Editing Priam

{{short description|Mythological king of Troy}}
{{redirect|Priamus|other uses |Priam (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = greek
| image = Pompeii - Casa del Menandro - Menelaos.jpg

| caption = Scene from the Trojan War: [[Cassandra]] clings to the [[Palladium (classical antiquity)|Palladium]], the wooden cult image of Athene, while [[Ajax the Lesser]] is about to drag her away in front of her father Priam (standing on the left).
| siblings = [[Tithonus]], [[Lampus]], [[Hicetaon]], [[Clytius]], [[Antigone (daughter of Laomedon)|Antigone]], [[Hesione]], [[Cilla (mythology)|Cilla]], [[Astyoche]], [[Proclia]], [[Aethilla]], [[Medesicaste]] and [[Clytodora]]
| name = Priam, Last King of Troy
| offspring = (1) [[Hector]], [[Paris (mythology)|Paris]], [[Cassandra]], [[Helenus]], [[Deiphobus]], [[Troilus]], [[Laodice (daughter of Priam)|Laodice]], [[Polyxena]], [[Creusa of Troy|Creusa]], [[Polydorus]], [[Polites of Troy|Polites]], [[Antiphus]], [[Pammon]], [[Hipponous]] and [[Ilione|Iliona]]<br>(2) [[Gorgythion]]<br>(3) [[Lycaon (son of Priam)|Lycaon]]<br>(4) [[Aesacus]]<br>(5) [[List of children of Priam|others]]
| consort = (1) [[Hecuba]]<br>(2) [[Castianeira (mythology)|Castianeira]]<br>(3) [[Laothoe]]<br>(4) [[Alexirrhoe]] or [[Arisbe (mythology)|Arisbe]]<br>(5) ''unknown''
| predecessor = [[Laomedon]]
| deity_of = King of [[Troy]]
| parents = [[Laomedon]] and [[Placia (mythology)|Placia]] or [[Strymo (mythology)|Strymo]] (or [[Rhoeo (mythology)|Rhoeo]]) or [[Zeuxippe]] or [[Leucippe]]
}}

In [[Greek mythology]], '''Priam''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|r|aɪ|.|ə|m|}}; {{langx|grc|Πρίαμος}}, {{IPA|el|prí.amos|pron}}) was the legendary and last<ref>{{Cite web |title=Priam {{!}} Myth, Significance, & Trojan War {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Priam-Greek-mythology |access-date=2022-03-30 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> king of [[Troy]] during the [[Trojan War]]. He was the son of [[Laomedon]]. His many children included notable characters such as [[Hector]], [[Paris (mythology)|Paris]], and [[Cassandra]].

==Etymology==
Most scholars take the etymology of the name from the [[Luwian]] 𒉺𒊑𒀀𒈬𒀀 (Pa-ri-a-mu-a-, or “exceptionally courageous”),<ref>Frank Starke, “Troia im Kontext des historisch-politischen und sprachlichen Umfeldes Kleinasiens im 2. Jahrtausend”, ''Studia Troica'' 7 (1997), 458, n. 114, referring to the author's previous work, ''Untersuchungen zur Stammbildung des keilschrift-luwischen Nomens'' (1990), 455, n. 1645: “Priya-muwa- ‘der hervorragenden, vortrefflichen Mut hat’”.</ref><ref>Haas, [https://books.google.com/books?id=KWgD-s23RcEC&dq=Priya-muwa&pg=PA5 ''Die hethitische Literatur: Texte, Stilistik, Motive''] (2006), 5.</ref> attested as the name of a man from Zazlippa, in [[Kizzuwatna]]. A similar form is attested transcribed in Greek as ''Paramoas'' near Kaisareia in [[Cappadocia]].<ref>Calvert Watkins, "The Language of the Trojans", ''Troy and the Trojan War: A Symposium Held at Bryn Mawr College, October 1984'', ed. Machteld Johanna Mellink (Bryn Mawr, Penn: Bryn Mawr Commentaries, 1986), 57, citing L. Zgusta, ''Kleinasiatische Personennamen'' (Prague 1964), 417:1203-1 and ''Anatolische Personennamensippen'' I (Prague 1964), 157.</ref>
Some have identified Priam with the historical figure of [[Piyama-Radu]], a warlord active in the vicinity of [[Wilusa]].<ref>S.P. Morris, "A Tale of Two Cities", ''American Journal of Archaeology'' 93 (1989), p. 532.</ref> However, this identification is disputed, and is highly unlikely, given that he was known in Hittite records as being an ally of the [[Ahhiyawa]] against Wilusa.

