetis]] had a vision many years before Achilles's birth that there would be a great war, and that her only son was to die in it if he partook. She tried to prevent him from being called to fight in the [[Trojan War]] by [[Achilles on Skyros |hiding him]], disguised as a woman, in the court of [[Lycomedes of Scyros|Lycomedes]], the king of Skyros. During his stay, Achilles had an affair with the princess, Deidamea, who then gave birth to Neoptolemus (originally called Pyrrhus, because his father had called himself Pyrrha, the female version of that name, while disguised as a woman). 

Most accounts mention Deidamia being Neoptolemus's mother, but in some accounts, he was the son of Achilles by [[Iphigenia]] instead.<ref>[[John Tzetzes|Tzetzes]] on [[Lycophron]], 133; [[Eustathius of Thessalonica|Eustathius]] on [[Homer]], p. 1187</ref> In those accounts, his father transported him to the island of Skyros after the sacrifice of his mother.

=== Trojan War ===
The Greeks captured the Trojan seer [[Helenus]] and forced him to tell them under what conditions they could take Troy. Helenus revealed to them that they could defeat Troy if they could acquire the poisonous arrows of [[Heracles]] (then in the possession of [[Philoctetes]]); steal the [[Palladium (mythology) |Palladium]] (which led to the building of the famous wooden [[Trojan Horse|horse of Troy]]); and put Achilles' son in the war.

The Greeks then sent Odysseus to retrieve Neoptolemus, then a mere teenager, from Skyros.  The two then went to [[Lemnos]] to retrieve [[Philoctetes]] (years earlier, on the way to Troy, Philoctetes had been bitten by a snake on [[Chryse Island]]). Agamemnon had advised that he be left behind because the wound was festering and smelled bad. Philoctetes's retrieval is the plot of [[Philoctetes (Sophocles)| ''Philoctetes'']], a play by [[Sophocles]].

Some sources portray Neoptolemus as brutal. He killed at least six on the field of battle<ref>[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'' 114</ref> and several more during the subsequent fall of Troy ([[Priam]], [[Eurypylus (son of Telephus)| Eurypylus]], [[Polyxena]], [[Polites (Prince of Troy)| Polites]] and [[Astyanax]] (Hector and Andromache's infant son) among others). He captured [[Helenus]], and made [[Andromache]] his [[concubine]]. The ghost of Achilles appeared to the survivors of the war, demanding the Trojan princess [[Polyxena]] to be sacrificed before anybody could leave for home; Neoptolemus was the one to carry out the sacrifice. (In scene (ll 566–575) of [[Euripides]]'s play [[Hecuba (play)| ''Hekabe'']] (also known as ''Hecuba'') Neoptolemus is shown as a torn young man who kills [[Polyxena]] in the least painful way possible, contrasting with his usual brutal and uncompassionate image.) With Andromache, Helenus and [[Phoenix (son of Amyntor) |Phoenix]], Neoptolemus then sailed to the [[Epirot Islands]] and became the king of [[Epirus]]. 

By the enslaved [[Andromache]], daughter of [[Cilicia|Cilician]] king [[Eetion|Eëtion]], Neoptolemus was the father of [[Molossus (son of Neoptolemus) |Molossos]] (and, according to the myth, therefore an ancestor of [[Olympias]], the mother of [[Alexander the Great]]), [[Pielus (mythology)|Pielus]], [[Pergamus]]<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], 1.11.1</ref> and [[Amphialus]].<ref name=":0" />

[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]] has a section on Amphialus:

<blockquote>Neoptolemus, son of Achilles and Deidamia, begat Amphialus by captive Andromache, daughter of Ēëtion. But after he heard that Hermione his betrothed had been given to Orestes in marriage, he went to Lacedaemon and demanded her from Menelaus. Menelaus did not wish to go back on his word, and took Hermione from Orestes and gave her to Neoptolemus. Orestes, thus insulted, slew Neoptolemus as he was sacrificing to Delphi, and recovered Hermione. The bones of Neoptolemus were scattered through the land of [[Ambracia]], which is in the district of Epirus.<ref name=":0">Hyginus, ''Fables'' 123</ref></blockquote>

[[File:Guérin Andromaque et Pyrrhus 1810.jpg|thumb|''[[Andromache and Pyrrhus]]'', by [[Pierre-Narcisse Guérin]], 1810]]

By Lanassa, granddaughter of [[Heracles]], he fathered eight children.<ref>Justinus, 17.3</ref>

Like in Euripides's ''Hekabe'', [[Sophocles]]'s ''Philoctetes'' also shows him as a much kinder man, who honours his promises and shows remorse when he is made to trick Philoctetes.

=== After the War ===
There are two differing accounts of Neoptolemus's death: he was either killed after he attempted to take [[Hermione (mythology) |Hermione]] from [[Orestes]], or after he denounced [[Apollo]], the murderer of his father. In the first case, he was killed by Orestes; in the second, the [[Delphi]]c priest of Apollo named [[Machaereus]] took revenge.

