Achilles (Άχιλλεύς) was the son of Peleus and the Nereïd Thetis. Ligyron was the name given to Achilles at birth.

While still an infant, Thetis tried to make her son immortal. One account says that she anointed Achilles in ambrosia before laying him in a fire, burning away the mortal parts of his body, making him invulnerable from ordinary weapons. When Peleus discovered she held their son over a fire, he cried out in alarm, leaving Achilles invulnerable except for his heels. Annoyed with her husband's interferences, Thetis left her husband and son, and returned home to the sea.

A different account says that Thetis dipped him in Styx, the river of the Underworld, holding him by his feet. His heels were the only vulnerable parts of his body, which was covered by Thetis' hands. This is obviously where the term - Achilles' heel - originated.

Achilles was brought up and trained by his father and the wise Centaur, Cheiron. His name was changed from Ligyron to Achilles. He learned how to hunt and fight. He was so swift, that he could run down any wild animal.

When the Greeks began gathering the leaders, to fight in the war in Troy, Thetis knew from a prophecy that her son has two possible destinies. One was a peaceful and long life, but without the fame and glory. The other was the most glorious - he can become one of the greatest Greek heroes, but only to be fated to die young.

Thetis tried to prevent her son from going to Troy, by disguising Achilles as a girl and hiding him in the court of Lycomedes at the island of Scyrus. During his stay in Scyrus, one of the king's daughters, Deïdaemeia (Deidaemeia), fell in love with him, bore him a son, named Neoptolemus (Pyrrhus).

The Greeks having been told by the seer that Troy would not fall without the aid of Achilles. One of the Greek captains, Odysseus, penetrated his disguise, by placing spear and shield among the gifts to the king's daughters. When the Greeks blew their trumpets as if the island were been attack, Achilles snatched the weapons, thereby revealing his identity. Once discovered however, Achilles willingly joined the Greeks.

In the Trojan War, Achilles was regarded as the handsomest, the swiftest, the strongest and the bravest of the Greeks who fought in the Trojan War. He led the Myrmidons with fifty ships from Phthia, Alus, Alope, and Trachis. Achilles wore immortal armour belonging to his father, a wedding gift from the gods. He was also armed with a spear made by Cheiron, from a tree in Mount Pelion. Peleus also gave his two immortal horses to his son (Xanthus and Batus.

Before arriving in Troy, Achilles was warned by his mother, not to kill Tenes, son of Apollo and king of Tenedos. If he were to kill Tenes, the god would surely avenge his son's death. But landing on the island of Tenedos, Achilles had forgotten her warning that resulted in the king's death. Achilles killed many of Trojan leaders (including many of Priam's sons) as well as their allies. The most notable were Cycnus, son of Poseidon in the earlier year of war. In the last year of the war, he killed Hector, the Amazon Penthesileia and the Aethiopian prince Memnon, son of Eos and Tithonus.

Achilles became involved in a bitter quarrel with his commander-in-chief, Agamemnon, over the concubines, causing the young hero to withdraw from the fighting. When the Agamemnon send Nestor, Odysseus and Ajax, to entreat him to return the fighting, his pride and bitterness made him to stubbornly refuse. His pride, however, caused him to lose his beloved companion (and lover?), Patroclus. He returned to combat, avenging his friend by killing the Trojan champion, Hector. (See the Iliad.)

Achilles' own death came very quickly after killing Memnon. As he pursued the retreating Trojans back to the city gate, Paris shot an arrow at Achilles; the god Apollo had guided the arrow to one of his heel. Dying, Achilles managed to kill with his spear one last Trojan. Fierce fighting erupted around his body. His cousin Ajax managed to carry his body away while Odysseus held the Trojans at bay.

During the funeral games of Achilles, his armour resulted in bitter dispute between two comrades – Ajax and Odysseus – both heroes claiming to be the bravest warrior next to Achilles. The armour was awarded to Odysseus, resulting in Ajax's death. (See Death of Achilles.)

When Odysseus captured Helenus, the Trojan seer foretold that Achilles' son need to fight at Troy, in order for the city to fall. Odysseus brought Neoptolemus to Troy. Odysseus gave his Achilles' armour to Neoptolemus.

There are few other different accounts of his death. One of them involved Achilles falling in love with Priam's daughter, Polyxena. The Trojans promised him to arrange a secret meeting with the girl, alone that night. Achilles was ambushed and killed by Paris and Deïphobus (Deiphobus). According to Dares of Phrygia, Antilochus was killed with Achilles, so Paris was Anticholus' killer, not Memnon.

Odysseus later met Achilles' shade in the Underworld, in the Odyssey. While different accounts by Apollodous and Apollonius of Rhodes say that he lived in White Island (also known as the Isles of the Blessed or the Elysian Fields), and he was married to the sorceress Medea.

King of Ithaca. The Romans identified Odysseus as Ulysses. Odysseus (Ὀδυσσεύς) was the hero of the epic poem, called The Odyssey.

Odysseus was the son of Laërtes (Laertes) and Anticleia, daughter of the thief Autolycus and Mestra. Other writers say that Sisyphus was his father, who had ravished Anticleia, in revenge for Autolycus stealing his cattles. Laërtes raised Odysseus as if he was his own son. At birth, it was Autolycus named the infant – Odysseus. Odysseus has a sister, named Ctimene, who later married Eurylochus, one of the warriors who sailed with the hero to Troy and was killed by Charybdis.

Though, he was not suitor of Helen, Odysseus advised Tyndareüs (Tyndareus), king of Sparta, to make Helen's suitors to swear an oath, to provide aid to any husband she chooses. Odysseus, himself was a suitor of Penelope, daughter of Icarius and cousin of Helen. He won Penelope hand by winning the footrace. Penelope bore him a son, Telemachus.

In the war against Troy, Odysseus brought men and provided twelve ships for the war efforts, from Ithaca and Cephallenia.

Odysseus was perhaps the most untypical and complex hero in Greek mythology. Odysseus was a great fighter and superb athlete. Odysseus was undoubtedly brave, yet Homer also emphasized that he was also shrewdest and most prudent of the leader in Troy. In the Odyssey, he was shown as an extremely resourceful hero.