A popular folk etymology derives the name from the Greek verb {{Transliteration|grc|priamai}}, meaning 'to buy'. This in turn gives rise to a story of Priam's sister Hesione ransoming his freedom with a veil, from [[Heracles]], thereby 'buying' him.<ref>Jenny March, ''The Penguin Book of Classical Myths'' (London: Penguin Books, 2008), p. 300</ref> This story is attested in the ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'' and in other influential mythographical works dated to the first and second centuries AD.<ref>Apollodorus, 2.6, [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0022:text=Library:book=2:chapter=6&highlight=priam#note15 f.n. 15]</ref> These sources are, however, dated much later than the first attestations of the name Priamos or Pariya-muwas, and thus are more problematic.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

== Description ==
Priam was described by the chronicler [[John Malalas|Malalas]] in his account of the ''Chronography'' as "tall for the age, big, good, ruddy-colored, light-eyed, long-nosed, eyebrows meeting, keen-eyed, gray, restrained."<ref>[[John Malalas|Malalas]], ''Chronography'' [https://topostext.org/work/793#5.105 5.105]</ref> Meanwhile, in the account of [[Dares Phrygius|Dares the Phrygian]], he was illustrated as ". . .had a handsome face and a pleasant voice. He was large and swarthy."<ref>[[Dares Phrygius]], ''History of the Fall of Troy'' [https://www.theoi.com/Text/DaresPhrygius.html 12]</ref>

== Marriage and children ==
: ''See [[List of children of Priam]]''

Priam is said to have fathered fifty sons and many daughters, with his chief wife [[Hecuba]], daughter of the [[Phrygians|Phrygia]]n king [[Dymas of Phrygia|Dymas]] and many other wives and concubines. These children include famous mythological figures such as [[Hector]], [[Paris (mythology)|Paris]], [[Helenus]], [[Cassandra]], [[Deiphobus]], [[Troilus]], [[Laodice (daughter of Priam)|Laodice]], [[Polyxena]], [[Creusa (wife of Aeneas)|Creusa]], and [[Polydorus (son of Priam)|Polydorus]]. Priam was killed when he was around 80 years old by Achilles' son Neoptolemus.

[[File:Amphora death Priam Louvre F222.jpg|thumb|Priam killed by [[Neoptolemus]], detail of an Attic black-figure amphora, ca. 520–510 BC]]

== Life ==
In Book 3 of [[Homer]]'s ''[[Iliad]]'', Priam tells [[Helen of Troy]] that he once helped King [[Mygdon of Phrygia]] in a battle against the [[Amazons]].

When Hector is killed by [[Achilles]], the Greek warrior treats the body with disrespect and refuses to give it back. According to Homer in book XXIV of the ''Iliad'', [[Zeus]] sends the god [[Hermes]] to escort King Priam, Hector's father and the ruler of Troy, into the Greek 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]]. Priam begs Achilles to pity him, saying "I have endured what no one on earth has ever done before &ndash; I put my lips to the hands of the man who killed my son."<ref>''The Iliad'', Fagles translation. Penguin Books, 1991, p. 605.</ref> Deeply moved, Achilles relents and returns Hector's corpse to the Trojans. Both sides agree to a temporary truce, and Achilles gives Priam leave to hold a proper funeral for Hector, complete with funeral games. He promises that no Greek will engage in combat for at least nine days, but on the twelfth day of peace, the Greeks would all stand once more and the mighty war would continue.

