Helenus

Helenos (Greek Ἕλενος), originally called Skamandrios, is a Trojan prince in Greek mythology, son of Priam and Hecabe and twin brother of Cassandra.

Like Cassandra, he is said to have had seer-like powers. Before Paris' departure for Greece, he warned in vain that Paris would kidnap a Greek woman and thus cause the fall of Troy.

Helenos often gave advice to Hector and Aineias during the Trojan War, but also took an active part in the battle. Together with Deiphobos and Asios, he led one of the five Trojan hosts in the attack on the Greek camp. After killing Deipyros, Menelaus attacked him. Helenos shot at him with his bow, but the arrow bounced off. Menelaus hit him on the hand with his spear, whereupon Helenos fled. Later he even managed to wound Achilles in the hand with an arrow.

After the death of Paris, Helenos and Deiphobos quarreled over Helen. When Deiphobos received her hand, Helenos left Troy and retreated to the Ida Mountains. Since the Greek seer Kalchas prophesied that Helenos knew how the Greeks could conquer Troy, Odysseus searched for Helenos and captured him. Helenos was forced to reveal to the Greeks that they could only win if they took the bones of Pelops, Neoptolemos, the son of Achilles, fought for them, and they stole the Palladion from the city. He also revealed that they needed the help of Philoctetes.

According to another version, Helenos left the city after a quarrel with Paris. The priest Chryses revealed his whereabouts to the Greeks, and Odysseus and Diomedes captured him. Then in the Greek camp, Chryses elicited from Helenos how Troy could be conquered and told the Greeks. After that, Helenos voluntarily stayed with the Greeks. According to this version, he was also the real originator of the idea to conquer Troy by a wooden horse.

After the war he emigrated with Neoptolemos to the Molossians in Epirus. Neoptolemos became their king and begat Molossos with Andromache, the captive widow of Hector. Helenos founded a city and, according to one version, received Neoptolemos' mother Deidameia as his wife. Later Helenos married Andromache and had a son Kestrinos by her. After the death of Neoptolemos he left the rule to Molossos and contented himself with a part of the kingdom which he called Chaonia. There he was visited by Aineias, to whom he prophesied the future and gave him rich gifts.

According to another version, Helenos was released by Agamemnon at the end of the war, also gained freedom for his mother Hecabe, Cassandra and Andromache and emigrated with them to the Chersonesos.

The Argives claimed in ancient times that Helenos was buried in their city.