Telephus
Telephus is a son of Heracles and king of Mysia whose story connects the Greeks' first failed approach to Troy with the later expedition that finally reaches the city.
Explore Telephus →Beyond Achilles and Hector
The Forgotten Stories of the Trojan War
The Trojan War is much larger than the events of the Iliad. Some of its most important heroes, prophecies and tragedies happen before or after Homer's poem.
What stories are missing from the Iliad?
Homer's Iliad covers only a short period near the end of the Trojan War. It does not tell the entire war from beginning to end.
The wider Trojan tradition includes Telephus, Philoctetes, Palamedes, Penthesilea, Neoptolemus, Polyxena and many others.
These stories explain how the Greeks found Troy, why certain warriors were required for victory, what happened after Achilles died, and how violence continued even after Troy itself had fallen.
Before the Greeks Reached Troy
The expedition does not begin with a simple voyage directly to Troy. The Greeks first become entangled with Telephus in Mysia.
His story helps explain both the false start of the expedition and how the Greeks eventually learn the correct route toward Troy.
The Forgotten Warriors
Philoctetes
Philoctetes is the Greek archer who possesses the bow of Heracles. Abandoned on Lemnos because of a terrible wound, he later becomes essential to the prophecy that Troy cannot fall without him.
Explore Philoctetes →Palamedes
Palamedes is a clever Greek hero associated with the Trojan War whose rivalry with Odysseus ends in betrayal and death in later tradition.
Explore Palamedes →Ajax the Great
Ajax the Great is one of the strongest Greek warriors at Troy, second only to Achilles in several traditions. His downfall begins when Odysseus receives Achilles' armour instead of him.
Explore Ajax the Great →Penthesilea
Penthesilea is the Amazon queen who comes to aid Troy after Hector's death and fights Achilles during the final stages of the Trojan War.
Explore Penthesilea →Neoptolemus
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.
Explore Neoptolemus →Polyxena
Polyxena is a Trojan princess, daughter of Priam and Hecuba, whose later tradition ends with her sacrifice at the tomb of Achilles after Troy falls.
Explore Polyxena →Helenus
Trojan prince and prophetic son of Priam and Hecuba.
Explore Helenus →Memnon
King of the Aethiopians and ally of Troy who fights Achilles in the post-Iliadic traditions of the Trojan War.
Explore Memnon →Why did Troy require more than Achilles?
Achilles is the greatest Greek warrior of the Iliad, but later traditions make clear that his strength alone is not enough to capture Troy.
The Greeks eventually require Philoctetes and the bow of Heracles, the young Neoptolemus, and knowledge connected with figures such as Helenus.
The final victory is therefore presented as the result of several conditions being fulfilled rather than one hero simply defeating the city.
What happened after Troy fell?
The fall of the city does not end the violence. Trojan captives and members of the royal family face further deaths, enslavement and displacement.
The sacrifice of Polyxena at the tomb of Achilles is one of the clearest examples of the war continuing beyond military victory.
The wider Trojan cycle therefore includes not only the destruction of the city but the fate of those who survive it.
Related Trojan War Myths
Telephus and the Greeks in Mysia
Before reaching Troy, the Greek expedition lands in Mysia, fights King Telephus and discovers that Achilles' wound will become part of the route to Troy.
Read this story →The Death of Palamedes
The intelligent Greek hero Palamedes becomes the victim of a deadly conflict with Odysseus in traditions surrounding the expedition to Troy.
Read this story →The Madness and Death of Ajax
After Achilles dies, Ajax and Odysseus compete for his armour. When Ajax loses, humiliation and madness lead to his death.
Read this story →Achilles and Penthesilea
The Amazon queen Penthesilea comes to defend Troy after Hector's death and meets Achilles in one of the great episodes of the lost Trojan epic tradition.
Read this story →Memnon and Achilles
Memnon arrives to defend Troy and becomes one of Achilles' greatest opponents in the traditions that continue beyond the Iliad.
Read this story →Philoctetes Abandoned on Lemnos
Philoctetes is abandoned on Lemnos after suffering a terrible wound on the voyage to Troy, but the Greeks later discover that they cannot capture Troy without him and the bow of Heracles.
Read this story →The Return of Philoctetes
The Greeks discover that Troy cannot fall without Philoctetes and the bow of Heracles, forcing them to return for the warrior they abandoned.
Read this story →Helenus and the Fate of Troy
The Trojan seer Helenus reveals the conditions the Greeks must fulfil before the seemingly impregnable city can finally be captured.
Read this story →Neoptolemus Comes to Troy
After Achilles' death, his son Neoptolemus is brought to Troy because prophecy declares that the city cannot be captured without him.
Read this story →The Sacrifice of Polyxena
After the fall of Troy, the Trojan princess Polyxena is sacrificed at the tomb of Achilles in later Greek tradition, becoming one of the final victims of the war.
Read this story →