The wife of Hector - the princess of Andromache

The name of this Trojan princess is translated as "warring with her husband", although in ancient Greek mythology she is glorified as an example of a faithful and loving wife. Its uneasy fate is described by the ancient playwright Euripides in the tragedies of Trojan and Andromache. Homer admired the power of love of this woman in his famous "Iliad". The scene, when Hector and Andromache are forgiven, is considered one of the most emotional moments of the poem. The tragic history of lovers and Homeric syllable inspired not one generation of artists. Wrote about Andromache, too, such ancient masters as Virgil, Ennius, Ovid, Nevius, Seneca and Sappho. And the tragedy of Jean Baptiste Racine has long been a favorite work of theater dramatists.

Political alliance

Ancient myths say that Andromache, the daughter of the Cilician king Aetion and the wife of Hector, the heir to the throne of Troy, lived in those distant and cruel times when the world was torn apart by predatory wars. In order to defend their independence, many states had to conclude political alliances with other stronger kingdoms and principalities. And the marriage of the heirs of the throne, which also binds the state with blood ties, was one of the most common political tools. The union of the daughter of Eetion and the heir to the throne of King Priam, who was the ruler of the influential state of Troy, gave the people of Cilicia hope for the support of the famous Trojan army in case of aggression from another state.

The fall of Cilicia

Myths tell us that the illustrious heir of Priam immediately flushed with a passion for his chosen one, and now Andromache, like Hector's wife and his beloved, had the opportunity to influence Troy's policy in the interests of his homeland. So it was, until the illustrious hero Achilles appeared on the military scene with his Mirmidonians. He accepted the proposal of the Greek king Agamemnon and joined his army, making him invincible. Cilicia fell and was plundered, and King Eetion and his seven sons were killed by the hands of Achilles. Despite the fact that Andromache influenced the political mood of King Priam as Hector's wife, Troy could not come to the aid of Cilicia, as the new alignment of forces questioned her own security. Priam was forced to seek serious allies to resist Agamemnon.

Sparta as an ally of Troy

Contrary to family tragedy, Andromache was happy with her favorite Hector. She expected the birth of the firstborn and hoped that her glorified in battle her husband would not have to take up arms, defending Troy. The news that soon Hector and his younger brother Paris would have to go to Sparta to negotiate a military alliance, upset her with the inevitable separation from her beloved. But the wise Andromache, as the wife of Hector, the future king of Troy, understood the importance of this mission, so she dismissed her husband with a heavy heart and promised to meet him with her son in her arms. And, perhaps, an alliance with Sparta could stop the invasion of Troy, but love intervened. The prince of Paris and the wife of the Spartan king Menelaus Elena fell in love with each other. Paris secretly took the beloved of Sparta, and instead of an ally, Troy received in the person of King Menelaus a fierce enemy who took the side of the Greeks.

Trojan War

King Priam did not abandon the son of Paris and Helena, despite the approaching war, and Troy prepared for the siege. Hector's wife knew what the Greeks were capable of and, fearing for his life, and Astianakta's son asked to influence her husband in Priam and extradite the lovers to the Spartans, but Hector refused. Meanwhile, the troops of Agamemnon and Menelaus approached the indestructible walls of Troy. The chances of standing at Priam's troops were quite high, besides, the discord between Agamemnon and Achilles played into their hands, because of which the latter refused to participate in the war.

Everything changed the case: the best friend of Achilles Patroclus decided to take part in the battle against Troy and, wearing the armor of the celebrated hero, led the Myrmidons into battle. Before the battle Andromache with his son in his arms begs Hector, who leads the troops of Troy, to pay off and give Paris with his beloved in the hands of the Spartan king. After all, Elena's flight to Troy was put forward by Agamemnon as the main cause of the war. Hector does not heed the pleas of his wife and entrusts the fate of the kingdom and his gods. In the first battle, the Trojans triumph, and Hector kills Potrocles in a duel, taking him for Achilles because of the latter's armor.

After losing his friend, Achilles returns under the banner of Agamemnon with the intention of destroying Hector, which he carries out, summoning Priam's heir to a duel. After killing Hector, Achilles tied his body to his chariot for the greater humiliation of the Trojans and stretched it along the walls of Troy in the eyes of King Priam and the heartbroken Andromache, and then three more times around the grave of Potrocl. To bury Hector with the honors attributed to the prince, Priam had to negotiate with Achilles and pay the big bribes. At the time of the funeral, military actions were stopped, which enabled the Greeks to come up with a clever plan to penetrate the walls of the city. Using a tree from some of their ships, they built a huge figure of a horse, which went down in history under the name "Trojan Horse".

Fall of Troy

After the funeral, the Trojans found the enemy's camp empty, and in its place - a huge statue of a horse. Having perceived this as a gift of the gods, they dragged her into the city, condemning herself to death. Inside the statue was a shock detachment of Greeks, who at the very first opportunity interrupted the guard and opened the gate of the city to the troops of Agamemnon. Troy fell, and those of her citizens who did not die became slaves. The wife of Hector, taken prisoner, also did not escape this fate. The Trojan princess became the slave of the son of Achilles Neoptolemus, and her son Astianactus was thrown off the walls of the city.

The further fate of the Trojan princess

The unfortunate Andromache wanted death, but instead she had to drag out the existence of a concubine and give birth to sons to her fierce enemy. I must say that Neoptolem, who ruled Epirus, was very fond of his slave and the sons of Molossus, Piel and Pergam, which caused the terrible jealousy of Hermione's legal but childless wife. She tried to destroy Andromache and her children, but the help came from the father of Achilles Peleus, who had affection for his great-grandchildren. After the death of Neoptolemus, by the hand of Oreza in the battles at Delphi, Hermione moved to the side of her husband's enemy. Andromache again married the relative of Hector Helen and remained to rule Epirus as the queen and mother of the legitimate heirs of the throne.