He was the most eloquent of the Greek leaders. When they arrived at Troy Odysseus and Menelaüs (Menelaus) were sent to Troy to demand for Helen return, Priam admired skill in oratory. Day after the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon, most were despaired of Achilles withdrawal; it was Odysseus eloquent speech that inspired the Greeks to stay and fight. Agamemnon sent Nestor, Ajax and Odysseus as embassy to Achilles; Odysseus was unsuccessful in persuading Achilles to return to combat. Before return to fighting, Odysseus also failed to persuade Achilles not to fast before facing Trojans. Zeus, himself, also believed in Odysseus' speech, that Achilles could lose facing a well-fed Hector. Anyway, Athena secretly fed Achilles ambrosia.

Although unsuccessful in a few of his speeches, his failure was not the result of poor oratory, rather that other leader speak, they spoke with emotion, with their pride always clouding their judgement. When Odysseus speaks, he remained objective and relied on common sense, rather than his ego or honour. But many critics and writers also accused him of being Machiavellian and manipulative. Particularly in Sophocles' plays Ajax and Philoctetes.

Odysseus was often portrayed with less favourable light by later writers and critics. They often showed Odysseus to be greedy, of glutton and cowardice behaviour.

When the Agamemnon and Menelaus were gathering men, they found that one of the prophecies was that Troy could not be taken, without Odysseus' participation. Odysseus also knew of the prophecy but also knew that if he went to Troy, he would not be able to return home for at least twenty years, losing all his ships and men.

He tried to feign madness by plowing the field with an ox and ass, sowing salt instead of seeds. One of Agamemnon's lieutenants, Palamedes, son of Nauplius, who was just as cunning as Odysseus, knew that Odysseus was feigning to be mad. Palamedes snatch Odysseus' infant son, Telemachus, from Penelope and put the infant in front of the path of the plow. To avoid the horses trampling upon his son, Odysseus was forced to turn his horses aside, thereby revealing that he was not mad at all. Odysseus had little choice but set out for Troy, but he had never forgiven Palamedes.

When the Greeks arrived at Troy, Odysseus implicated Palemedes that he was traitor, accepting gold from the Trojans. Finding the gold buried near Palamedes' tent, the Greek leaders believing Odysseus' stories, had Palamedes stoned as a traitor. Whether Homer even knew of this story remained uncertain.

In the Iliad, Homer's portrayed of Odysseus as a very cunning fighter in the war, and skilled diplomat. He was one of the Greek leaders who volunteered to accept challenge of Hector, but was eliminated in the drawing of lots. With Diomedes they slipped out of their camp at night, captured and killed a Trojan spy, Dolon. They also entered Trojan camp and killed Troy's allied Rhesus, king of the Thracians, together with twelve men, and stole the king's immortal horses. In the morning, after Diomedes was wounded, he faced the Trojans alone. Odysseus killed many Trojans, until he himself was forced to retire when he was wounded in the side by spear.

When Achilles was killed, Odysseus held the Trojans backs, while Ajax carried Achilles' body back to the Greek camp. During the funeral games, contest for armour of Achilles, was awarded to Odysseus as the hero who did the greatest services to the Greek causes in the war. This would result in the death of Ajax.

With the death Achilles and Ajax, Odysseus played even more active roles in the fall of Troy, climaxing with his stratagem of the Wooden Horse. He was the one who brought Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, to Troy, because of the oracle from the Greek seer Calchas. Odysseus was the one who captured the Trojan seer, Helenus, son of Priam and Hecuba. Again on Calchas' advice, he and Neoptolemus also brought back Philoctetes with the bow of Heracles. And he and Diomedes volunteered, to sneak into Troy and steal the wooden image of Athena, known as the Palladion. Helenus told the Greek leaders that Troy can't fall while the Palladion remained within the city walls.

He either killed Deiphobus, Helen's third husband, or he aided Menelaus, depending on which version is read. He was the who called upon the execution of Astyanax, the only son of Hector and Andromache, and in some versions, actually out the execution, by throwing the boy off Troy's highest rampart; Pausanias says that Neoptolemus was responsible for Astyanax's death, not Odysseus. When Ajax the Lesser raped Cassandra in front of the wooden image of Athena, he was the only one to call for his execution, to appease the goddess. When they distribute the Trojan women among the leaders, Odysseus received Hecuba as his slave. According to Euripides, Hecuba was transformed into a dog, when she exact revenge against Polymestor, king of Thrace, for the murder of her son, Polydorus.

After the fall of Troy, it took him ten years to reach home. Homer's Odyssey tells this tale in full.

During his wandering, he was loved by two goddesses, whom he stayed with. One was a sorceress named Circe, daughter of the sun god, Helios. And the other was a nymph named Calypso, daughter of the Titan Atlas. Although, Homer never mention in the Odyssey, of having children by either woman, others - later writers - recorded that he had children with both women. According to the Theogony, Hesiod wrote that Calypso bore him Nausithous and Nausinous, while in the Telegony, she was also the mother of Telegonus or Teledamus. However, Telegonus is usually mentioned as being Circe's youngest son. I will mentioned more, later about Circe and Telegonus.

Upon his return to Ithaca, Odysseus and Telemachus had to destroy the Penelope's suitors who had infested his palace.

In Ithaca, his nurse was Eurycleia. Those who remained loyal to Odysseus and his family during his absence were Eumaeus, the swineherd, and Philoetius, the cowherd, who helped him in the battle against the Penelope's suitors. Others loyal to Odysseus and his family were Dolius and Mentor.

The bow Odysseus used against the suitors, originally belong to Eurytus, the king of Oechalia. Iphitus gave his father's bow to Odysseus. (According to Homer, Eurytus was killed by Apollo, instead of Heracles, because he challenged the sun god into archery contest.) His arrows may have been smeared with poison. Argus was the name of his hunting dog, and was one of two who recognised Odysseus in his beggar disguise. See Heracles for more information about Eurytus.

Some years later, after returning home to Ithaca, Odysseus had to set out on a new journey, to appease Poseidon, as the dead Teiresias had foretold. Odysseus must find a land where the people never ate with salt, nor know what an oar was used for (mistaking it for a winnowing fan). Only then would Poseidon would make peace with the hero.

On Odysseus' return journey from a strange land, Odysseus came upon the land of Thesprotia, where Odysseus married the Callidice, the queen of Thesprotia. Odysseus led the Thesprotians in the war against the Brygi, but lost the battle because Ares was on the Brygi side. Athena went to support Odysseus by engaging the war god in another confrontation. When Callidice died, Odysseus returned to Ithaca, leaving their son, Polypoetes, to rule Thesprotia.

There is another story, told by Parthenius, how Odysseus seduced Evippe, daughter of Tyrimmas, when he was in Epirus. Evippe gave birth to Eurylaus, and she sent her son, when he was old enough to Euryalus. Penelope was the first to recognise one of the belongings of the young man, which Odysseus gave to Euryalus' mother, so he could recognise his own son. So Penelope duped Odyseeus into killing his own son. I could find no other sources for this story, so this is most likely Parthenius' invention.

