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
Neoptolemus (general) himself; and the two leaders, who were bitter personal enemies, sought each other out during the battle and engaged in single combat, in which, after a desperate struggle, Neoptolemus was slain by Eumenes. Neoptolemus (general) Neoptolemus (in Greek Νεoπτόλεμος; died 321 BC) was a Macedonian officer who served under Alexander the Great. According to Arrian he belonged to the race of the Aeacidae, so he was probably related to the family of the kings of Epirus. Neoptolemus is mentioned as serving in the Macedonian royal guards (εταιρoι) and distinguished himself particularly at the siege of Gaza, 332 BC, of which