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
2260 Neoptolemus a non-family asteroid in the Jovian background population. This asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 5.0–5.4 AU once every 11 years and 10 months (4,326 days; semi-major axis of 5.2 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.04 and an inclination of 18° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins with its first observation as "" at McDonald Observatory in December 1951, almost 24 years prior to its official discovery observation at Nanking. In the SDSS-based taxonomy, "Neoptolemus" is a dark D-type asteroid. It has also been characterized as a D-type by the survey conducted