Odysseus and Penelope had another son, named Acusilaus, according to the story in Telegony (Epic Cycle), but according to Apollodorus, their son was called Poliportes. Penelope bore Poliportes, during Odysseus' absence in Thesprotia.

During his stay with his lover, Circe, Odysseus had three sons - Agrius, Latinus and Telegonus. In one story, Telegonus one day went to search for his father, landing in Ithaca. Odysseus thought Telegonus was an intruder, and went out to drive the young man off his island. Telegonus unwittingly killed his father. As Teiresias had foretold, Odysseus' death had come from the sea.

Penelope and Telemachus knew that Telegonus would not have kill Odysseus had he known that the hero was his father. They forgave the young man and went with Telegonus, to Circe's home, bringing Odysseus' body with them. On the sorceress' island, Telegonus married Penelope, while Circe married Telemachus. Circe made both Penelope and Telemachus immortal.

The mythographer, Apollodorus, also tell this ending of Odysseus, but he also reported other versions, unrelated to Telegonus. It was said that Penelope was not faithful at all during his long absence, and her suitor Antinous had seduced her. In anger, Odysseus banished Penelope, and she returned to her father Icarius in Sparta. During her exile, Hermes raped her, and she bore Pan. In another version, Odysseus had killed Penelope because of her involvement with other suitor, Amphinomus.

In yet another version, Odysseus was been tried by the kinsmen of the suitors. Neoptolemus, Odysseus' former comrade acted as judge, and instead of acquitting Odysseus, he banished him from Ithaca, because apparently Neoptolemus coveted Odysseus' island kingdom. Another former comrade of Odysseus, Thoas, king of Aetolia, offered him his daughter in marriage, where Odysseus died of old age. Odysseus had another son, Leontophonus.

The death of Odysseus signified the end of the Heroic Age.

An Argive hero. Diomedes (Διομήδης) was the son of Tydeus, one of the seven leaders against Thebes, and Deïpyle (Deipyle), daughter of Adrastus, king of Argos. He was married to Aegialeia, daughter of Adrastus or of Aegialeus. Together with the other sons of the Seven, called the Epigoni, he marched against Thebes. They razed Thebes in vengeance for their fathers' death.

Diomedes also went to Calydon, home of his father. When one of Oeneus' sons (Tydeus) was exiled for killing a relative and another was killed shortly after the famous boar hunt (Meleager), Oeneus was helpless when his nephews drove him from his kingdom and put their own father on the throne. Oeneus' nephews were the sons of Agrius, who was his brother. Diomedes, however, restored the kingdom to his grandfather after killing Agrius' sons. Agrius may have also been killed.

As one of the former suitors of Helen, he joined the Greek army and brought eighty ships with him from Argos, Tiryns, Epidaurus and Troezen. He was aided by two other Epigoni, Sthenelus and Euryalus, as lieutenants.

Next to Achilles he was the mightiest of the Greek heroes at Troy. He was the favourite of Athena. To his reckless courage, the goddess added unparalleled strength, marvellous skill at arms, and unfailing valour. He was fearless and at times held off the Trojans single-handed. In a single day he killed Pandarus, seriously wounded Aeneas, and then wounded Aeneas' mother, the goddess Aphrodite. When faced against Ares, aided by Athena, he caught the spear which Ares had hurled at him and in his turn, Diomedes hurled the god's own spear back at him, seriously wounding him and forced the god of war to quit the battlefield. He was also one of the Greek leaders to volunteer to fight Hector's challenge in the single combat, but was eliminated in the drawing of lots.

On the following day, when Zeus forced all other gods not to take part of the battle, Zeus caused the rout of the Greeks forces, only Diomedes stayed back to aid Nestor when the old man's horse were killed in the retreat. Together with Nestor, he pursued Hector and would have killed him, had not Zeus hurled several thunderbolts, to dissuade them.

He volunteered with Odysseus in a nightly foray, where they captured and killed a Trojan spy, Dolon; he also killed the Thracian king Rhesus and dozen of his guards, and stealing the king's immortal horses. In the morning of the next day, Paris wounded him with an arrow.

He joined Odysseus in another night raid, to steal the Palladium in Troy. He was one of the leaders who hid in the wooden horse.

In Nostoi ("The Returns&, from the Epic Cycle), Diomedes was one of the leaders who returned safely home. He and Euryalus were regents for the young king Cyannippus, son of Aegialeus. When Cyannippus died still young, Cylarabes, son of Sthenelus had better claim to the throne than Diomedes. Diomedes was later driven to exile by Sthenelus' other son Cometes, who at Nauplius' instigation, was Aegialeia's lover.

According to Virgil's Aeneïd, Diomedes settled in Italy and founded the city of Argyripa in Apulia. When war broke out between Aeneas and Turnus, Turnus tried to persuade Diomedes to aid them in the war against the Trojans. Diomedes told them he had fought enough Trojans in his lifetime, and urged Turnus that it was best to make peace with Aeneas than to fight the Trojans.

As far as I can tell, there are no records of Diomedes' death. In fact, Diomedes was given immortality by Athena, which she had not given to his father Tydeus during the war of the Seven Against Thebes. According to Pindar, with the help of Athena, Diomedes became a minor god in southern Italy or the Adriatic.

A Salamian hero. Ajax (Aias or Αἴας) was the son of Telamon and Periboea or Eëriboea (Eeriboea), daughter of Alcathoüs (Alcathous). As the grandson of Alcathoüs, Ajax became king of Megara. He was also known as Telamonian Ajax or the Greater Ajax, to distinguish him from another Ajax who fought in the same war at Troy.

At his birth, he was named after Zeus' eagle (aietos), when Heracles prayed for a brave son of Telamon.

As suitor of Helen, he came to Troy with 12 ships from Salamis. Next to cousin Achilles, Ajax was the most handsomest and bravest of the Greeks at Troy. At Troy, he had a son, named Eurysaces by his concubine, Tecmassa, daughter of Teleutas. According to one writer, Ajax also had another son named Philaeus.

Ajax of Salamis should not to be confused with the Locrian leader, known as the Lesser Ajax, son of Oïleus (Oileus). Ajax was head taller than the other Greek leaders, while the Lesser Ajax was shorter in stature than most Greek. Yet the two Ajaxes had fought side by side in numerous occasions. Ajax also fought side-by-side with his half-brother Teucer (Τεὓκρος), son of Telamon and the Trojan concubine Hesione. Teucer was the best archer in the Greek army, and he often shoots arrows behind the safety of his half-brother's large shield.

