Neoptolemus

Frieze-Dennison Vergil

Neoptolemus , ī, m.: Neoptolemus or Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles, 3.333. See also Pyrrhus.

Nĕoptŏlĕmus, i, m., = Νεοπτόλεμος.

The son of Achilles, also called Pyrrhus, Cic. de Or. 2, 63, 257; id. Lael. 20, 75; Verg. A. 2, 263.—Hence,
- B The name of a tragedy of Ennius, the hero of which was Neoptolemus, Cic. Rep. 1, 18, 30; id. Tusc. 2, 1, 1; id. de Or. 2, 37, 156; Gell. 5, 15, 9; 5, 16, 5; Ap. Apol. p. 281 (Vahl. and Rib. put these passages under Incerti Nominis Reliquiae). —
II One of Alexander's generals, who was defeated by Eumenes, Nep. Eum. 4, 1.

Neopto'lemus

(Νεοπτόλεμος), i. e. a young warrior, a son of Achilles and Deidameia, the daughter of Lycomedes, was also called Pyrrhus (Apollod. 3.13.8; Hom. Od. 11.491, &c.). According to some, however, he was a son of Achilles and Iphigeneia (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 133; Eustath. ad Hoom. p. 1187), and after the sacrifice of his mother he was carried by his father to the island of Scyros. The name of Pyrrhus is said to have been given to him by Lycomedes, because he had fair (πυρρός) hair, or because Achilles, while disguised as a girl, had borne the name of Pyrrha (Paus. 10.26.1; Hyg. Fab. 97; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1187; Serv. ad Aen. 2.469). He was called Neoptolemus because either Achilles or Pyrrhus himself had fought in early youth (Eustath. l.c.). From his father he is sometimes called Achillides (Ov. Ep. 8.3), and from his grandfather or great-grandfather, Pelides and Aeacides (Verg. A. 2.263,3.296). Neoptolemus was brought up in Scyros in the house of Lycomedes (Hom. Il. 19.326; Soph. Philoct. 239, &c.), whence he was fetched by Odysseus to join the Greeks in the war against Troy (Hom Od. 11.508), because it had been prophesied by Helenus that Neoptolemus and Philoctetes, with the arrows of Heracles, were necessary for the taking of Troy (Soph. Phil. 115). In order to obtain those arrows Neoptolemus and Odysseus were sent from Troy to the island of Lemnos, where Philoctetes was living, who was prevailed upon to join the Greeks (Soph. Phil. 1433). At Troy Neoptolemus showed himself in every respect worthy of his great father, and at last was one of the heroes that were concealed in the wooden horse (Hom. Od. 11.508, &100.521). At the taking of the city he killed Priam at the sacred hearth of Zeus Herceius (Paus. 4.17.3, 10.27; Verg. A. 2.547, &c.), and sacrificed Polyxena to the spirit of his father (Eurip. Hecub. 523). When the Trojan captives were distributed, Andromache, the widow of Hector, was given to Neoptolemus, and by her he became the father of Molossus, Pielus, Pergamus (Paus. 1.11.1), and Amphialus (Hyg. Fab. 123; comp. Andromache). Respecting his return from Troy and the subsequent events of his life the traditions differ. According to Homer (Hom. Od. 3.188, 4.5, &c.) he lived in Phthia, the kingdom of his father, whither Menelaus sent to him Hermione from Sparta, because he had promised her to him at Troy. According to others Neoptolemus himself went to Sparta to receive Hermione, because he had heard a report that she was betrothed to Orestes (Hyg. Fab. 123; Paus. 3.25.1, 26.5). Servius (Serv. ad Aen. 2.166, 3.321, &c.) relates that on the advice of Helenus, to whom be subsequently gave Andromache and a district in Epeirus, Neoptolemus returned home by land, because he had been forewarned of the which the Greeks would have to encounter at sea. Some again state that from Troy he first went to Molossia, and thence to Phthia, where he recovered the throne which had in the mean time been taken from Peleus by Acastus (Dict. Cret. 6.7, &c.; Eur. Tro. 1125; comp. Hom. Od. 4.9). Others, that on his return to Scyros, he was cast by storm on the coast of Ephyra in Epeirus, where Andromache gave birth to Molossus, to whom the Molossian kings traced their descent (Pind. N. 4.82, 7.54, &c.). Others lastly say that he went to Epeirus of his own accord, because he would or could not return to Phthia in Thessaly (Paus. 1.11.1; Verg. A. 3.333; Just. 17.3). In Epeirus he is also said to have carried off Lanassa, a granddaughter of Heracles, from the temple of the Dodonean Zeus, and to have become by her the father of eight children (Justin. l.c.). Shortly after his marriage with Hermione, Neoptolemus went to Delphi, some say to plunder the temple of Apollo, who had been the cause of the death of Achilles, or to take the god to account for his father; and according to others to take offerings of the Trojan booty to the god, or to consult him about the means of obtaining children by Hermione (Schol. ad Pind. Nem. 7.54, 58, ad Eurip. Or. 1649, Androm. 51). It is owing to this uncertainty that some ancient writers distinguish between two differentjourneysto Delphi, where he was slain, either by the command of the Pythia (Paus. 1.13.7), or at the instigation of Orestes, who was angry at being deprived of Hermione (Eur. Andr. 891, &100.1085, &c.; Verg. A. 3.330) ; and according to others again, by the priest of the temple, or by Machaereus, the son of Daetas (Schol. ad Pind. Nem. 7.62; Paus. 10.24.4 ; Strab. p. 421). His body was buried at Delphi, under the threshold of the temple, and remained there until Menelaus caused it to be taken up and buried within the precincts of the temple (Pind. N. 7.62; Paus. 10.24.5). He was worshipped at Delphi as a hero, as presiding over sacrificial repasts and public games. At the time when the Gauls attacked Delphi he is said to have come forward to protect the city, and from that time to have been honoured with heroic worship. (Paus. 1.4.4, 10.23.3.) [L.S]

