Source Verification: Andromache
Every claim below is either what a named ancient source attests, in its own line or section, or a point where the sources themselves disagree.
What the Sources Attest
What was Andromache known for?
Andromache is best known as Hector's wife in Homer's Iliad. Her farewell to him at the Scaean gate in Book 6 is one of the poem's most famous scenes. Their baby son Astyanax cries at the sight of his father's helmet, and both parents laugh. She later leads the laments at Hector's death and funeral. Euripides made her the heroine of his Andromache and a central figure of his Trojan Women, where the Greeks take her son from her.
Source: Homer, Iliad 6.390-502
Did Andromache love Neoptolemus?
No ancient source says she did. In Euripides's Trojan Women she dreads the match. She says she must serve in the house of her husband's killers, and that opening her heart to her new master would betray Hector. In Euripides's Andromache she swears she submitted to Neoptolemus against her will and was forced to be his concubine. In Virgil's Aeneid she says she endured the pride of Achilles's son and bore him a son as his slave.
Source: Euripides, Trojan Women 643-683
Was Andromache Greek or Trojan?
She was not Greek, and she was not born in Troy either. Homer's Iliad makes her the daughter of Eetion, king of the Cilicians at Thebe beneath wooded Placus, a city Achilles sacked. She joined the Trojan royal family by marrying Hector, son of Priam. In Euripides's Andromache she calls Thebe the glory of Asia and recalls coming to Priam's house with a rich dowry. She reached Greece only as a captive after the fall of Troy.
Source: Euripides, Andromache 1-55
What happened to Andromache's son Astyanax?
He was thrown from the walls of Troy, but the sources disagree on who did it. In the Iliad, Andromache already fears that some Achaean will hurl him from the wall to avenge a kinsman Hector killed. In Euripides's Trojan Women, the Greeks decree his death on Odysseus's advice. Apollodorus's Epitome says the Greeks threw him from the battlements. Pausanias reports that the poet Lescheos made Neoptolemus kill the boy on his own impulse, not by a Greek decree.
Source: Pausanias, Description of Greece 10.25.9
Who did Andromache marry after Hector?
The usual answer is two men. After Troy fell, Euripides and Apollodorus's Epitome give her as a captive to Neoptolemus, son of Achilles. She later married Hector's brother Helenus, but the sources time it differently. In Euripides's Andromache, Thetis orders the marriage after Neoptolemus dies at Delphi. Pausanias also places it after his murder. In Virgil's Aeneid, Andromache says Neoptolemus handed her to Helenus himself when he sought to marry Hermione.
Source: Virgil, Aeneid 3.294-355
How many children did Andromache have?
The number depends on the source. Homer gives her one child, Hector's son Astyanax, whom Hector called Scamandrius. Euripides's Andromache gives her a young son by Neoptolemus, whom Thetis calls the last of the line of Aeacus. Apollodorus's Epitome names that son Molossus. Pausanias gives her three sons by Neoptolemus, Molossus, Pielus and Pergamus, and a fourth, Cestrinus, by Helenus. Pergamus, he says, founded the city named after him in Asia.
Source: Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.11.1
Where Accounts Differ
- who killed Astyanax
- when Andromache married Helenus
- Andromache's sons by Neoptolemus
- where Andromache went with Neoptolemus
- how Neoptolemus died
- Who killed Astyanax differs. In the Iliad (24.723-745) Andromache only fears that some Achaean will hurl him from the wall. Euripides (Trojan Women 709-739) has the Greeks decree it on Odysseus's advice. Apollodorus (Epitome 5.23) says the Greeks threw him from the battlements. Pausanias (10.25.9) reports that Lescheos made Neoptolemus do it of his own accord. Ovid (Metamorphoses 13.399-428) has him hurled from a tower without naming the killer.
- When Andromache married Helenus differs. Euripides (Andromache 1231-1252) has Thetis order the marriage after Orestes kills Neoptolemus at Delphi, and Pausanias (1.11.1) also places it after the murder. Virgil (Aeneid 3.294-355) has Neoptolemus hand her to Helenus while he still lives, when he seeks Hermione. Apollodorus (Epitome 6.13) instead says Neoptolemus gave Helenus his own mother Deidamia as a wife.
- Her children by Neoptolemus differ. Euripides (Andromache 1231-1252) has one young son, the last of Aeacus's line. Apollodorus (Epitome 6.12) names a son Molossus. Pausanias (1.11.1) names three, Molossus, Pielus and Pergamus, and adds Cestrinus as her son by Helenus.
- Where she went with Neoptolemus differs. In Euripides's Trojan Women (1123-1146) he sails for Phthia, and his Andromache (1-55) is set on the borders of Phthia and Pharsalus in Thessaly. Pausanias (1.11.1) says Pyrrhus sailed to Epirus instead of returning to Thessaly, and Apollodorus (Epitome 6.12) has him go by land to the Molossians with Helenus.
- How Neoptolemus died, which freed Andromache to marry Helenus, is told differently. Euripides (Andromache 1231-1252) has Thetis name Orestes as his killer at Delphi. Virgil (Aeneid 3.294-355) has Orestes kill him at his own hearth. Pausanias (1.11.1) says only that he was murdered at Delphi.
Sources
- Homer, Iliad 6.390-502
- Homer, Iliad 6.414-428
- Homer, Iliad 8.184-197
- Homer, Iliad 22.437-515
- Homer, Iliad 24.723-745
- Euripides, Andromache 1-55
- Euripides, Andromache 205-231
- Euripides, Andromache 309-420
- Euripides, Andromache 545-610
- Euripides, Andromache 1231-1252
- Euripides, Trojan Women 271-278
- Euripides, Trojan Women 643-683
- Euripides, Trojan Women 709-739
- Euripides, Trojan Women 1123-1146
- Apollodorus, Epitome 5.23
- Apollodorus, Epitome 6.12
- Apollodorus, Epitome 6.13
- Virgil, Aeneid 3.294-355
- Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.399-428
- Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.11.1
- Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.11.2
- Pausanias, Description of Greece 10.25.9