When Hector challenged the Greeks to single combat, drawing the lots, Ajax was chosen to fight the Trojan commander. Ajax fought against Hector in single combat to a draw, which they afterward exchange gifts: Hector giving Ajax his sword in return for Hector receiving Ajax's belt. The two Ajaxes were the strongest defenders of the Greek ships. He also defended Patroclus' corpse against the Trojans.

There one interesting note about the large shield of Ajax. Homer (9th-8th century BC) described in detail the shield had a shape of a figure-of-eight (8). The shield was made of seven layers of bull hide and plated with bronze. During the Bronze Age Mycenaean civilization, there were a couple of men carrying figure-of-eight shields depicted on the Mycenaean dagger. It suggested that there is a link between Homer and the Mycenaean past through oral tradition.

When Achilles was killed, Ajax carried his corpse back to the camp while Odysseus held off the Trojans. Using a sword he received from Hector as a gift, he committed suicide after losing the contest for the armour of Achilles against Odysseus.

Later when Odysseus went to the Underworld, Ajax was still angry at losing the armour to Odysseus. The Athenians worshipped him as a great hero.

Also known as the Lesser Ajax. Ajax (Aias or Αἴας) was the son of Oïleus (Oileus), king of Locians, by his wife Eriopis, or by the nymph, Rhene. As suitor of Helen, he brought forty ships to Troy.

Next to Achilles he was the fleetest runner of the Greeks. While he was smaller in stature than the other Greek leaders, and wore only a linen corselet, he surpassed all the Greeks in skill as a lancer.

He was one of the leaders to volunteer fight in the single combat against Hector and as well to go on nightly foray in the Trojan camp. He often fought side by side with Telamonian Ajax, and with his larger companion were the strongest defenders of the Greek ships.

During the funeral game of Patroclus, Lesser Ajax bitterly complaints Odysseus won the footrace, that he had divine aid from the goddess Athena.

Ajax brought disaster upon most of the Greek during the sacking of Troy. Ajax dragged the prophetess Cassandra from altar of Athena and raped her.

Fearing the goddess' anger, Odysseus demanded that Ajax to be immediately stoned for the sacrilege. However, the Greek leaders refrained from killing Ajax, since he clung to the statue that he had profaned. The failure of Greeks leaders to punish Ajax for the sacrilege, her anger was turned against most of the Greeks.

Athena asked the sea-god Poseidon to destroy most of the Greek fleet. Ajax surviving the wreck of his own ship, soon drowned, after boasting that the gods could not even kills him.

A Malian archer. Philoctetes (Φιλοκτήτης) was the son of Poeas, king of Malis, and Demonassa. He may have sailed with Jason as an Argonaut.

Either Philoctetes or his father set alight Heracles' pyre. Heracles rewarded him by giving his bow and arrows to Philoctetes.

As a former suitor of Helen, Philoctetes brought seven ships with him from the city of Methone and Meliboea. In his journey to Troy, Philoctetes did not make it to Troy with the rest of the Greek army.

When they landed on the island of Tenedos, Philoctetes was bitten by a poisonous water snake. Though, Philoctetes did not die from the poison, the Greek physicians had problem curing him. The bite remained infected, and the wound started giving unpleasant stench that the Greek army abandoned him on the island of Lemnos. The Malians were commanded by Philoctetes' lieutenant, Medon, the son of Oileus and Rhene.

It seemed strange, because the island should not be deserted; yet Philoctetes had to live on the island, hunting and gathering food on his own for nine years without meeting anyone.

For nine years, Philoctetes his wound had not healed, and he had to live in agony and loneliness. Philoctetes barely survived from starving on the meagre food of small birds and animals.

There are several versions of how Philoctetes rejoin the Greek army with the bow of Heracles.

According to the Little Iliad, when Odysseus captured the Trojan seer, named Helenus, they learned that Troy could not fall without the bow of Heracles. There are several versions of how Philoctetes rejoin the Greek army.

Diomedes brought Philoctetes back from Lemnos, and the archer-king was healed by Machaon, the son of Asclepius. Philoctetes used his arrow to kill Paris. At Paris' death, Helen was given to Deïphobus (Deiphobus), Paris' brother, in marriage.

According to Apollodorus, it was Calchas, the Greek seer, who prophesied that Troy could not fall unless the bow of Heracles was brought to Troy. Odysseus and Diomedes went to Lemnos and gaining possession of the bow by trickery. Philoctetes rejoined the Greek army and was healed. The first victim to Philoctetes arrow was Paris.

At Paris death, Helenus and Deiphobus contend with one another for the hand of their brother's widow in marriage. The Trojans favoured Deiphobus' claim over Helenus. So they awarded Helen to Deiphobus. Helenus angrily left Troy, and was captured by Odysseus.

The best-known version come from the play of Sophocles, called Philoctetes. The Trojan seer named Helenus revealed to the Greek found out that one of the requirements of winning the war was that the bow of Heracles needed to be brought to Troy.

Odysseus used young Neoptolemus to manipulate Philoctetes into giving the bow to Neoptolemus. Instead of then giving the bow to Odysseus, Neoptolemus took pity on the helpless Philoctetes by returning the bow to him.

Philoctetes would have kill Odysseus, had the god Heracles, not intervene. Heracles told Philoctetes to forgive the Odysseus and the other Greek leaders, who had abandoned him on the island, and to rejoin the Greek army.

Whichever version you preferred, Philoctetes was healed by Machaon. The first enemy Philoctetes killed was Paris and Deiphobus married Helen.

Philoctetes was among the heroes who were hidden within the belly of the Wooden Horse (Trojan Horse). He killed Admetus during the sacking of Troy.

According to Apollodorus, Philoctetes and his followers were driven to Campania in Italy. Philoctetes fought against the Lucanians in a war before settling in Crimissa in southern Italy.

Neoptolemus (Νεοπτόλεμος) was the son of Achilles and Deidameia, the daughter of King Lycomedes of Scyrus.

Achilles was staying in Lycomedes' court on the island of Scyrus, where he met Deiddameia. Achilles slept with Deidameia, so that Neoptolemus was conceived. Achilles probably left for Troy before Neoptolemus was born. According to Apollodorus, Neoptolemus was called Pyrrhus (Pyrrhos or Πυρρος) at birth.