Neopto'lemus I.

(Νεοπτόλεμος), king of Epeirus, was son of Alcetas I., and father of Alexander I., and of Olympias, the mother of Alexwander the Great. On the death of Alcetas, Neoptolemus and his brother Arymbas or Arrybas agreed to divide the kingdom, and continued to rule their respective portions without any interruption of the harmony between them, until the death of Neoptolemus, which, according to Droysen, may be placed about B. C. 360. No further incidents of his reign have been transmitted to us. (Paus. 1.11. §§ 1, 3; Just. 7.6.10, 17.3.14; Droysen, Hellenismus, vol. i. p. 250, not.) [E.H.B]

Neopto'lemus Ii.

king of Epeirus, was son of Alexander I. and grandson of the preceding. At his father's death in B. C. 326, he was probably a mere infant, and his pretensions to the throne were passed over in favour of Aeacides. It was not till B. C. 302 that the Epeirots, taking advantage of the absence of Pyrrhus, the son of Aeacides, rose in insurrection against him, and set up Neoptolemus in his stead. The latter reigned for the dangers space of six years without opposition, but effectually alienated the minds of his subjects, by his harsh and tyrannical rule. He thus paved the way for the return of Pyrrhus, who landed in Epeirus in B. C. 296, at the head of a force furnished him by Ptolemy, king of Egypt. Neoptolemus, alarmed at the disaffection of his subjects, consented to a compromise, and it was agreed that the two rivals should share the sovereignty between them. But such an arrangement could not last long; at a solemn festival, where the two kings and all the chief nobles of the land were assembled, Neoptolemus had formed the design to rid himself of his rival by poison; but the plot was discovered by Pyrrhus, who in return caused him to be assassinated at a banquet to which he had himself invited him. (Plut. Pyrrh. 4, 5; Droysen, vol. i p. 250.) [E.H.B]

Neopto'lemus

(Νεοπτόλεμος), historical.

