Neoptolemus

Neoptolemos (Ancient Greek Νεοπτόλεμος), also called Pyrrhos (Πύρρος) because of his red hair, is a figure from Greek mythology, more specifically the mythological circle surrounding the Trojan War. He is the son of Achilles and Deidameia. He is described as being very similar to his father, both in appearance and in martial prowess. His independent judgement, however, is completely lacking.

Neoptolemos grows up on the island of Scyros, at the court of his grandfather Lycomedes. On the advice of the seer Helenos, the Greeks bring him to the walls of Troy as Achilles' replacement after his death. He helps Odysseus or Diomedes to convince Philoktetes, who had been abandoned on Lemnos, to rejoin the Greek army. Neoptolemos is one of the heroes who gets himself locked inside the Trojan Horse. At the conquest of Troy he beheads the old king Priam at the altar of Zeus.

He receives Andromache, the widow of Hector, as the spoils of war. In a dream, the spirit of his fallen father appears to him, asking him to offer him the most valuable part of the booty. The Greeks' choice falls on Polyxena, the daughter of Priam, who does not consent to her sacrifice and stabs herself to death at Achilles' tomb. Nevertheless, the gods send the Greeks a favourable wind of travel.

Neoptolemos' fate after his departure from Troy is portrayed differently by the sources. According to one version, he arrives without incident at Phthia in Thessaly, where he succeeds his father as ruler. According to other sources, he arrives in Epirus and rules there for some time. He abducts Lanassa, the granddaughter or great-granddaughter of Heracles, from the temple of Zeus at Dodona and begets eight children with her. His descendants rule Epirus for a long time, and Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great, is said to be descended from him.

There are two versions of how Neoptolemos came to death: Either he is said to have been slain by Orestes, because he wanted to commit an offence against his fiancée Hermione. Or he is said to have been killed by Apollo's priests after committing an outrage against Apollo. Furthermore, it can be read that Hermione was promised to Neoptolemos by her father Menelaus during the Trojan War and had to marry him.

At the end of the sacred road from the Oracle of Delphi, Neoptolemos had a small temenos where his tomb could be found.