Priamos

Priam's father, Laomedon, refused to give the gods the promised reward for building the walls around Troy. For this, he and the city were struck by a plague. To save the city, Princess Hesione had to be sacrificed to a sea monster. The hero Heracles set out to rescue her, but even he did not receive the promised reward from the king. Héraklés then promised revenge and returned to the city with his army. He conquered the city, killed the king, and took both Hésioné and her brother Podarek prisoner. Podark took the name Priamos and became heir to the Trojan throne.

Priamos' first wife was Arisbé (daughter of the oracle Merope) and together they had a son, Aisac. His second wife was Hakabe, with whom he had fifty sons and twelve daughters. Among their most famous descendants are Hector, Déifobos, Helenos, Polítés, Paris, Cassandra and Polyxené.

The most significant event of Priam's reign is the Trojan War.

It all began with the birth of Priam's son, Paris. His birth was preceded by a prophecy that this son would be the ruin of all Troy. The parents were thus advised to put Parid to death immediately after his birth, but the king refused and had him taken far outside the city and left to his fate. Years later, a dispute arose between the goddesses over the golden apple, in which Paris was to determine which goddess was the most beautiful. After much urging, he decided on Aphrodite, who promised him the heart of the most beautiful woman in the world. This was Helen, wife of the Spartan king Menelaus. Paris and Helen fled Sparta for Troy. Meneláos was very angry and sent negotiators to Troy to get Paris to return Helen and the stolen chest. Paris refused and Priamos supported him, saying that he would only return the chest. With this act, the Trojan War broke out.

Priam's son Hector took the lead in defending Troy, because he was the most recognized warrior. Agamemnon and Menelaus led the Greek armies. The entire war lasted nine years, with heavy casualties on both sides. Paris may have died in the fighting, but he was saved by Aphrodite. Subsequently, Hector also fell in a heroic battle with Achilles. Not long after his death came the final blow of the Greeks by means of a stratagem - the so-called Trojan Horse, thanks to which they overcame the defenders of Troy and thus managed to destroy the whole of Troy.

The Trojans made their last stand in the royal palace, where Priamos and his sons were fighting. Achilles' son Neoptolemos killed one son after another in front of the king. The king begged for mercy, but his pleas were not answered and instead the king himself was killed. The remaining Trojans were led out of the ruined city by the hero Aineias, a descendant of Dardanus.