Tros

Overview

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.

Generation

Heroic Age

Symbols

Troy, Trojan royal house

Notes

Tros belongs to the early genealogy of the Trojan royal house and is one of the figures through whom the identity of Troy and the Trojans is explained in Greek myth.

He descends from the older Dardanian line associated with Dardanus and Erichthonius. His own descendants continue the dynasty that eventually rules the city of Troy.

Tros is especially important because later generations of the family include Ilus, Laomedon and Priam. The great Trojan War therefore belongs to a royal line whose mythological history begins long before the conflict over Helen.

Ancient genealogy is not always completely uniform, but Tros consistently occupies an important position in explanations of Trojan ancestry.

The name of the Trojans is traditionally connected with Tros, while the city itself is also known as Ilios or Ilium through the line associated with Ilus.

Tros is therefore less important as the hero of one famous surviving episode than as a dynastic ancestor. His significance lies in connecting the early Dardanian kings with the later rulers of Troy.