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 succeeded to the throne and bed of Pyrrhus..." Mentioned briefly in Euripides' plays "Trojan Women" and "Hecuba", simply stating that Andromache, wife of Hector, was his promised spear bride. 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