Neoptolemus
Overview
Neoptolemus is the son of Achilles who joins the Trojan War after his father's death and becomes one of the warriors required for Troy's fall.
Generation
Trojan War
Symbols
Spear, armour, Troy
Notes
Neoptolemus belongs to the final phase of the Trojan War. He is the son of Achilles and continues his father's martial lineage after Achilles is dead.
A prophecy or set of conditions concerning the fall of Troy leads the Greeks to bring Neoptolemus to the war.
His arrival belongs to a wider group of late-war requirements that also involve figures such as Philoctetes and Helenus.
Neoptolemus participates in the final capture of Troy and becomes associated with several of the most violent traditions surrounding the sack.
Later stories connect him with the death of Priam and with the fate of surviving members of the Trojan royal family.
He is also associated with Andromache after the war.
Neoptolemus therefore represents the continuation of Achilles' legacy but also the increasingly brutal character of the final destruction of Troy.
Parents
Unknown or primordial.
Children
No children recorded.
Wider Trojan Cycle
The Forgotten Trojan War
Neoptolemus belongs to the wider Trojan War tradition beyond the central events of Homer's Iliad.
Explore the forgotten stories of the Trojan War →Related Myths
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The Death of Achilles
Son of Achilles brought to Troy after his father's death -
Philoctetes Abandoned on Lemnos
Young hero involved in Philoctetes' return -
Helenus and the Fate of Troy
Son of Achilles whose presence is required at Troy -
The Return of Philoctetes
Young warrior central to Sophocles' version of the mission -
Neoptolemus Comes to Troy
Son of Achilles brought to Troy -
Andromache and Astyanax
Later associated with Andromache after the sack