After nine years of war at Troy, Helenus, the Trojan seer foretold that Troy could not fall without Neoptolemus' aid. Odysseus fetched Neoptolemus at Scyrus, giving the boy, Achilles' god-fashioned armour. Neoptolemus became the new leader of the Myrmidons, Achilles' followers. Menelaus promised his daughter Hermione to Neoptolemus, as a reward for fighting in the war.

In Sophocles' play called Philoctetes, Neoptolemus tried to persuade Philoctetes to rejoin the Greek army, because Helenus, the Trojan seer, had foretold that one of the conditions of capturing Troy was that the bow of Heracles was required in the war.

Neoptolemus was among the Greek heroes who hid in the belly of the Wooden Horse (Trojan Horse). Neoptolemus killed Priam, the aged king of Troy, either within the temple of Zeus or he dragged the king out of sanctuary of the altar, and slaughtered Priam outside the temple doors.

When the ghost of Achilles appeared before the Greeks, demanding the sacrifice of Polyxena, Priam's youngest daughter, it was Neoptolemus who cut her throat upon his father's grave. Some say it was Neoptolemus who was also responsible for Astyanax's death, while others say that it Odysseus was responsible.

The morning after the fall of Troy, the Greek army began dividing loots and captives. Neoptolemus received the seer Helenus, the son of Priam and Helenus. He also received Andromache, wife of Hector, as his concubine.

Having Helenus as his slave proved to be valuable asset; the seer's prophetic skills helped him to avoid unnecessary troubles. Since the Lesser Ajax had raped Cassandra in Athena's temple, a storm would destroy most of the Greek fleet. Helenus advised Neoptolemus to travel home overland, probably crossing the Hellespont, and travelled through Thrace and Macedonia. According to Apollodorus, however, it was Thetis, the sea goddess and his grandmother, who advised Neoptolemus to stay on the island of Tenedos for 2 days, and the Epic Cycle Nostoi, along with Apollodorus' account, mention Neoptolemus travelling overland from Thrace to Greece. Again, according to the Nostoi, Neoptolemus encounter Odysseus at Maronea.

According to Hyginus, a young Thracian woman, named Harpalyce, proved to be a better warrior than him. She was a daughter of Harpalycus, and he had trained Harpalyce to fight. Neoptolemus had wounded Harpalycus, but Harpalyce saved her father and drove Neoptolemus away.

Later, Neoptolemus safely reached his father's home in Phthia, a city or region in southern Thessaly. Instead of taking over the kingdom from his grandfather, Peleus, Helenus again advised the young hero to find a new kingdom for himself in Epeirus (Epirus). Epeirus was a large northwest region of Greece.

Andromache bore Neoptolemus three sons: Molossus, Pergamus and Pielus. Though, Helenus and Andromache were slaves and former enemies of the Greeks, Neoptolemus treated them both fairly and with respect.

When Neoptolemus was to finally marry Hermione the daughter of Menelaus and Helen, he freed Helenus and Andromache, let them married and gave them the city of Buthrotum to rule. But according to Apollodorus, Deidameia, Neoptolemus' mother, became Helenus' wife, not Andromache.

The marriage was not to last long. Orestes, the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and nephew of Menelaus had been promise to Orestes in marriage before the war started. Orestes cured of his madness and persecution of the Erinyes, decided and conspired together with Hermione and her father (Menelaus) to murder Neoptolemus.

Orestes committed fresh murder, by killing Neoptolemus. Hermione encouraged her new lover to murder Andromache and her three sons. Peleus managed to rescue Andromache and his great-grandsons. Peleus was in despair because he had outlived his son and grandson.

Molossus would later find a new kingdom, called Molossus within northern Epeirus, while Pergamus went to Mysia, where he conquered the city of Teuthrania, and renamed it to Pergamum.

The geographer Pausanias know of one local legend where a priest of Apollo murdered Neoptolemus. And Apollodorus offered another version of Neoptolemus' death. When the young hero went to Delphi to demand reparation for his father's death from Apollo, he stole the votive offerings to the gods and set fire to Apollo's temple. Machaireus of Phocia, who was there at that time, killed Neoptolemus.

A young hero in the Odyssey. Telemachus (Τηλέμαχος) was the son of Odysseus and Penelope.

Telemachus was only an infant when his father left for Troy. Apparently, his father tried to pretend to be insane in order to avoid going to war, but one of Agamemnon's captain was just as cunning as Odysseus. Palemedes exposed Telemachus to danger, and Odysseus could not avoid exposing his feigned madness when he saved Telemachus' life.

The reason why Odysseus didn't want to go to Troy because a prophecy said he could not return home without wandering for 10 years after the war, losing all of his ships and men.

On the 17th or 18th year of his father's absence, young noblemen from Ithaca and surrounding islands began to woo his mother. Over 100 nobles persistently stay at their home. Penelope couldn't turn them away, and Telemachus was still too young to drive them from their home.

On the 19th year, Telemachus was at the point of despairing that his father would never return home, when the goddess Athena appeared in the form of Mentes, advising him to seek news of his father at Pylos and Sparta. Odysseus was not only goddess' favourite; she was the protector of Odysseus' wife and son during the hero's absence.

Athena disguised later as Mentor, spirited Telemachus out of Ithaca on a ship, and took the young man to Pylos, where he met Nestor. Nestor had no news but sent him to Sparta, where he met Menelaus and his wife Helen, who was actually Telemachus aunt. The news Menelaus wasn't much. Despite being related to Helen, Menelaus could not assist Telemachus in removing Penelope's unwanted suitors. Telemachus must either await for his father's return, or find some way to remove the suitors, himself.

By the time, Telemachus returned to Ithaca, he met his father in the guise of old beggar. The clever disguise was Athena's magic, but the goddess revealed Odysseus' true identity to Telemachus. So father and son were finally reunited.

Odysseus insisted that he can't reveal his return to either to his wife or to his wife's suitors, until he assessed the situation at home. So in the guise of old man, Odysseus test both his wife's loyalty and the situation in his palace. Telemachus assisted his father by hiding most of the weapons from the suitors.

Even unarmed, the suitors still could overpowered Odysseus and Telemachus, but their situation did improve when Penelope decided at last to choose a new husband. She would only one who could string Odysseus' old bow, and fired an arrow through the holes of twelve axe. Telemachus tried to string the bow first, but couldn't. Neither could any of the suitors; they didn't have Odysseus' strength.

