by Stephen Fry
MIDAS King of Phrygia. His touch (courtesy of Dionysus) turns everything to gold.
OENONE Mountain nymph. Daughter of the river god Cebren. Wife of Paris. Mother (by him) of Corythus. Abandoned by Paris when he returns to Troy. In revenge for Paris killing Corythus, refuses to heal him of his fatal wound; then immolates herself on Paris’s pyre.
PANDARUS Trojan lord. Son of Lycaon. Skilled with the bow: Diomedes and Menelaus wounded by his arrows. Slain by Diomedes. In some later accounts, go-between for the star-crossed lovers Troilus and Cressida.
PARIS Prince of Troy. Named Alexander at birth. Son of Priam and Hecuba. Brother of numerous siblings, including Cassandra, Deiphobus, Hector, Helenus, Polites, Polydorus, Polyxena and Troilus. Half-brother of Aesacus. Kinsman of Aeneas, Eurypylus, Memnon and Teucer. Fated to destroy Troy. Exposed at birth; raised in obscurity by AGELAUS. Husband of Oenone; father (by her) of Corythus. Awards Aphrodite the Apple of Discord in return for the hand (and the rest) of Helen. Abducts Helen, along with Aethra, Nicostratus and the royal treasury from Sparta. Bribes Antimachus to assassinate the deputation of Menelaus, Odysseus and Palamedes; foiled by Antenor. One of the leading Trojan warriors in the siege of Troy. Favoured by Apollo and Aphrodite until he unwittingly murders Corythus. Duels unchivalrously with Menelaus. Slayer of Achilles. Slain by Philoctetes with the arrows of Heracles.
PENTHESILEA Queen of the Amazons. Daughter of Ares. Sister of Hippolyta. One of the leading warriors and allies on the Trojan side in the siege of Troy. Slayer of Podarces (brother of Iolaus). Slain by Achilles. Mourned by Greeks and Trojans alike – except, fatally, Thersites.
PODARCES See Priam.
POLITES Prince of Troy. Son of Priam and Hecuba. Brother of numerous siblings, including Cassandra, Deiphobus, Hector, Helenus, Paris, Polydorus, Polyxena and Troilus. Half-brother of Aesacus. Kinsman of Aeneas, Eurypylus, Memnon and Teucer. While still a boy, and while unarmed, slain by Neoptolemus.
POLYDAMAS Trojan warrior. Son of Panthous. Brother of Euphorbus. Born on the same day as his friend Hector; unable to persuade him of the need for caution.
POLYDORUS Prince of Troy. Son of Priam and Hecuba. Brother of numerous siblings, including Cassandra, Deiphobus, Hector, Helenus, Paris, Polites, Polyxena and Troilus. Half-brother of Aesacus. Kinsman of Aeneas, Eurypylus, Memnon and Teucer. Defies his father’s order not to fight. Slain as he flees from Achilles.
POLYXENA Princess of Troy. Daughter of Priam and Hecuba. Sister of numerous siblings, including Cassandra, Deiphobus, Hector, Helenus, Paris, Polites, Polydorus and Troilus. Spared by Achilles when he sacrilegiously kills Troilus.
PRIAM King of Troy. Named Podarces at birth. Son of Laomedon. Brother of Astyoche, Hesione and Tithonus. Kinsman of Anchises. Ransomed by Hesione from Heracles during his sack of Troy. Raises Troy to unequalled prosperity. Husband of Arisbe and Hecuba. Father of numerous children, including Aesacus (by Arisbe), and (by Hecuba) Cassandra, Deiphobus, Hector, Helenus, Paris, Polites, Polydorus, Polyxena and Troilus. Uncle of Eurypylus, Memnon and Teucer. Father-in-law of Acamas and Aeneas. Welcomes first Helen, later the wooden horse, into Troy. Ransoms Hector’s body from Achilles. Slain by Neoptolemus.
RHESUS King of Thrace. Son of the river god Strymon and the Muse Euterpe. Possessor of horses vital to the Trojan war effort. Slain, and his horses captured, by Diomedes and Odysseus.
