SOPHIA OF WISDOM III - TROY 02
LIBRARY OF SOPHIA OF WISDOM III SOPHIA OF
ALL SOPHIA OF WISDOMS
AKA CAROLINE E. KENNEDY, JR.____________
JAN 21, 2007
RE: ANDROMACHE OF
TROY THE GOD OF ALL GODS
Greek Mythology Link - by Carlos Parada, author of Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology
Andromache Andromache and Hector 1
"How many thousands nobodies there are whom Fame blows up to importance
and authority. Heaven bless the man whose splendid reputation is based on truth; but when it lives by lies, I am not deceived;
Fame hides an empty fabric of pretence and luck." [Andromache to Menelaus. Euripides, Andromache 320]
"Nothing makes
arrogant people angrier than being worsted in argument by the weaker party." [Andromache to Hermione. Euripides, Andromache
189]
Andromache, remembered as Hector 1's loving wife, was assigned to Neoptolemus at the end of the Trojan War. Having
become by force her enemy's concubine, she bore his children in Epirus, the Adriatic coastal region of Hellas, between the
Ambracian Gulf and Illyria (Albania), where Neoptolemus was king. After the death of Neoptolemus, who was murdered by Orestes
2 on account of their dispute over Helen's daughter Hermione, Andromache married her first husband's brother Helenus 1, whom
Neoptolemus had also brought from Troy to Epirus. At the end of her life, Andromache returned to Asia with one of her sons.
Trojan dynasties There are times when great empires break down into pieces, and times when nations come
together to form federations or build empires anew, and then again, after some time, they disintegrate, leaving each section
to find its own way. Agamemnon was the leader of the great host that sailed against Troy because he was the most powerful
king in the West; and although there were many kings and dynasties in Hellas, he was their overlord. And as it was in the
West, so was in the East; for Trojans were called those who were under the sway of Priam 1, whether they came from the city
of Troy or not. Thus there are those who have counted nine dynasties, which recognized Priam 1 as their overlord and which,
taken together, ruled a large part of the coastal regions of Asia Minor and beyond.
Her city and father And so,
for example, Achilles declared to have sacked twelve cities himself, among which was Thebe, where Chryseis 3 was captured.
It was she whom Agamemnon kept, refusing to give her back to her father and humiliating him, who came as a suppliant and was
a priest of Apollo, thereby calling upon himself the wrath of the god who came from heaven darker than night—although
he is called the bright one—, and decimated the Achaean army by plague. In this city of Thebe was born Andromache, and
her father was King Eetion 1; but when Achilles sacked the city and killed the king, Andromache, having married Hector 1,
was already at Troy.
Her views By marrying the crown prince of Troy, Andromache won renown, first in Phrygia,
and then in the whole world and for all times; for her husband became, during the war, the pillar of Troy, his courage becoming
proverbial. Andromache was in the eyes of many of too big complexion, and it has been said that only Hector 1 deemed her to
be of moderate size. But then beauty is heaven's gift, and very few can boast of it. Believing such to be the nature of things,
Andromache did not rely in beauty, but instead believed that it is character that wins a husband's heart. She would therefore
never pit her pride against her husband's, for example by praising her own city and belittling his, and would even love his
mistresses for her husband's sake; for she thought that, by always being a congenial company, she would draw her husband to
her. And constancy, loyalty and trueheartedness, some think, cause love to go beyond the sweet pleasures of the couch, so
that words like these may be uttered:
"You, Hector, are father and mother and brother to me, as well as my beloved
husband." [Andromache to Hector 1. Homer, Iliad 6.430]
Others are otherwise But others who, like Helen, think,
feel and do otherwise, are never mentioned among those considered to be devoted wives. For no one thinks that she, who left
her husband and child to follow the seducer Paris, has set an example of loyalty with her deed. And in Andromache's eyes,
Helen, being too fond of men, was to blame, not only for the death of Hector 1 and of those Trojans who perished defending
the city, but also for the death of Achilles and all other Achaeans who never returned from the war. And the power of such
evil women was a puzzle for Andromache; for she says:
"How strange that nature provides remedies against deadly snakes,
but against a bad woman—deadlier far than snakes, crueller than fire —no one has found a remedy." [Andromache.