1. A Macedonian officer of Alexander the Great. As we are told by Arrian that he belonged to the race of the Aeacidae, he was probably related to the family of the kings of Epeirus. He is mentioned as serving in the royal guards (ἑταῖροι) and distinguished himself particularly at the siege of Gaza, B. C. 332, of which he was the first to scale the walls. (Arr. Anab 2.27.) We hear but little of him during the subsequent campaigns of Alexander, but he appears to have earned the reputation of an able soldier; and in the division of the provinces, after the death of the king, Neoptolemus obtained the government of Armenia. (Carmania, in Dexippus, apud Phzot. p. 64b. is clearly a false reading; see Droysen, vol. i. p. 50.) It seems, however, that he had already given evidence of a restless and unsettled disposition, which caused Perdiccas to regard him with suspicion, and in B. C. 321, when the latter set out for Egypt, he placed Neoptolemus under the command of Eumenes, who was enjoined to exercise particular vigilance in regard to him. The suspicions of the regent proved not unfounded: Neoptolemus immediately entered into correspondence with the hostile leaders, Antipater and Craterus, and, on being ordered by Eumenes to join him with his contingent, refused to comply. Hereupon Eumenes immediately marched against him, defeated his army, and compelled all the Macedonian troops in his service to take the oath of fidelity to Perdiccas. Neoptolemus himself escaped with a small body of cavalry and joined Craterus, whom he persuaded to march immediately against Eumenes, while the latter was still elated with his victory, and unprepared for a fresh attack. But their cautious adversary was not to be taken by surprise, and met his enemies in a pitched battle. In this Neoptolemus commanded the left wing, on which he was opposed to Eumenes himself; and the two leaders, who were bitter personal enemies, sought each other in the fight, and engaged in single combat, in which, after a desperate struggle, Neoptolemus was slain by his antagonist. (Diod. 18.29-31; Plut. Eum. 4-7; Corn. Nep. Eum. 4; Just. 13.6, 8; Dexippus, apud Phot. p. 64b.; Arrian, apud Phot. p. 70b., 71, a.)

Neopto'lemus

2. A Macedonian, father of Meleager, the general of Alexander. (Arr. Anab. 1.24.1.)

Neopto'lemus

3. A Macedonian officer, who was killed at the siege of Halicarnassus, B. C. 333. (Diod. 17.25.) He is doubtless the same who is called by Arrian, the son of Arrhabaeus and brother of Amyntas, though that author represents him as having fought on the Persian side. (Arr. Anab. 1.20.15; and see Schmieder, ad loc.)

Neopto'lemus

4. One of the generals of Mithridates, and brother of Archelaus. He had already distinguisned himself previous to the breaking out of the wars with Rome, by an expedition against the barbarians north of the Euxine, whom he defeated in several battles, and appears to have pushed his conquests as far as the mouth of the Tyras (Duiester), where he erected a fortress which continued to bear his name. In the course of these wars he is said to have defeated the barbarians in a combat of cavalry, on the ice at the entrance of the Palus Maeotis, on the very same spot where he the following summer gained a naval victory. (Strab. 2.1, p. 73, 7.3, pp. 306, 307.) In B. C. 88 he was united with his brother Archelaus in the command of the great army with which Mithridates invaded Bithynia, and defeated Nicomedes III. at the river Amnius. This success was quickly followed up by Neoptolemus and Menophanes, who defeated the Roman general M. Aquillius in a second decisive action, and compelled him to fly for refuge to Pergamus. (App. Mith. 17-19.) After this he appears to have accompanied Archelaus to Greece, where he was defeated by Sulla's lieutenant, Munatius, near Chalcis, with heavy loss, B. C. 86. (Ibid. 34.) After this we find him commanding the fleet of Mithridates, which was stationed at Tenedos (B. C. 85), where he was attacked and defeated by Lucullus, the quaestor of Sulla. (Plut. Luc. 3.) From this time we hear no more of him. [E.H.B]

Neopto'lemus

(Νεοπτόλεμος), literary.

