Priam
Greek mythology · king · patriarchal grief, the ransom
Last king of Troy, father of fifty sons, most of whom the war devoured. His night journey alone through the enemy camp, to kiss the hands of Achilles, killer of his son, and beg Hector's body back, is the Iliad's final mercy.
Stories
The Fall of Troy
After ten years of siege, Odysseus conceives the wooden horse and Troy drags its own doom through the gates. The city burns: Priam is cut down at his altar, Cassandra's warnings are vindicated too late, Menelaus reclaims Helen, and Aeneas escapes the flames carrying his father on his back.
Priam's Ransom
Guided by Hermes through the sleeping camp, old Priam kneels before Achilles and kisses the hands that killed his son. The two enemies weep together, each for his own dead, and Achilles returns Hector's body; the Iliad ends not in victory but in mercy.