Priam first kills Priam's son Polites in front of his father as he seeks sanctuary on the altar of Zeus. Priam rebukes Neoptolemus, throwing a spear at him, harmlessly hitting his shield. Neoptolemus then drags Priam to the altar and there kills him too. It has been suggested by Hittite sources, specifically the Manapa-Tarhunta letter, that there is historical basis for the archetype of King Priam. The letter describes one Piyama-Radu as a troublesome rebel who overthrew a Hittite client king and thereafter established his own rule over the city of Troy (mentioned as Wilusa in Hittite). There is also mention
Neoptolemus Neoptolemus Neoptolemus (; Ancient Greek: Νεοπτόλεμος, "Neoptolemos", "new warrior"), also called Pyrrhus (; Πύρρος, "Pyrrhos", "red", for his red hair), was the son of the warrior Achilles and the princess Deidamia in Greek mythology, and also the mythical progenitor of the ruling dynasty of the Molossians of ancient Epirus. In "Cypria", Achilles sails to Scyros after a failed expedition to Troy, marries princess Deidamia and has Neoptolemus, until Achilles is called to arms again. In a non-Homeric version of the story, Achilles' mother Thetis foretold many years before Achilles' birth that there would be a great war. She saw that