Astyanax

Mortal man

In Greek mythology, Astyanax (; Ancient Greek: Ἀστυάναξ Astyánax, "king of the city" coming from the ancient greek words "ἄστυ" meaning city and "ἄναξ" meaning wanax or king) was the son of Hector, the crown prince of Troy, and of his wife, Princess Andromache of Cilician Thebe.

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Mentions
10
Connected characters
2
Books
3
Astyanax. Andromache Mourning Hector — Astyanax
Andromache Mourning Hector — Astyanax · Jacques-Louis DavidImage source Public domain

Mentions in the Iliad

A. T. Murray, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, 1924 · Homer, Iliad with an English Translation · CC BY-SA 3.0 US

“For I shall go to my home, that I may behold my housefolk, my dear wife, and my infant son; for I know not if any more I shall return home to them again, or if even now the gods will slay me beneath the hands of the Achaeans. So saying, Hector of the flashing helm departed,”
Il. 6.365–369
“fair-tressed Trojan women are seeking to propitiate the dread goddess; but she went to the great wall of Ilios, for that she heard the Trojans were sorely pressed, and great victory rested with the Achaeans. So is she gone in haste to the wall, like one beside herself; and with her the nurse beareth the child.”
Il. 6.385–389
“the tender boy, a mere babe, the well-loved son of Hector, like to a fair star. Him Hector was wont to call Scamandrius, but other men Astyanax; for only Hector guarded Ilios. Then Hector smiled, as he glanced at his boy in silence,”
Il. 6.400–404
“thou art brother, and thou art my stalwart husband. Come now, have pity, and remain here on the wall, lest thou make thy child an orphan and thy wife a widow. And for thy host, stay it by the wild fig-tree, where the city may best be scaled, and the wall is open to assault.”
Il. 6.430–434
“ere I hear thy cries as they hale thee into captivity. So saying, glorious Hector stretched out his arms to his boy, but back into the bosom of his fair-girdled nurse shrank the child crying, affrighted at the aspect of his dear father, and seized with dread of the bronze and the crest of horse-hair,”
Il. 6.465–469
“and may he bear the blood-stained spoils of the foeman he hath slain, and may his mother's heart wax glad. So saying, he laid his child in his dear wife's arms, and she took him to her fragrant bosom, smiling through her tears; and her husband was touched with pity at sight of her,”
Il. 6.480–484
“in the house of Eetion, who reared me when I was a babe, hapless father of a cruel-fated child; would God he had never begotten me. Now thou unto the house of Hades beneath the deeps of earth art departing, but me thou leavest in bitter grief, a widow in thy halls,”
Il. 22.480–484
See all 10

Connections

Father · Sources
Father · Sources
For I shall go to my home, that I may behold my housefolk, my dear wife, and my infant son; for I know not if any more I shall return home to them again, or if even now the gods will slay me beneath the hands of the Achaeans. So saying, Hector of the flashing helm departed,
Il. 6.366
the tender boy, a mere babe, the well-loved son of Hector, like to a fair star. Him Hector was wont to call Scamandrius, but other men Astyanax; for only Hector guarded Ilios. Then Hector smiled, as he glanced at his boy in silence,
Il. 6.400–401
the tender boy, a mere babe, the well-loved son of Hector, like to a fair star. Him Hector was wont to call Scamandrius, but other men Astyanax; for only Hector guarded Ilios. Then Hector smiled, as he glanced at his boy in silence,
Il. 6.404

Il. 6.366 · Il. 6.400–401 · Il. 6.404 · Il. 6.431–432 · Il. 6.466 · Il. 6.483 · Il. 22.484 · Il. 22.505–506 · Il. 24.36 · Il. 24.727

Mother · Sources
Mother · Sources
and came speedily to his well-built house. But he found not white-armed Andromache in his halls; she with her child and a fair-robed handmaiden had taken her stand upon the wall, weeping and wailing. So Hector when he found not his peerless wife within,
Il. 6.371–372
the tender boy, a mere babe, the well-loved son of Hector, like to a fair star. Him Hector was wont to call Scamandrius, but other men Astyanax; for only Hector guarded Ilios. Then Hector smiled, as he glanced at his boy in silence,
Il. 6.400–401
but Andromache came close to his side weeping, and clasped his hand and spake to him, saying: Ah, my husband, this prowess of thine will be thy doom, neither hast thou any pity for thine infant child nor for hapless me that soon shall be thy widow; for soon will the Achaeans
Il. 6.407–408