SARPEDON King of Lycia. Son of Zeus and Laodamia (daughter of Bellerophon). Cousin of Glaucus. One of the leading warriors and allies on the Trojan side in the siege of Troy. Slain by Patroclus.
TECMESSA Phrygian princess. Captured by Ajax, who goes on to capture her heart. Father (by him) of Eurysaces.
TELEPHUS King of Mysia. Son of Heracles and Auge. Husband of Astyoche. Father (by her) of Eurypylus. Wounded, and healed, by Achilles wielding the spear of Peleus.
THEANO Trojan priestess of Athena. Wife of Antenor. Mother (by him) of numerous, mostly ill-fated sons, including Coön and Iphidamus (both slain by Agamemnon), Demoleon (slain by Achilles) and Agenor (saved by Apollo from Achilles’ wrath). Advises the women of Troy not to become Amazons.
TITHONUS Prince of Troy. Son of Laomedon. Brother of Astyoche, Hesione and Priam. Beloved of Eos; father (by her) of Memnon. Granted eternal life by Zeus, but not eternal youth. Turned into a grasshopper by Eos.
TROILUS Prince of Troy. Son of Priam and Hecuba. Brother of numerous siblings, including Cassandra, Deiphobus, Hector, Helenus, Paris, Polites, Polydorus and Polyxena. Half-brother of Aesacus. Kinsman of Aeneas, Eurypylus, Memnon and Teucer. His death required to fulfil a prophecy of Troy’s fall. Sacrilegiously slain by Achilles, earning him (in part) Apollo’s fateful and deadly enmity. In some later accounts, the star-crossed lover of Cressida.
TROS King of Dardania. Son of Erichthonius. Husband of Scamander’s daughter Callirrhoë. Father of Assaracus, Cleopatra, Ganymede and Ilus. Recipient of magical horses from Zeus. Troy named in his honour.
Acknowledgements
Without a loving and patient husband, without as perfect a personal assister as ever existed, without a wonderful literary agent, without a stunningly gifted and passionate editor, without a copy-editor who never misses anything, without an audiobook producer of the very first rank, without a publishing house that enthuses and encourages, without all these, this book could never have been written.
So thank you Elliott Spencer, Jo Crocker, Anthony Goff, Jillian Taylor, Kit Shepherd, Roy McMillan and Louise Moore.
Index
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Acamas, 297, 330, 372
Acastus, 31–5, 65, 365
Achaea, 63
Achaean fleet, 147–8, 172, 293
Achaeans, 118–19, 157–8; encampment at Troy, 174–5; in the Wooden Horse, 309–14, 317–19
Achates, 327
Achilles (formerly Ligyron): birth and immersion in the Styx, 84–5; heel of, 85, 258–60; renamed Achilles by Chiron, 88, 88n; friendship with Patroclus, 89, 91; hidden on Skyros, 132–5; joins the Achaean fleet, 128–9, 136; and Iphigenia, 140–4; kills Tenes of Tenedos, 149–50; in Mysia, 268–9; held back by Calchas, 168–9; raids in the Troad, 175–6; first battle of the war, 171; kills Troilus, 180; raid on Mount Ida, 181–2; and Briseis, 182–3, 188–92; appeals to Thetis, 193; sulks in his tent, 218–20; lends Patroclus his armour, 226–7; mourns Patroclus, 233–5; armour of, 236–8, 261–7; joins battle, 238; aristeia, 239–42; kills Hector, 242–5; dishonours Hector’s body, 246–8; returns Hector’s body to Troy, 249–50; kills Penthesilea, 253–4; kills Memnon, 256; shot and killed by Paris, 257–8; tomb of, 232, 347; in List of Characters, 373
