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
Eurypylus of Mysia The two armies fought before the ships through that night and the next day, the Greeks, only being able to avoid destruction, with the goddess Athena's aid. The Greeks asked Eurypylus for a two-day truce so they could bury their dead, which Eurypylus granted. Meanwhile the Greeks had sent Odysseus and Diomedes to Scyros to ask for Neoptolemus' help. And so Neoptolemus came to Troy, and found the Greeks hard-pressed by Eurypylus, fighting at their ships. In haste, Odysseus gives Neoptolemus Achilles' armor and spear, and seeming to be Achilles himself, Neoptolemus, along with Odysseus and Diomedes, rushed to the