< Helenus, son of Priam >

1 Origin

In 1213 BC, Helenus was born in Ilium of Troad.

Helenus's father was Priam.

Helenus's mother was Hecuba (or Hecabe).

Helenus and his sister Cassandra (or Alexandra) were twins.

2 Family

Helenus married Andromache.

Helenus and Andromache had a son, Cestrinus.

3 Others

3.1 Emigration to the land of the Molossians

In 1188 BC, Ilium, where Helenus lived, was attacked and occupied by the sons of Antenor.

The sons of Priam, who had been expelled from Ilium, asked the Achaeans for reinforcements and tried to retake the town.

In 1186 BC, Hector and the leaders of the Achaeans were killed in a battle with the sons of Antenor.

Helenus, together with Hector's wife Andromache and the sons of Hector, emigrated to the land of the Molossians, led by Neoptolemus, son of Achilles.

3.2 Founding of Buthrotum

Neoptolemus married Andromache.

Helenus moved to the west coast of Dodona and founded Buthrotum.

3.3 Support for Hector's sons

In 1170 BC, when Hector's sons came of age, Helenus gave them an army to attack Ilium.

The core of the army was the Trojans led by Hector's sons.

The Achaeans, including the Myrmidons under Achilles and Neoptolemus, also participated in the expedition.

Hector's sons gathered the descendants of Priam, who were scattered in various places, and added them to their forces to recapture Ilium from the sons of Antenor.

3.4 Successors

In 1156 BC, when Helenus died, he summoned Neoptolemus' son Molossus to Buthrotum to succeed him.

Helenus chose Molossus as his successor rather than his own son Cestrinus, presumably because the Trojans who had followed Helenus returned to Ilium with the sons of Hector.

Helenus' son Cestrinus emigrated to the vicinity of Ephyra in Thesprotia.