Adonis, 126n
Aeacus, 24–5, 27, 30, 30n, 159, 266n, 365
Aegean islands, 119
Aegean sea, 5, 39, 147, 172–3
Aegeus of Athens, 331n
Aegialia, 318
Aegina (island), 24–5, 29
Aegina (water nymph), 25, 28n, 30
Aegisthus, 66–7, 81, 373
Aeneas: birth, and friendship with Paris, 113; and the abduction of Helen, 114–15; in the Trojan Alliance, 161, 182; in battle, 208, 210, 225, 271–2; escapes being killed by Achilles, 239; rescues body of Glaucus, 259; escapes Troy, 327; in List of Characters, 381–2
Aenius, 240
Aeolia (later Thessaly), 29, 31n, 35
Aeolus, 137
Aerope, 66, 116n
Aesacus, 49–50, 51, 382
Aethra, 64n, 71–2, 90, 272, 315, 330–1, 331n, 332, 365
Africa, 161
Agamemnon: flees Mycenae for Sparta, 66–7; suitor for Helen, 73, 79; and Clytemnestra, 80–1; king of Mycenae, 90; furious at Helen’s abduction, 117–18; preparations for war, 119–21, 125–9; and Iphigenia, 136–46; sets sail for Troy, 148,
150, 153–4; arrives at Troy, 162–3, 167; and Chryseis, 183–91; dream of victory, 195; attack on Troy, 196–7, 206; in battle, 210, 223–5, 272, 276; offers to fight Ajax, 214; in tears, 216–17; appeases Achilles, 218–20, 236–7; mourns Achilles, 260; and the death of Ajax, 266; and Neoptolemus, 267–8; and the arrows of Heracles, 278–9; and the Wooden Horse, 296, 298–300; death prophesised by Cassandra, 329; saves Antenor, 331–2; in List of Characters, 373–4
Agelaus, 51–4, 91, 93–4, 101, 105, 282, 382
Agenor, 242
Aias (Ajax the Lesser): King of the Locrians, 119; in battle, 196, 207, 210, 253, 272, 276; the battle for Patroclus’s body, 232, 234; heroism of, 196n; offers to fight Hector, 214; and the Wooden Horse, 299, 321; in List of Characters, 374; rapes Cassandra, 329
Ajax (the Mighty): birth, 28, 28n; son of Telaman, 63, 91; suitor of Helen, 73; joins the Achaean fleet, 119; in battle, 171, 196, 225, 227, 230, 232, 234, 253; raiding parties, 175, 182; fearsome appearance, 197, 199–200; fights Hector in single combat, 214–15; war belt, 215, 245; rescues Teucer, 217; embassy to Achilles, 219–20; rescues Patroclus’ body, 233; defends Achilles’ body, 259; mourns Achilles, 260; madness and death, 261–7; funerary statue, 267n, 347; in List of Characters, 374
Alcibie, 252n
Alcimus, 238, 249, 250, 374–5
Alcmene, 69n
Alexander the Great, 347
Althaemenes, 116n
Amazons, 251–2, 252n
Amphitryon, 69n
Anaxibia, 66
Anchises, 110–13, 114n, 157, 182, 327, 382
Andromache, 90, 211–12, 246, 250, 329–30, 382
Andromeda, 12n
Antandre, 252n
Antenor, 163–6, 181, 198, 215, 294, 307, 332, 382
Antibrote, 252n
Anticlea, 74, 123, 158n, 365
Anticlus, 311, 318–19, 375
Antigone (daughter of Eurytion), 30, 31, 32–3, 35, 365
Antigone (daughter of Odysseus), 365
Antilochus, 196, 233–4, 256, 375
Antimachus, 165–6, 382
Antiope, 252n
Antiphantes, 302–3, 308
Aphareus, 115n
Aphidna, 71
Aphidnus, 71
