Priam
Priam EuropeThe aged King of Troy at the time of its siege and destruction by the Greeks. The war seems to have taken place in the later part of the thirteenth century BC. According to legend, hostilities broke out as a result of the flight of Helen to Troy. The daughter of Zeus and Nemesis, the personification of retribution, Helen was the wife of Menelaus, King of Sparta, but she eloped with Paris, one of Priam's sons.
In the earlier part of his reign Priam supported the Phrygians in their struggle against the Amazons, the nation of female warriors dwelling near the borders of the world. When the Greeks landed on the Trojan coast, Priam was too old to take an active part in the war. His sons led the Trojans, and especially Hector, who in single combat fell to Achilles. At the sack of the city Priam was killed by Pyrrhus, Achilles' son. Helen herself returned to Sparta with Menelaus and lived quietly there until her death. In the underworld, however,...
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