King Priam Priam to be killed by Neoptolemus, Achilles' son. Troy is in ruins. Priam refuses to leave his city, and one by one his family leaves him. His last farewell is with Helen, to whom he speaks gently. There is a moment of stillness before Achilles' son appears to strike the killing blow and Hermes, the drama over, departs for Olympus. King Priam King Priam is an opera by Michael Tippett, to his own libretto. The story is based on Homer's "Iliad", except the birth and childhood of Paris, which are taken from the "Fabulae" of Hyginus. The premiere was on
Epic Cycle ἀμφίεπον τάφον Ἕκτορος ἱπποδάμοιο. In this way they performed the funeral of Hector, tamer of horses. an alternative reading is preserved which is designed to lead directly into the "Aethiopis": ὣς οἵ γ' ἀμφίεπον τάφον Ἕκτορος· ἦλθε δ' Ἀμαζών, Ἄρηος θυγάτηρ μεγαλήτορος ἀνδροφόνοιο. In this way they performed the funeral of Hector; then the Amazon Penthesileia came, daughter of great-hearted man-slaughtering Ares. ... There are contradictions between epics in the Cycle. For example, the Greek warrior who killed Hector's son Astyanax in the fall of Troy is Neoptolemus according to the "Little Iliad"; according to the "Iliou persis", it is