Il. 6.371–372 · Il. 6.400–401 · Il. 6.407–408 · Il. 6.431–432 · Il. 6.471 · Il. 6.483 · Il. 22.484 · Il. 22.499 · Il. 24.727

In art

Jacques-Louis David. Andromache Mourning Hector (The Sorrow of Andromache) by Jacques-Louis David, 1783, Pushkin Museum. собрание не указано. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAndromache_Mourning_Hector_%28The_Sorrow_of_Andromache%29_by_Jacques-Louis_David%2C_1783%2C_Pushkin_Museum.JPG

Photograph / reproduction: Jacques-Louis David

Photograph / reproduction date: 1783

Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein. Hector's Departure from Andromache. собрание не указано. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AHektors_Abschied_von_Andromache_%28Tischbein%29.jpg

Photograph / reproduction: Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein

Photograph / reproduction date: 1812

Louis de Silvestre. Louis de Silvestre Odysseus verlangt von Andromache den Knaben Astyanax 1708. собрание не указано. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ALouis_de_Silvestre_Odysseus_verlangt_von_Andromache_den_Knaben_Astyanax_1708.jpg

Photograph / reproduction: Louis de Silvestre

Photograph / reproduction date: 1708

Sébastien Bourdon. Sébastien Bourdon - Ulysses Discovering Astyanax Hidden in Hector's Tomb. собрание не указано. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AS%C3%A9bastien_Bourdon_-_Ulysses_Discovering_Astyanax_Hidden_in_Hector%27s_Tomb.jpg

Photograph / reproduction: Sébastien Bourdon

Photograph / reproduction date: c. 1655

Jean-Bernard Restout. Restout-jean-bernard-hector-bidding-farewell-to-his-son-and-andromache. собрание не указано. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ARestout-jean-bernard-hector-bidding-farewell-to-his-son-and-andromache.jpg

Photograph / reproduction: Jean-Bernard Restout

Photograph / reproduction date: 18th century

Luca Ferrari. Italian: Commiato di Ettore da Andromaca The Farewell between Hector and Andromache title QS:P1476,it:"Commiato di Ettore da Andromaca" label QS:Lit,"Commiato di Ettore da Andromaca" label QS:Len,"The Farewell between Hector and Andromache". собрание не указано. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACommiato_di_Ettore_da_Andromaca_-_Luca_Ferrari.jpg

Photograph / reproduction: Luca Ferrari

Photograph / reproduction date: 17th century

Anton Kern. German: Hektors Abschied von Andromache Hector's Farewell to Andromache title QS:P1476,de:"Hektors Abschied von Andromache " label QS:Lde,"Hektors Abschied von Andromache " label QS:Lru,"Прощание Гектора с Андромахой" label QS:Len,"Hector's Farewell to Andromache". собрание не указано. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAnton_Kern_-_Hektors_Abschied_von_Andromache_-_4603_-_%C3%96sterreichische_Galerie_Belvedere.jpg

Photograph / reproduction: Anton Kern

Photograph / reproduction date: 18th century

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Jean Restout. Les adieux d’Andromaque et d’Hector. собрание не указано. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ARestout_-_Les_adieux_d%E2%80%99Andromaque_et_d%E2%80%99Hector.jpg

Photograph / reproduction: Jean Restout

Photograph / reproduction date: 1727

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg. Hector Bidding Farewell to Andromache and Astyanax. Thorvaldsen Museum. Public domain. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q114050714

Photograph / reproduction: Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg

Photograph / reproduction date: between 1813 and 1816

Pierre-Narcisse Guérin. La Mort de Priam, par Pierre-Narcisse Guérin. Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Angers. Public domain. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q122389396

Charles de La Fosse. Farewell of Hector and Andromache. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138479880

Photograph / reproduction: Charles de La Fosse

Photograph / reproduction date: before 1699

Anton Losenko. Прощание Гектора с Андромахой. Tretyakov Gallery. Public domain. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18683331

Photograph / reproduction: Anton Losenko

Photograph / reproduction date: 1773

Joseph-Marie Vien. Les adieux d'Hector et d'Andromaque, Vien. Department of Paintings of the Louvre. Public domain. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18939659

Photograph / reproduction: Joseph-Marie Vien

Photograph / reproduction date: 1786

Carl Friedrich Deckler. The Farewell of Hector to Andromaque and Astyanax. Public domain. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19945661