Aphrodite: protector of Troy, 1, 157; at wedding of Peleus and Thetis, 42; and the judgement of Paris, 46–7, 61–2; mother of Aeneas, 108–13; and the abduction of Helen, 116; support for Paris, 203–4, 275; injured by Diomedes, 208; and Helen’s dream, 316; in List of Characters, 355
Apollo: protector of Troy, 1, 157, 228–9, 248; revenge on Troy, 10–11; at the marriage of Peleus and Thetis, 42; grants Cassandra gift of prophecy, 102–3; and Achilles, 180, 240–2, 257, 275; father of Tenes, 149–50; shoots plague arrows at the Greeks, 185; protects Aeneas, 208; and Hector’s fight with Ajax, 213; condemns profanities of the war, 333; in List of Characters, 355
Apollodorus (Greek scholar), 88n, 147n
Apple of Discord, 46–7, 157
Aquarius (constellation), 4n
Archaic Age, 344–5
Archeptolemus, 217
Ares, 8, 42, 47, 55–7, 64n, 110, 157, 207, 208–9, 210, 252, 356
Argives, 119 see also Achaeans
Argo (ship), 31, 36
Argolid, 24n, 105, 141
Argolid, 24
Argos (city state), 7, 24n, 63, 118–19
Arisbe, 49n
aristeia, 207, 224, 228, 230, 239, 240
Aristotle, 347
Artemis, 31, 42, 137–8, 140, 157, 208, 356
Ascanius, 327
Asclepius, 34, 206, 276, 359
Asius, 229
Assaracus, 3
Astyanax (Scamandrius), 211–12, 246, 329–30, 383
Astydameia, 32–3, 35, 366
Astypylus, 240
Atalanta, 46n, 89, 366
Athena: and the Luck of Troy, 5–6; at the marriage of Peleus and Thetis, 42; and the judgement of Paris, 46–7, 60; supporter of Diomedes, 120, 158, 207–10; support for the Greeks, 157–8, 182, 205–6; and Achilles’ murder of Troilus, 180; prevents Achilles from killing Agamemnon, 189; and Hector’s fight with Ajax, 213; and Achilles’ fight with Hector, 243–4; condemns profanities on both sides, 333; in List of Characters, 356
Athens, 119
Atlas, 2
Atreides, 150, 153, 163, 255, 266 see also Agamemnon; Menelaus
Atreus, 64, 65–7, 190n, 366
Attica, 119
augury (oionistike), 127n
Aulis, Boeotia, 119, 120, 125–6, 129, 140, 142
Autolycus, 74, 75, 121, 158n, 366
Automedon, 238, 249, 250, 375
Axioche, 64
Balius and Xanthus (horses), 43, 222, 238
Bellerophon, 28n, 32, 62, 65, 160n, 228, 331n, 366
birds, and forecasting see augury (oionistike)
blood crime, 28, 30, 31, 65
board games, 177, 182, 182n
Boeotia, 119
Boreas, 3
Bremusa, 252n
Briareos, 194n
Briseis, 182–92, 218, 237, 260, 383
Bronze Age, 126n, 335, 341–2, 345
Browne, Thomas, 133n
Byron, George, Lord, 348
Cadmus, 4, 64, 64n, 367
Calasso, Roberto, 70n
Calchas, 80, 81, 127–9, 137–9, 145, 146, 168, 170, 180–1, 180n, 186–8, 191, 267–8, 278–9, 289, 298, 327, 375
Calvert, Frank, 349
Calydon, 31
Calydonian Boar, 363
Calydonian Boar Hunt, 190, 254n
Cassandra: daughter of Priam and Hecuba, 90; granted gift of prophecy by Apollo, 102–3; foretells Paris’s role in the destruction of Troy, 100–3, 114; prophesises danger of Helen’s presence in Troy, 117, 164; mourns Paris, 282; warns against letting the Wooden Horse into Troy, 294, 302, 306; raped by Aias, 328–9; in List of Characters, 383
Castor, 69, 70, 115, 200 see also Dioscuri
‘Catalogue of Ships,’ in Homer’s Iliad, 146, 169n
‘Catalogue of Trojans,’ in Homer’s Iliad, 161
Catreus, 115, 116, 116n, 367
