Dardanus
Founder ancestor of the Dardanian and Trojan royal house.
Explore Dardanus →Before Helen, Achilles and the Trojan War
Early Troy
Troy already had generations of mythological history before the famous war: founding kings, divine walls, broken promises and an earlier destruction by Heracles.
What happened before the Trojan War?
Greek mythology gives Troy a long royal history before the generation of Priam, Hector and Paris.
The dynasty reaches back through figures such as Dardanus, Tros and Ilus. During the reign of Laomedon, the city becomes entangled with Poseidon, Apollo and Heracles.
Troy is even sacked once before the famous Trojan War. Priam survives that earlier catastrophe and later rules the rebuilt city destroyed by the Greek coalition.
The Early Trojan Royal Line
Why were the walls of Troy famous?
The walls of Troy were not treated as ordinary fortifications in myth. In an important tradition, Poseidon and Apollo serve King Laomedon and participate in building or strengthening the city's defences.
Laomedon's refusal to honour agreed payment brings divine anger against Troy. His reign therefore establishes a recurring theme in Trojan mythology: the city's extraordinary protection is repeatedly undermined by failures within its own royal house.
Was Troy destroyed before the Trojan War?
Yes. Greek mythology contains an earlier sack of Troy associated with Heracles, long before the expedition led by Agamemnon.
Laomedon promises Heracles a reward connected with the rescue of his daughter Hesione, but refuses to honour the agreement. Heracles later returns against Troy and the city is captured.
This earlier destruction is separate from the famous Trojan War. It belongs to the generation before Priam's final reign and provides important background to Troy's later mythology.
How does Early Troy lead to Priam?
Priam is a son of Laomedon and survives the earlier destruction of the city. He later becomes king of the restored Troy.
His children include some of the most important figures of the later war: Hector, Paris, Cassandra and Helenus.
The famous Trojan War is therefore the final chapter of a much longer dynastic story rather than the beginning of Troy's mythology.
Key Figures
Erichthonius of Dardania
Wealthy king of Dardania and son of Dardanus.
Explore Erichthonius of Dardania →Tros
Tros is an early king of the Trojan royal line whose name becomes associated with Troy and the Trojans. Through his descendants, he stands near the beginning of the dynasty that leads to Ilus, Laomedon, Priam and the Trojan War.
Explore Tros →Ilus
Ilus is an early king of Troy and descendant of Tros, traditionally associated with the foundation or establishment of Ilios, the city later known as Troy.
Explore Ilus →Laomedon
Laomedon is the king of Troy before Priam and a central figure in the city's earlier conflicts with the gods and with Heracles. His broken promises help lead to an earlier sack of Troy before the famous Trojan War.
Explore Laomedon →Priam
Priam is the last king of Troy, son of Laomedon and father of Hector, Paris and many other Trojan princes and princesses. His reign connects the earlier royal history of Troy with its final destruction in the Trojan War.
Explore Priam →Heracles
Greatest of the Greek heroes, famous for the Twelve Labours.
Explore Heracles →Hector
Greatest Trojan warrior and defender of Troy.
Explore Hector →Paris
Trojan prince whose judgment and relationship with Helen become central to the Trojan War tradition.
Explore Paris →Cassandra
Trojan princess and prophetess cursed so that her true prophecies would not be believed.
Explore Cassandra →Related Myths
Laomedon and the Walls of Troy
Apollo and Poseidon serve King Laomedon and become associated with the construction of Troy's famous walls, but Laomedon refuses to honour the agreed reward.
Read the myth →Hesione and the Trojan Sea Monster
Poseidon's sea monster ravages Troy, and Laomedon's daughter Hesione is offered to the creature until Heracles agrees to rescue her.
Read the myth →Heracles Sacks Troy
A generation before the famous Trojan War, Heracles attacks and captures Troy after Laomedon refuses to honour his promised reward for saving Hesione.
Read the myth →Hector and Achilles
Achilles returns to battle after Patroclus' death and confronts Hector outside the walls of Troy.
Read the myth →