Euripides, Andromache 269]
And she called Helen, not child of Zeus, but:
"Child of the Haunting Curse, of
Envy, of Murder, of Death, of all earth-nurtured plagues!" [Andromache. Euripides, Daughters of Troy 769]
Who is to
blame Not seldom women prefer to blame women, and men men. For just as Andromache blamed Helen, her husband Hector 1 blamed
Paris:
"It is your fault that this city is invaded by the sounds of battle." [Hector 1 to Paris. Homer, Iliad 6.327]
And yet others blame the gods for the deeds of men and women, and for what happened at Troy:
Cyclops [Polyphemus
2]: Disgraceful expedition, to sail for the sake of one woman to the land of the Phrygians! Odysseus: It was the doing
of a god: blame no mortal for it. [Euripides, Cyclops 284]
Soldier's wife If peace had prevailed, Hector 1 and
Andromache would have succeeded Priam 1 and Hecabe 1 on the throne of Troy. But as war turned things upside-down, father survived
son, and later, when defeat followed, the whole royal house was laid in ruins, justifying Andromache's misgivings. For during
the war, she had said to her husband:
"Hector ... this bravery of yours will be your end. You do not think of your
little boy or your unhappy wife, whom you will make a widow soon ..." [Andromache to Hector 1. Homer, Iliad 6.405]
Hector
1's fears Yet Hector 1 could not do but his duty and what he had been trained for, that is, act like a good soldier and
take his place in the front line, even if he knew, deep in his heart, that the day was coming when Troy should face destruction.
Nevertheless, he was concerned about his wife, and tortured by the thought of seeing her dragged off in tears to slavery by
some Achaean soldier:
"I see you there in Argos, toiling for some other woman at the loom, or carrying water from
an alien well ...'There goes the wife of Hector' they will say when they see your tears. 'He was the champion of the Trojans,
when Ilium was besieged.' And every time they say it, you will feel another pang at the loss of the one man who might have
kept you free." [Hector 1 to Andromache. Homer, Iliad 6.456ff.]
And as he feared this vision more than death, he added:
"Ah, may the earth lied deep on my dead body before I hear the screams you utter as they drag you off." [Hector 1
to Andromache. Homer, Iliad 6.464]
Andromache shows little Astyanax 2 to her husband Hector 1 as he departs for battle
Zeus knows This wish was fulfilled, and Hector 1 never had to watch her wife been dragged away. In accordance
with what heaven had ordained, Hector 1 killed Patroclus 1, who wore his friend Achilles' armour, and having stripped it from
his head and shoulders, he put it on. It has been remarked that Zeus, knowing what should come about, caused the armour to
sit easily on Hector 1, saying to himself:
"There will be no home-coming for you from the battle, and Andromache will
never take the glorious armour of Achilles from your hands." [Zeus. Homer, Iliad 17.205]
A widow When Hector 1
died, Troy lost the one pillar indispensable for its sustenance, and Andromache could do nothing but lament; for there is
no consolation when hopes must be abandoned and fears come true:
"Husband, you were too young to die and leave me
widowed in our home...Ah, Hector, you have brought utter desolation to your parents. But who will mourn you as I shall? Mine
is the bitterest regret of all, because you did not die in bed and stretching out your arms to me give me some tender word
that I might have treasured in my tears by night and day." [Andromache to her husband's corpse. Homer, Iliad 24.725ff.]
Death
better And hardest is the fall for those who have called themselves happy in the company of their beloved; for their cherished
looks and gestures and words vanish too quickly when they are gone, and bareness worse than death spreads in the heart. That
is why Andromache says:
"... Better death than life in bitterness. No pain feels death, which has no sense of ills:
but who has prospered, and has fallen on woe, forlorn of soul strays far from olden bliss." [Andromache to Hecabe 1. Euripides,
Daughters of Troy 638]
Remaining comfort A child is sometimes the one remaining comfort for those who have been
left in desolation. But as protection vanished along with her husband, Andromache now fears for her child:
"And I
have no hope that he will grow into a man: Troy will come tumbling down before that can ever be." [Andromache.Homer, Iliad
24.727]
Father's Fame ruins his son Andromache's fears heralded what was to take place; for Troy was sacked, her
little son Astyanax 2 was murdered, and herself was taken captive by Neoptolemus, son of the man who slew her husband. Little
Astyanax 2 was thrown down by the Achaeans from the battlements at Troy, as they wished to annihilate the Royal House of Troy;
some say that Neoptolemus murdered him, but others say that Odysseus did it, or that his word of warning, not to rear a hero's
son, prevailed in the Achaean assembly. But as it is a great shame to fear a child, some have wished the epitaph of little
Astyanax 2 to read thus:
"This child the Achaeans murdered in time past, dreading him." [Hecabe 1. Euripides, Daughters
of Troy 1190]
This is how little Astyanax 2, who had been reared to be a king, was ruined by the fame of his father,
who otherwise had protected him, saving many lives besides.
