< Neoptolemus, son of Achilles >

1 Origin

In 1212 BC, Neoptolemus was born in Phthia of Thessaly.

Neoptolemus's father was Achilles.

Neoptolemus's mother was Deidamia.

2 Family

Neoptolemus married Andromache.

Andromache was the wife of Hector, son of Priam.

Neoptolemus and Andromache had three sons, Molossus, Pielus, and Pergamus.

3 Other

3.1 Neoptolemus' wives

There are legends that Neoptolemus had wives named Hermione and Lanassa in addition to Andromache.

3.1.1 Hermione

There is a legend that Neoptolemus married Hermione, daughter of Menelaus.

Pausanias writes that Neoptolemus went from Scyros to Laconia to take Hermione as his wife.

Neoptolemus settled in the Molossian lands after the Trojan War, so the marriage between Neoptolemus and Hermione must have been before the Trojan War.

However, Hermione is estimated to have been 11 years old at the end of the Trojan War.

If the marriage between Neoptolemus and Hermione is true, it seems to have been a formal marriage.

3.1.2 Lanassa

There is a legend that Neoptolemus married Lanassa, daughter of Cleodaeus, son of Hyllus, son of Heracles.

Plutarch tells us that Neoptolemus and Lanassa had a son, Pyrrhus.

Strabo writes that the descendants of Neoptolemus' son Pyrrhus became rulers of the Molossians.

However, there is no evidence that Neoptolemus's son Pyrrhus ever existed, and the marriage of Neoptolemus to Lanassa seems to be a fiction.

3.2 Place of Birth

Strabo writes that Neoptolemus was born and raised in Scyros.

If this is true, Neoptolemus was in Scyros when his maternal grandfather Lycomedes murdered Aegeus' son Theseus in 1209 BC.

An example of a youngest son being raised by his maternal grandfather is Aepytus, the son of Cresphontes.

However, there is no tradition that an eldest son was raised by his maternal grandfather until he reached marriageable age.

3.3 Expedition to Troy

In 1188 BC, the sons of Antenor expelled Priam's son Hector and occupied Ilium.

Hector requested reinforcements from the Achaeans, who had been on friendly terms with them through the use of the Hellespont.

The Achaeans organized an expedition to Troy with Achilles as its commander-in-chief, and Neoptolemus also participated.

In 1186 BC, after the deaths of Achilles and Hector in battle, the Achaeans gave up on retaking Ilium.

Neoptolemus took Hector's wife and children and Hector's brothers, and emigrated to the land of the Molossians.

3.4 Place of Settlement

Neoptolemus went to the land of the Molossians and settled in the plain of Ioannina, near the present Lake Pamvotis, north of Dodona.

There was a good pastureland for raising livestock in that area, called Hellopia.

The name of a specific town where the royal palace of Epirus was located is not mentioned in Thucyides's "The History of the Peloponnesian War" or Arrian's "The Anabasis of Alexander."

It is likely that Hellopia was dotted with many unknown settlements.

3.5 Successors

In 1175 BC, Neoptolemus sacked Delphi and was killed in battle against the Delphians led by Machaereus, son of Daetas.

Neoptolemus was succeeded by Helenus, son of Priam.

Helenus founded Buthroutum, near the coast west of Dodona.

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

After Molossus' death, the kingship of Epirus was succeeded by Neoptolemus' son Pielus, who lived in Hellopia, and his descendants ruled Epirus for generations.