Priam is killed during the [[Sack of Troy]] by Achilles' son [[Neoptolemus]] (also known as Pyrrhus). His death is graphically related in Book II of [[Virgil]]'s ''[[Aeneid]]''. In Virgil's description, Neoptolemus first kills Priam's son Polites in front of his father as he seeks sanctuary on the altar of Zeus. Priam rebukes Neoptolemus, throwing a spear at him, harmlessly hitting his shield. Neoptolemus then drags Priam to the altar and there kills him too. Priam's death is alternatively depicted in some Greek vases. In this version, Neoptolemus clubs Priam to death with the corpse of the latter's baby grandson, [[Astyanax]].<ref>''Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae'' II.2.684–85</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery mode="packed">
File:The Death of Priam (SM 1945).png|alt=|''The Death of Priam'' by Johann Andreas Herrlein 
File:Vincenzo Camuccini & Tommaso Piroli - The Death of Priam, 1794-95.jpg|alt=|''The Death of Priam'' by <bdi>[[Vincenzo Camuccini]]</bdi>
File:Gavin Hamilton (1723-1798) - Priam Pleading with Achilles for the Body of Hector - T00864 - Tate.jpg|alt=|''Priam Pleading with Achilles for the Body of Hector'' by [[Gavin Hamilton (artist)|Gavin Hamilton]] (1775)
File:Alexandr Ivanov 005.jpg|alt=|''Priam asks Achilles to return Hector's body'' by <bdi>[[Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov|Alexander Ivanov]]</bdi>
File:Langlois Priam aux pieds d'Achille.JPG|alt=|''[[Priam at the feet of Achilles]]'' by Jérôme-Martin Langlois
File:Eugène Carrière Priam.jpg|alt=|''Priam at the feet of Achilles'' by Eugène Carrière (1876)
File:Lefebvre La mort de Priam.JPG|alt=|''The Death of Priamos'' by <bdi>[[Jules Joseph Lefebvre|Jules Lefebvre]]</bdi>
File:Pierre Narcisse Guérin - The Death of Priam, 1817.jpg|alt=|''The Death of Priam'' by [[Pierre-Narcisse Guérin]] 
File:Jean Baptiste Regnault - The Death of Priam, 1785.jpg|alt=|''The Death of Priam'' by [[Jean-Baptiste Regnault]]
File:Priam holding the golden urn with the remains of Hector MET 225139.jpg|alt=|''Priam holding the golden urn with the remains of Hector'' by Giovanni Maria Benzoni
File:Priam Ransoming Hector's Body MET 225137.jpg|alt=|''Priam Ransoming Hector's Body'' by Giovanni Maria Benzoni
File:Priam Supplicating Achilles for the Body of Hector MET SF40 20 40.jpg|alt=|''Priam Supplicating Achilles for the Body of Hector'' by Giuseppe Girometti
File:Helen and Priam at the Scaen Gate.jpg|alt=|''Helen and Priam at the Scaen Gate'' by Richard Cook 
File:Wencker Priam aux pieds d'Achille.JPG|alt=|''Priam at the feet of Achilles'' by Joseph Wencker
File:Théobald Chartran - Priam demandant à Achille le corps d'Hector - PPP4985 - Musée des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Paris.jpg|alt=|''Priam demandant à Achille le corps d'Hector'' by [[Théobald Chartran]] 
File:Firmin-Girard 1861.jpg|alt=|''The Death of Priam'' by François-Marie Firmin-Girard (1861)
File:Leloir, Mort de Priam, 1861.jpg|alt=|''The Death of Priam'' by Alexandre-Louis Leloir (1861)
File:Luigi Schiavonetti - Priam Begs the Body of Hector, 1805.jpg|alt=|''Priam Begs the Body of Hector'' by [[Henry Fuseli]] 
File:The Sack of Troy- Pyrrhus Killing Priam MET DP803390.jpg|alt=|''The Sack of Troy: Pyrrhus Killing Priam'' by Franz Cleyn
File:Achilles and Priam, in conversation outside of Troy MET DP878758.jpg|alt=|''Achilles and Priam, in conversation outside of Troy'' by Lucas Vorsterman II
</gallery>

== Family tree ==
{{Trojan race}}

==Cultural depiction==
''In film''
* [[Helen of Troy (film)|''Helen of Troy'']] - played by [[Cedric Hardwicke]].
* [[The Trojan Horse (film)|''The Trojan Horse'']] - played by [[Carlo Tamberlani]].
* [[Troy (film)|''Troy'']] - played by [[Peter O'Toole]].

''In TV series''
* ''[[Helen of Troy (miniseries)|Helen of Troy]]'' - played by [[John Rhys-Davies]].
* ''[[Troy: Fall of a City]]'' - played by [[David Threlfall]].

''In theater'' 
* ''[[Les Troyens]]'' in which King Priam plays a minor role. 
* ''[[King Priam]]''.

==See also==
{{Portal|Ancient Greece|Myths|}}
*[[Priam's Treasure]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
* [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0022 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0021 Greek text available from the same website].
*[[Homer]], [[Iliad|''The Iliad'']] with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. {{ISBN|978-0674995796|}}. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0134 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
*Homer, ''Homeri Opera'' in five volumes. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1920. {{ISBN|978-0198145318|}}. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0133 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
*[[William Smith (lexicographer)|Smith, William]]; ''[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]'', London (1873). [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DP%3Aentry+group%3D44%3Aentry%3Dpriamus-bio-1 "Priamus"]

{{Characters in the Iliad}}

{{Aeneid}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mythological kings of Troy]]
[[Category:Kings in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Trojans]]
[[Category:Characters in the Aeneid]]
[[Category:Characters in the Iliad]]
[[Category:Mythology of Heracles]]
[[Category:Priam| ]]