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
The Swan (Baudelaire) the Trojan War— after the fall of Troy becomes the captive of Pyrrhus (also called Neoptolemus), a son of Achilles, who has made her his concubine. Her son Astyanax was killed by the Greeks. Later she married Helenus, without ever forgetting Hector. Andromache symbolizes the desolate widow, the mourning mother. She is referred to in a number of works, in the Iliad , the Aeneid , or in Jean Racine‘s play Andromaque. Her portrayal in the poem is built upon oppositions and antitheses: "bras d’un grand époux" / "tombeau vide" ("arms of a great husband" / "empty tomb"), "la main