Cebren (river god), 50, 55
Cebriones, 229
centaurs, 88n, 252n
Cephalon of Gergitha, 274n
Cephalonia, 74, 75n
Cephalus, 75n
Cercyon of Eleusis, 98
Chadwick, John, 275n, 344n
Chaeronea, 191n
Chariclo, 25
Charis, 235n
Chaucer, Geoffrey, 179, 180–1, 252n
Chimera, 331n, 363
Chiron, 25, 34–9, 41, 42, 63, 87–8, 206, 362
chronology, and myth, 81n, 148, 335–6, 345
Chryse (city), 183, 184, 191
Chryse (island), 150–1, 153, 153n
Chryseis, 183–91, 383
Chryses, 183, 184–5, 383
Chrysippus, 64, 65, 367
Chrysothemis, 90, 139
Cilicia, 182
Cinyras of Cyprus, 125–6, 126n, 375
Classical Age, 344, 345–7
Cleopatra, 3
Clonie, 252n
Clytemnestra, 69, 70, 80–1, 90, 139–43, 140, 145, 146, 329, 375
Colchis, 127, 190
Conan Doyle, Arthur, 148
Coön, 224
copper, 126n
Corinth, 7, 24n, 63, 118
Corythus, 92, 105, 272–4, 281–2, 383
Cressida, 179–81, 383
Cretan Bull, 14, 225, 364
Crete, 119
Creusa, 327
Cychreus, 28, 65, 367
Cyclades, 119
Cycnus, 171, 383
Cyprus, 108, 116, 125, 126n
Cythera, 81, 108
Daedalus, 62
Danaan, 119 see also Achaeans
Dante, Inferno, 323n
Dardanelles see Hellespont
Dardania, 2–3, 5
Dardanian allies, 161
Dardanus, 240
Dardanus (city), 2, 5
Dard
anus (son of Electra), 2, 6, 383
Deidamia, 132, 133n, 268, 270–1, 376
Deimos, 157n
Deiphobus, son of Priam and Hecuba, 90; fights Paris at the funeral games, 96–102; dissuades Priam from returning Helen, 163–4; welcomes Eurypylus, 269; wounded in battle, 272; and the death of Paris, 282; marries Helen, 282, 286–7; and Sinon, 293–5; and the Wooden Horse, 302, 306–7, 309, 316–19; killed by Menelaus, 327; in List of Characters, 384
Delphic Oracle, 152n
Demeter, 42, 158, 356
Demoleon, 239
Demophon, 330, 376
Demuchus, 240
Derimacheia, 252n
Derinoe, 252n
Deucalion, 240
Diomedes of Argos: suitor for Helen, 73; joins the Achaean fleet, 120; brings Achilles back from Skyros, 134–5; and Philoctetes, 153; protected by Athena, 158; knowns as Tydides, 168n; and Cressida, 181; in battle, 196; and the gods, 206–10; offers to fights Hector, 214; rescues Nestor, 216; stands up to Agamemnon, 217–18; kills Rhesus and his horses, 221–3; shot in the foot by Paris, 224; kills Amazon princesses, 253; prevented from avenging Thersites, 255; mourns Achilles, 260; brings Neoptolemus to Troy, 276; brings Philoctetes from the isle of Lemnos, 280; steals the Palladium, 284–9; ‘Diomedean necessity,’ 288n; and the Wooden Horse, 320–1; in List of Characters, 376
Dionysus, 42, 64n, 158, 357
Dioscuri, 72, 72n, 115, 200n, 331n, 376 see also Castor; Polydeuces (Pollux)
Dodecanese, 119
Dodona, oak grove, 36
Dolon, 221–3, 384
Dolopia, 144n
Dryden, John, 348
Dryops, 240
Echeclus, 240
Echeon, 320
Egypt, 116
Eirene, 163
Electra, 2, 90, 139
Elis, kingdom of, 63, 65
Endeis, 25, 27, 362
Eos, 12n, 156, 255, 291, 332, 359
Epeius the Phocian, 297–9, 307, 310, 311, 320, 376
ephebe, 128n
Epidaurus (city state), 7, 24n
Epigeus the Myrmidon, 228
Erichthonius, 3, 6, 384
Eris, 45–6, 157n, 359
Eros, 109, 116, 360
Ethiopians, 256, 259
Euboea, 178
Eudoros, 144, 145n
Eumedes, 222
Euphorbus, 229–30, 384