When Odysseus managed to get the bow into his hands, he easily strings the bow and shoots an arrow through the hoops. With this formidable weapon, Odysseus began killing the suitors, with the assistance of his son and two servants who were still loyal to him. A battle ensued, and ended with the death of all the suitors. Odysseus didn't reveal his identity to Telemachus' mother until the battle ended.

Odysseus knew that he would have to deal with the suitors' family, so he went in search of his father, Laertes, as well as enlisting some aids from those still loyal to him. The Ithacan townspeople would have attacked Odysseus, but Athena intervened, forcing the Ithacan noblemen to make peace with Odysseus.

With his father reunited with his mother, Telemachus became a brother of Acusilaus.

According to the Telegony, Telegonus, son of Odysseus and Circe, and therefore Telemachus' half-brother. Telegonus had unwittingly killed their father. Telemachus forgave his half-brother. Telemachus and his mother left Ithaca with Telegonus, where they buried Odysseus on Circe's island. Telemachus married Circe, while his mother married Telegonus. Circe being a goddess, made Telemachus and his mother immortal.

According to a fragment, attributed to Hesiod, during his short visit in Pylus, Telemachus slept with Polycaste, Nestor's daughter, and became the father of Persepolis.

Commander-in-chief of the Trojan forces and their allies. Hector (Ἕκτωρ) was the eldest son of Priam and Hecuba. He was Troy's greatest warrior. Hector was the brother of Paris, Helenus and Cassandra. He married Andromache, the daughter of Eëtion (Eetion), king of Thebes. Hector was the father of Astyanax (Scamandrius).

In the last year of war, with withdrawal of Achilles from battle because of his quarrel with Agamemnon, Hector's prowess in battle rose to great height, inspired by the gods, Zeus and Apollo. He challenged the Greeks to fight him in single combat. Many heroes volunteered, including Diomedes and Odysseus, but drawing lots, Ajax won the right to fight Hector. In a single combat against Ajax, he fought to a draw. Although, he was the best warrior on the Trojan sides, Ajax and Diomedes had bested him in their few meetings. The height of his heroism happened when he smashed the gates of the Greek field fortification around the camp. The second climax of his career was when he set one of the Greek ships on fire.

His rash bravery and over-confidence often clouded his judgement. Twice he didn't listen to the wise counsel from his brave friend, Polydamas, with disastrous results. Polydamas advised him to leave the horses behind, when they breached the Greek gate; he did not listened. After the Hector fired one of the ships, Patroclus in Achilles' armour brought reinforcement, which routed the Trojans and drove them back outside the Greek camp. Many of the Trojans trying to escape drove their chariots through the gate. In their hasty retreat they crashed into one another. Twenty-two Trojans died at the gates.

After the death of Achilles' companion, Patroclus, Polydamas advised Hector that the Trojans should not face the Greek forces in battle, with Achilles returning to battlefield. He also advised the commander not to faced Achilles in combat. Over-confident of his mixed successes from the previous day he ignored Polydamas' counsels. Many Trojan leaders fell to the vengeful Achilles that day and the Trojans were driven back to the city. Achilles later killed Hector in single combat.

Zeus preserved his body with ambrosia, to prevent decay and damage to his body, despite Achilles' attempt to drag his body behind his chariot. His aged father, Priam ransomed his body, for the funeral. The Iliad ended with with a tribute for the bravery of Hector at the funeral.

After the fall of Troy, the Greeks murdered his son Astyanax, while his wife (Andromache) became concubine of his killer's son, Neoptolemus. Neoptolemus killed his father, King Priam, during the fall of Troy.

When Neoptolemus married Hermione, daughter of Helen and Menelaüs, he set Andromache and Helenus freed, and allowed the two to marry.

The second son of Priam and Hecuba, Paris (Πάρις) was also called Alexander.

Hecuba had a disturbing nightmare in which she gave birth to son who will burn the city down. The seer Aesacus, Priam's son by Arisbe, told king that this son would cause the destruction to Troy. Paris was left exposed in the wilderness, but he was suckled by she-bear. The farmer, Agelaüs (Agelaus) raised him as a shepherd in his farm. He grew up into handsome and strong young man. When the king held games, Paris entered and won every competition that caused even Priam's sons jealous, that they wanted to attack the shepherd, but Cassandra recognised him as her brother. Paris was then married to a nymph Oenone, daughter of the river-god Cebren, where the young couple lived in Mount Ida.

Oenone's happiness was short-lived, when Hermes arrived with three goddesses and asked him to judge them and decided who was the fairest among them. Paris awarded the golden apple to Aphrodite, who promised him Helen of Sparta, as his wife. He caused the enmity of two powerful goddesses against the Trojans. Oenone tried to plead with Paris to stay with her. Failing to persuade her husband from leaving her, she told him when he comes back to her, and she would wait for him and heal him of any wound he probably will receive from the coming war.

But Helen was wedded to Menelaüs (Menelaus), a king with many powerful allies. As Paris guested in Sparta, during his Menelaüs' absence, Aphrodite caused Helen to fall in love with Paris and ran away with him, thereby causing the Trojan War.

In the war, Paris was the best archer in the Trojan forces, though his records were unimpressive; he managed to wound Diomedes. After ten years of war, many Trojan would have gladly return Helen to the Menelaüs, but each time, Paris refused, with his father support. During the single combat between Paris and Menelaüs, Aphrodite spirited him away when his life was in danger. Paris only claim to glory was killing Achilles, the arrow guided by Apollo to pierce his only weakness, his heel.

Death of Paris

Paris himself was killed by poisoned arrow from Philoctetes. Dying, Paris returned to his first wife, Oenoe, in Mount Ida, because she had promised to heal his wound when he left her for Helen. But after ten years of waiting for his return, she refused to heal her husband. Paris returned to Troy to die. Oenone instantly regretting her decision, hurried to Paris with drug to rid of the Hydra's venom. But she arrived too late. In her remorse and because of her love for Paris, she either hanged herself or threw herself into Paris' burning pyre. No one else mourned for him.

After his death, Helen was forced to marry her brother-in-law, Deïphobus, who was killed by Helen's first husband at the fall of Troy. Helen returned to Sparta with Menelaüs.

A Trojan seer. Helenus (Ἕλενος) was the son of Priam, the king of Troy, and Hecuba. Helenus was the brother of Hector, Paris, Deiphobus and Cassandra.

As a seer, Helenus knew that Troy was doom. Helenus failed to dissuade Paris from sailing to Sparta to fetch Helen. Helenus seemed to be a good fighter, during the war. His role in the Iliad, however, was minor.

