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Priam

Priam (died 1183 BC) was King of Troy from 1243 to 1183 BC, and the father of Hector and Paris. He was murdered by the invading Greeks during the Trojan War.

Biography[]

Priam was born in Troy, the son of King Piyama-Kurunta. While he was a youth, his sister Hesione bought his freedom from Heracles. He went on to become King in 1243 BC after Heracles destroyed the city and enthroned Priam, and Priam rebelled against the Hittites and asserted Troy's full independence from Hatti. He later helped King Mygdon of Phrygia in a battle against the Amazons and fought several battles with Sparta before arranging the marriage of Helen to Menelaus to make peace with the Spartans. In 1193 BC, Priam's son Paris of Troy ran off to Troy with Helen, leading to Menelaus convincing the other Greek states to retaliate against Troy. In the ensuing siege, the Greek warrior Achilles slew Priam's son Hector, and Priam went to the Greek lines in disguise and persuaded Achilles to let him give Hector a proper burial. After Achilles' death and the Greek assault on Troy, Achilles' son Neoptolemus murdered Priam's son Polites before his eyes before dragging Priam to an altar and killing him as well.

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