Photograph / reproduction: Carl Friedrich Deckler

Photograph / reproduction date: before 1918

VladoubidoOo. Benjamin-Constant Astyanax. собрание не указано. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ABenjamin-Constant_Astyanax.JPG

Photograph / reproduction: VladoubidoOo

Photograph / reproduction date: 2016-01-12 15:02:10

VladoubidoOo. Edouard Théophile Blanchard La mort d'Astyanax. собрание не указано. CC BY-SA 3.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AEdouard_Th%C3%A9ophile_Blanchard_La_mort_d%27Astyanax.JPG

Photograph / reproduction: VladoubidoOo

Photograph / reproduction date: 2013-12-24 17:17:23

Albert Maignan. The Departure of Hektor. собрание не указано. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMaignan%2C_Le_d%C3%A9part_d%27Hector.jpg

Photograph / reproduction: Albert Maignan

Photograph / reproduction date: 12 October 2015, 08:24:06

Sergey Petrovich Postnikov. Postnikov ProschGektora. собрание не указано. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APostnikov_ProschGektora.jpg

Photograph / reproduction: Sergey Petrovich Postnikov

Photograph / reproduction date: 1863

Jean Bardin. Andromaque et Astyanax - Jean Bardin - MM 1938F20. собрание не указано. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAndromaque_et_Astyanax_-_Jean_Bardin_-_MM_1938F20.jpg

Photograph / reproduction: Jean Bardin

Photograph / reproduction date: 1777

François-Guillaume Ménageot. French: Astyanax arraché des bras de sa mère title QS:P1476,fr:"Astyanax arraché des bras de sa mère" label QS:Lfr,"Astyanax arraché des bras de sa mère". собрание не указано. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAstyanax-arrache-des-bras-de-sa-mere---francois-guillaume-menageot.jpg

Photograph / reproduction: François-Guillaume Ménageot

Photograph / reproduction date: 1783

Georges Rochegrosse. Andromaque label QS:Len,"Andromaque" label QS:Lfr,"Andromaque". собрание не указано. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAndromaque_Rochegrosse.jpg

Photograph / reproduction: Georges Rochegrosse

Photograph / reproduction date: 1883

Carlotta Gargalli. Italian: Pirro che minaccia di uccidere Astianatte title QS:P1476,it:"Pirro che minaccia di uccidere Astianatte" label QS:Lit,"Pirro che minaccia di uccidere Astianatte". собрание не указано. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMuseo_Ottocento_Bologna_abc54_Carlotta_Gargalli%2C_Pirro_che_minaccia_di_uccidere_Astianatte.jpg

Photograph / reproduction: Carlotta Gargalli

Photograph / reproduction date: 1815

Photograph by Mike Peel ( www.mikepeel.net ).. Castello Estense, Ferrara 2014 148. собрание не указано. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACastello_Estense%2C_Ferrara_2014_148.jpg

Photograph / reproduction: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net).

Photograph / reproduction date: 2014-12-03

Francesco Hayez. Hector greets Andromaca and Astyanax. собрание не указано. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AHector_greets_Andromaca_and_Astyanax_-_Francesco_Hayez.jpg

Photograph / reproduction: Francesco Hayez

Jean Bardin. French: Andromaque et Astyanax au tombeau d'Hector label QS:Lfr,"Andromaque et Astyanax au tombeau d'Hector". собрание не указано. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ABardin_Andromaca.jpg

Photograph / reproduction: Jean Bardin

Photograph / reproduction date: 1777

Carlotta Gargalli. Museo Ottocento Bologna abc55 Carlotta Gargalli, Pirro che minaccia di uccidere Astianatte. Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna. Public domain. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133269104

Photograph / reproduction: Carlotta Gargalli

Photograph / reproduction date: 1815

Pierre-Narcisse Guérin. Pierre-Narcisse Guérin - Andromaque et Pyrrhus (Bx E 665). Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux. Public domain. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q22961949

Pierre-Narcisse Guérin. Andromaque et Pyrrhus. Department of Paintings of the Louvre. Public domain. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q29855485

Photograph / reproduction: Pierre-Narcisse Guérin

Photograph / reproduction date: 1813

Brygos Painter. Attic Red-Figure Cup known as the "Iliupersis Cup". Department of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities of the Louvre. Public domain. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q26722405

Sources and verification

The character is matched to the catalogue.

Wikidata Q334787

Reference material remains distinct from the poem’s assertions. Characters who share a name retain separate pages.