After Neoptolemus's death his kingdom was partitioned. According to Virgil's ''Aeneid'', [[Helenus]] (who later married [[Andromache]]) took part of it: "Helenus, a son of Priam, was king over these Greek cities of Epirus, having succeeded to the throne and bed of Pyrrhus&nbsp;...".<ref>
{{cite book|last=Virgil|title=The Aeneid|year= 1990|url= https://archive.org/details/aeneidvirg00virg|url-access= registration|publisher= Penguin Books, David West|pages=[https://archive.org/details/aeneidvirg00virg/page/65 65], line 292|isbn=9780140444575 }}
</ref>

==In art and literature==
*Neoptolemus is one of the main characters in ''[[Philoctetes (Sophocles)|Philoctetes]]'', a tragedy by [[Sophocles]].
*''[[Andromache (play)|Andromache]]'', a tragedy by [[Euripides]]. Neoptolemus does not appear on stage but his death at Delphi is described
*''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus' Library]]'', in Book 3 and in the Epitome 5.10–12, 5.21, 5.24
*''[[Aeneid|The Aeneid]]'' by [[Virgil]]
*''[[Troades (Seneca)|Trojan Women]]'' by [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]]
*''The Posthomerica'', an epic poem by [[Quintus of Smyrna]]
*In ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]'', he enslaved [[Helenus of Troy|Helenus]] and other Trojans in revenge for the death of his father
*In ''[[Confessio Amantis]]'' Book 4 line 2161ff he is the slayer of the Amazon [[Penthesilea]] 
*''The Tragedy of Dido'' by [[Christopher Marlowe]]
*Pyrrhus features in the player's speech in [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Hamlet]]'' (Act 2, Scene 2) where his killing of Priam is described
*''The Second Part of the Iron Age'', the final play in the Ages series by [[Thomas Heywood]]
*Pyrrhus is a leading character in ''[[Andromaque]]'' (1667), a play by [[Jean Racine]]
*''Astianatte'' (1725), an opera by [[Leonardo Vinci]]
*''[[Andromaque (opera)|Andromaque]]'' (1780), an opera by [[Grétry]] based on Racine's play
*''[[Ermione]]'' (1819), an opera by [[Gioachino Rossini]] based on Racine's play
*''[[An Arrow's Flight]]'', a novel by Mark Merlis (1998)
*''[[The Song of Troy]],'' a novel written by Colleen McCullough (1998)
*''[[The Golden Prince]]'', a novel written by Ken Catran (1999)
*''[[The Song of Achilles]]'', a novel by Madeline Miller (2011)
*''[[The Silence of the Girls]]'', a novel written by Pat Barker (2018)
Mentioned briefly in Euripides's plays ''[[Trojan Women]]'' and ''[[Hecuba (play)|Hecuba]]'', simply stating that Andromache, wife of Hector, was his promised spear bride.

==Notes==

<references/>

== References ==

* [[Dares Phrygius]], ''from The Trojan War.'' ''The Chronicles of [[Dictys Cretensis|Dictys of Crete]] and Dares the Phrygian'' translated by Richard McIlwaine Frazer, Jr. (1931-). Indiana University Press. 1966. [http://www.theoi.com/Text/DaresPhrygius.html Online version at theio.com]
* [[Gaius Julius Hyginus]], ''Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. [https://topostext.org/work/206 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
* [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'' with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. {{ISBN|0-674-99328-4}}. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0160 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library]
* Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.  [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0159 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Ovid|Publius Ovidius Naso]], ''The Epistles of Ovid.'' London. J. Nunn, Great-Queen-Street; R. Priestly, 143, High-Holborn; R. Lea, Greek-Street, Soho; and J. Rodwell, New-Bond-Street. 1813. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0085%3Apoem%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* Publius Ovidius Naso. ''Amores, Epistulae, Medicamina faciei femineae, Ars amatoria, Remedia amoris''. Edition by R. Ehwald; Rudolphi Merkelii; Leipzig. B. G. Teubner. 1907. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0068%3Atext%3DEp. Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Virgil|Publius Vergilius Maro]], ''[[Aeneid]].'' Theodore C. Williams. trans. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1910. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0054%3Abook%3D1%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* Publius Vergilius Maro, ''Bucolics, Aeneid, and Georgics''. J. B. Greenough. Boston. Ginn & Co. 1900. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0055 Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
* Publius Vergilius Maro, ''Bucolics, Aeneid, and Georgics''. J. B. Greenough. Boston. Ginn & Co. 1900. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0055 Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library].

==External links==
*{{Commonscatinline|Neoptolemus}}
*{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Neoptolemus}}

{{Aeneid}}
{{Characters in the Iliad}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Achaean Leaders]]
[[Category:Characters in the Aeneid]]
[[Category:Ancient Epirotes]]
[[Category:Characters in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Skyros]]
[[Category:Greek regicides]]