According to the Little Iliad and Sophocles' Philoctetes, Odysseus captured Helenus, before Paris' death. It was Helenus who told the Greeks of the requirements of winning the war, such as Neoptolemus and Philoctetes with the bow of Heracles was needed at Troy, the bones of Pelops need to be relocated and stealing the Palladium from the altar of Athena.

In Apollodorus' Epitome, Helenus was captured after Paris' death. It was Calchas who foretold that the Greeks needed to fetch Philoctetes and the bow of Heracles. See Philoctetes about Odysseus and one of his companions fetching the bow of Heracles.

Once Philoctetes rejoined the Greeks, healed of his wound, Philoctetes killed or mortally wounded Paris with his deadly arrow.

When Paris died, Helenus and his other brother Deiphoubus contend with one another for the hand of Helen in marriage. When Deiphobus won and married Helen, Helenus left Troy for Mount Ida.

Odysseus captured Helenus to reveal how Troy may be capture. Helenus was easy to persuade, and told the Greeks they Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles must come and fight at Troy. They also had to bring the bones of Pelops had to Troy for burial. Helenus also told them that Troy could fall unless the Palladium was taken out of the altar of Athena.

When Troy fell, Neoptolemus received Helenus as slave. Andromache, the widow of Hector and sister-in-law of Helenus, became Neoptolemus' concubine. Helenus knew that the most of the Greek fleet would be destroyed after the Lesser Ajax had raped his sister Cassandra, at Athena's temple. Helenus advised to Neoptolemus to go home by land than sea. According to Apollodorus, it was Thetis, Neoptolemus' grandmother, to advise Neoptolemus to stay on the island of Tenedos for two days before setting out on land, through Thrace.

Neoptolemus safely reached his father's home, where he met his grandfather (Peleus) for the first time. Rather than taking over the kingdom from Peleus, at Helenus' suggestion, Neoptolemus went to Epeirus to find his own kingdom.

Helenus lived with Neoptolemus and Andromache, acting more like a close adviser than a slave. When Neoptolemus decided to marry Hermione, the daughter of Menelaus and Helen, the hero set Helenus and Andromache free, where Helenus was allowed to find his own kingdom in Epeirus. When Hermione and her lover, Orestes, murdered Neoptolemus, Helenus took care of Neoptolemus' sons. Andromache had a son, , by him, and it is believed that Andromache became Helenus' wife. However, Apollodorus says that Neoptolemus gave his mother, Deidameia, to Helenus as wife; not Andromache.

In Virgil's Aeneid, Helenus met Aeneas and his followers, who were looking for a new home. Helenus revealed to Aeneas that his new home would be in Central Italy.

A Trojan prince. Deïphobus (Δηίφοβος) was a son of Priam and Hecuba; he was possibly their third son. He was a brother of Hector, Paris, Helenus and Cassandra. Probably in their family, Deïphobus was probably the second best fighter among his brothers, next to Hector.

In the Iliad, his brother Helenus led a third battalion against the wall of the Greek camp, with Deïphobus serving as lieutenant, but Homer didn't write anything of his exploit in the Iliad. Athena impersonated Deïphobus by taking his form, in order to dupe and lure Hector to fight Achilles in single combat. Here, Hector revealed that Deïphobus was Hector's favourite brother. When Deïphobus vanished from Hector's side, the Trojan commander realised that he was fated to die that day.

It is after the death of Hector that he became better known. According to one legend, he and Paris ambushed and killed Achilles, by using their sister, Polyxena as bait.

When Paris died, Deïphobus quarrelled with his brother, Helenus, over who should marry their brother's widow, Helen. By this time, Helen wanted to return home, to her first husband, and her daughter that she had abandoned in Sparta. It is not certain how he won the quarrel, but it was Deïphobus who eventually married Helen. The marriage would be short-lived. Helenus left Troy, but was captured by the Greeks. Helenus, as a seer, was very vital to the Greek victory.

When the Greek breached the defence of Troy through the use of the Wooden Horse, Deïphobus was among those who tried to defend the city, but he was killed by Menelaus, Helen's first husband.

In The Aeneid, the hero Aeneas would encounter Deïphobus' shade in the Underworld. Aeneas was his cousin. Deïphobus talked of his last night, revealing Helen's treachery. While Deïphobus celebrated, getting drunk and then falling asleep after their supposed victory over the Greeks, Helen hid all of Deïphobus' weapons, so he was defenceless when Menelaus and Odysseus (Ulysses) came into the house.

A Dardanian hero. He was the son of Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. Hesiod says that Aphrodite gave birth to Aeneas (Αἰνείας) at the peaks of Ida. Aeneas was of the Trojan royal line of Dardania. Aeneas was brought up in Mount Ida by nymphs who lived there. He married Creüsa (Creusa), daughter of Priam and Hecuba, and became father of Ascanius (Iülus). Since Anchises was crippled by thunderbolt, Aeneas ruled in his father's place in Dardania.

Aeneas may have being a companion of Paris, when Paris went to Sparta. Aeneas, at first, did not join the war, until Achilles drove him out of Mount Ida.

When Aeneas joined the war, he was second only to Hector, as the best Trojan warrior. Aeneas was also second-in-command of the Trojan forces.

Diomedes seriously wounded Aeneas, before stealing Aeneas' immortal horses, which were originally belonged to Tros. Aphrodite failed to rescue her son, because Diomedes wounded her and drove her off the battlefield. Apollo, however, spirited Aeneas away, before Diomedes could kill him.

Although, Poseidon favoured the Greek forces right throughout the war, nevertheless, the sea god rescued Aeneas from Achilles, for it was foretold that he would rule the Trojan lines.

Aeneas was the only one of two Trojan leaders to escape the fall of Troy; the other being Antenor (who was also a Dardanian). Aeneas tried to escape with his family. Aeneas had to carry his crippled father on his back while holding to his son's hand. Creüsa got separated from Aeneas and was killed, but according to Pausanias, she was rescued by Aphrodite and Kybele, to prevent the Greeks taking her as concubine.

There are several tales of his adventure after Troy. One told of him been captured by Neoptolemus and became his slave (Little Iliad).

When Aeneas witnessed a serpent killed a Trojan seer named Laocoon and his sons, Aeneas knew Troy would soon fall, so Aeneas deserted Troy. Taking his family and his followers, Aeneas returned home to Mount Ida (Sack of Ilium).

And another tale says that Aeneas ruled Troy after the Greeks left, as Poseidon had foretold in the Iliad.

Apollodorus' Epitome says that Aeneas escaped from the city, carrying his father. The Greeks allowed him to escape because of his piety.