Prisoner Once Troy was defeated, Andromache, who could
have inherited throne and palace, was given as a special award to Achilles' son Neoptolemus, just as Agamemnon received Cassandra,
and Odysseus got Hecabe 1. At Thetis advice, Neoptolemus remained two days in the island of Tenedos, which is off the coast
of the Troad, and thence he set out for Epirus by land, taking with him Andromache and Helenus 1, seer and son of Priam 1.
Concubine Neoptolemus, who settled in Epirus and reigned there, married Menelaus' daughter Hermione, but nevertheless
took Andromache as concubine. Now, there are those who think it wrong that a man should love more than one woman, causing
his children to have different mothers. If this, in addition, is done in the same house, quarrelling and sorrow are bound
to take over. For, they say, experience shows that marriage cannot be shared; and the same is thought to be applicable to
all circumstances in which loyalty must be divided.
Foreign sorceress Now, it happened in Epirus that the concubine
Andromache had a child Molossus by Neoptolemus, whereas Hermione, who was his lawful wife, had none. This girl then, began
to believe that the foreign woman in her house had made her barren by secret spells, aiming at ousting her from her marriage
and later replace her as lawful wife. For foreigners are not seldom believed to achieve their secret aims by means of their
expertise in such or such kind of devilry, with the help of which they find pleasure in outraging all laws, human or divine.
So when Menelaus happened to visit Epirus while Neoptolemus was absent offering at Delphi, Hermione thought that the time
had come to murder her rival—a sorceress eager to import foreign morals —with her father's help.
Surrounded
by enemies Andromache then, being again surrounded by enemies, sought refuge in the shrine of Thetis, hoping that Neoptolemus
would arrive in time to save her. But Menelaus, a man of great experience and position, now known in the whole world, took
Andromache's child as hostage and threatened to cut his throat if she refused to abandon the sanctuary. For he did not regard
as a trivial matter to see his daughter be deprived of her rights in marriage. And when, under such a threat, Andromache left
the shrine, Menelaus declared that he would put her to death, and that Hermione should decide, regarding Molossus, as she
pleased: either to kill him or not.
Peleus saves her However, when Menelaus, having thus joined lies, treachery
and cruelty to his criminal intentions, was about to murder Andromache, Neoptolemus' grandfather Peleus arrived with troops,
and held the Spartan king's hand. This is how Andromache was saved by Achilles' father. Menelaus left, and soon after Hermione
joined Orestes 2. For Menelaus had had two words concerning his daughter, promising her first to his nephew Orestes 2, and
later at Troy, to Neoptolemus. And Hermione was happy to leave; for she feared that Neoptolemus would punish her for plotting
against Andromache during his absence.
Marries her brother-in-law Neoptolemus himself never return to Epirus;
for Orestes 2 appeared with an armed force at Delphi and killed him. Some say that Hector 1's brother Helenus 1, who had first
married Achilles' wife Deidamia 1, succeeded Neoptolemus on the throne; and after Deidamia 1 he married Andromache, who bore
him a child Cestrinus.
Return to Asia On Helenus 1's death, Molossus became king. Then Pergamus, son of Neoptolemus
and Andromache, crossed into Teuthrania, a region near Mysia in Asia Minor and, having killed its despot Arius 2 in single
combat, gave his name to the city that is still called after him. Andromache then, following her son, returned to Asia, where
it could still be seen in historical times, a shrine dedicated to her in the city of Pergamum.
Family
Parentage
Mate Offspring Notes
Eetion 1 & unknown
Eetion 1 was king of Thebe, a city to the east
of Mount Ida in Asia Minor. He was killed by Achilles during the sack of Thebe; yet Achilles, they say, was chivalrous enough
not to despoil him, but instead let his body be burnt wearing his arms. One son of Eetion 1, called Podes, was killed by Menelaus
during the Trojan War. Otherwise Andromache's brothers are said to have been seven, and to have all died on the same day,
when
Yahoo Quick Search
This page has been visited times.
Send e-mail to:
This page created using the webpage creation
facilities of Webspawner. Copyright © 2007 SOPHIA OF WISDOM III - SOPHIA OF ALL SOPHIA
OF WISDOMS. All Rights Reserved
|