However, the most famous account about Aeneas after the fall of Troy can be found in the Roman epic poem, known as the Aeneïd (Aeneid), told by Virgil (Vergil), in which he settled near the present day Rome. Go to the Tales of Rome for detail about the Aeneid.

The Aeneïd was sort of the combination of epics in Greek mythology, such as his journey to Italy was told like the Argonautica and the Odyssey, in the first half. While the setting in the second half of the Aeneid had a plot more like the Iliad, during the Trojan War.

Aeneas and his followers tried to find a new home. After a long and perilous sea voyage, they arrived in Italy. Aeneas decided to settle in Latium, where Latinus, king of Latium, welcomed him. Latinus was in favour of Aeneas marrying his daughter Lavinia.

Due to hatred of Juno (Hera), who had hated all Trojans since the Judgement of Paris, the goddess stirred up trouble among the Italians. Juno caused Amata, wife of Latinus, to hated Aeneas, refusing to allow the hero marry her daughter.

Juno also stirred other Latin tribes, including Turnus, leader of the Rutulians, who was a suitor of Lavinia. Most of the Latin tribes declared war on the Trojans, and rallied under the leadership of Turnus. The Greek hero Diomedes, who settled in southern Italy, refused to take part in another war against the Trojans. He urged the warring Latins to make peace with Aeneas.

As the Trojans tried to hold back their enemies, Aeneas sought allies around central Italy. The Etruscans sided with the Trojans. An aged king of Pallanteum (within present-day Rome), named Evander had also offered aid to Aeneas. Evander send some men, under leadership of his son Pallas.

Many leaders on both sides fell in the war. Among the dead was Pallas, killed by Turnus. Aeneas avenged Pallas, killing Turnus in single combat. The war ended with Turnus' death.

See Aeneïd for more about Aeneas' adventure.

After the war in Italy, Aeneas married Lavinia. They probably had a son, named Silvius. Some say that Aeneas founded the city of Alba Longa; others say that it was his son Ascanius who founded this city. His descendant, Romulus was to become founder of the city of Rome and also become its first king.

According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Aeneas fell in battle against the Rutulians, and his body was never recovered in battle. But according to the poet Ovid, Venus (Aphrodite) persuaded Jupiter (Zeus) to make her son immortal. Juno had finally given up her enmity towards the Trojans and come to term with Aeneas; Zeus' consort did not object to her step-daughter's request. At the end of his life, Venus took her son to live with her in Olympus.

Sarpedon (Σαρπηδών) and Glaucus (Glaucos or Γλαὓκος) were co-captains of the Lycian forces, and allies of Troy. The two Lycian heroes were cousins; they were grandsons of the hero Bellerophon. Glaucus was the son of Hippolochus. There are some confusion over who were Sarpedon' parents.

Some say that Sarpedon was the son of Zeus and Europa, and brother of Minos and Rhadamanthys. If that were the case, then Sarpedon would be very old.

Another version says that the Cretan Sarpedon migrated to Lycia, when he was driven off from Crete by Minos. Evander, Sarpedon's son, married Deïdameia (Deidameia), daughter of Bellerophon. It was Evander and Deïdameia who were parents of Sarpedon. Therefore, the Sarpedon, who fought in Troy, was the grandson of the Cretan Sarpedon (Europa's son).

In a third version, Homer says that, Sarpedon was the son of Zeus and Laodameia, another daughter of Bellerophon. Personally, I think the second version was more probable.

During the war, Sarpedon was one of the better fighters on the Trojan side. Sarpedon killed Tlepolemus, son of Heracles and Auge, leader of the Rhodians. While Glaucus encountered the divine-inspired Diomedes, until they had both discovered each other's lineage. Apparently, their grandfathers were once guest-friends (Bellerophon and Oeneus). Instead of fighting one another in combat, the two enemies exchanged armours, promising to avoid one another in combat.

Sarpedon and Glaucus distinguished themselves in the fighting, two days later. They led one of the strongest attacks on the wall of the Greek camp. But on that same day, Sarpedon was killed by Patroclus, companion of Achilles. Furious fighting was fought over Sarpedon's body, until his body was recovered by the god Zeus (who was his father, according to Homer). Sarpedon's body was brought back to Lycia by the gods, Hypnos ("Sleep") and Thanatos ("Death"), for proper funeral.

When Achilles was killed, there was another furious fighting over Achilles' body. Glaucus was killed by the Ajax, son of Telamon, who was standing guard over the Achilles' body.

An Eithopian prince. Memnon (Μέμνων) was the son Tithonus and Eos, goddess of Dawn. Memnon was cousin to Hector and Paris, since Tithonus was brother of Priam.

Memnon brought his army as reinforcement for Troy, and achieved short successes in the battlefield against the Greeks. He had arrived some time after the death of the Amazon Queen, Penthesileia.

Memnon drove the Greeks back from Troy's walls, and in the retreat of the Greek army, the chariot of Nestor crashed. Antioclus, Nestor's young son, came to his assistance, but Memnon easily killed Antioclus. Nestor wanted to avenge his son's death, but Memnon refused to fight an old man.

Achilles still mourning over the death of his friend, Patroclus, now lamented over Antioclus' death, when Nestor asked the hero to fight against Memnon. Memnon had golden helmet, armour and shield were made by Hephaestus, just like Achilles' armour, helmet and shield. But his armour and shield did little to protect Memnon.

Memnon's death was followed by Achilles, on that same day.

Turnus was the king of Rutulia and enemy of Aeneas. Turnus was either the son of Pilumnus and Danae, who was the daughter of Acrisius, or he was the son of King Daunus of Rutulia and Venilia. Turnus was also the brother of Juturna, the goddess of spring and wife of Janus.

In Roman myths, Turnus was mainly known in Vergil's Aeneid, where he was leader in the war against Aeneas and the Trojan refugees. Juno (Hera), who hated all Trojans since the Judgement of Paris, had persecuted Aeneas since he left Troy to find a new home.

Turnus had wanted to marry Lavinia, the daughter of King Latinus. The old king favoured Aeneas, mainly because a prophecy say that her daughter will marry a foreign prince, but Latinus' wife, Amata, and Juno supported Turnus. Both queen and goddess incited the Latins and the Rutulians against Aeneas and the Trojans. Turnus' jealousy caused him to declare war upon the Trojans.

Though Turnus killed many Trojans and their allies, the Rutulian leader was eventually killed in single combat against Aeneas. The Aeneid ended with Turnus' death.