1. Of Paros, the most eminent literary person of this name. The following works are ascribed to him. 1. Περὶ Ἐπιγραμματῶν, probably a collection of epigrams. (Athen. 10.454f.; Jacobs, Anthol. vol. vi. p. xxxvi.) 2. Περὶ Γλωσσῶν, to the third book of which Athenaeus refers (xi. p. 476f.). It is probably to this work that Achilles Tatius refers, ἐν ταῖς Φρύγιαις φωναῖς. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. vi. p. 193.) 3. A Commentary on Homer. (Id. vol. i. p. 517.) 4. A Commentary on Theocritus, quoted in the Scholia on 1.52. (Id. vol. iii. pp. 781, 798.) 5. A Treatise on Poetry, to which Horace is said to have been indebted in his Ars Poetica. (Id. vol. vi. p. 373.)

Neopto'lemus

2. According to a conjecture of Clinton (F. H. vol. i. p. 349), who has collected (l.c.) all the ancient notices on the subject, there was a Milesian Neoptolemus, to whom was falsely ascribed the epic Ναυπακτια. Pausanias thinks it the work of Carcinus. [Carcinus.] The Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, however, expressly attributes it to Neoptolemus. Perhaps, however, Neoptolemus the Parian may have commented on this work also. Heyne latterly agreed with Pausanias that the Ναυπακτία was named from Naupactus, the birthplace of its author Carcinus. (Apollon. 5.299; Schol. ad Apollod. 3.10.12, and Observat. in loc. by Heyne, ed. Gotting. 1803.)

Neopto'lemus

3. A poet from whose work, Περὶ ἀστεισμῶν, two lines are quoted by Stobaeus (120. 5, vol. iii. p. 459, ed. Gaisford).

Neopto'lemus

4. There was also a celebrated Athenian tragedian of this name, who performed at the games in which Philip of Macedon was slain, B. C. 336. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. ii. p. 312; Diod. xvi. vol. ii. p. 152, ed. Amstel. 1745; Sueton. Cal. 100.57.) If Josephus (J. AJ 19.1) be correct, the play performed was on the subject of Cinyras and Myrrha. But Neoptolemus (Diod. l.c.), by order of the king, introduced some new lines (quoted by Diod. l.c.), probably composed by Neoptolemus himself. A saying of his on the murder of the king is recorded by Stobaeus (98. 70, vol. iii. p. 295, ed. Gaisford). He took an active part in the transactions between the Athenians and Philip. He had been intimate with and espoused the side of the latter, for whose court he ultimately left Athens. (Dem. pp. 58, 344, 442, ed. Reiske.) [W.M.G]

Neoptolĕmus

(Νεοπτόλεμος, also called Pyrrhus; i. e. the ruddy). (1) The son of Achilles and Deïdamia. He was brought up by his grandfather Lycomedes in Scyros. After Achilles' death, however, he was led by Odysseus to Troy, since, according to the prophecy of Helenus, that town could be taken only by a descendant of Aeacus. Here, like his father, he distinguished himself above all by a courage which none could withstand. He slew Eurypylus, son of Telephus, and was one of the heroes in the wooden horse, where he alone remained undaunted. Later legend depicts him as fierce and cruel: at the taking of Troy he killed the aged Priam at the altar of Zeus, hurled Hector's son, Astyanax, down from the walls, and offered up Polyxena upon his father's tomb. In Homer he arrives safely with much booty at Phthia, his father's home, and weds Menelaüs's daughter Hermioné, who was promised him during the siege of Troy ( Od. iv. 5). Later legend represents him as accompanied by Andromaché, Hector's wife, who is allotted him as a part of his booty, and Helenus, and then, on the strength of a prophecy of Helenus, as going to Epirus and settling there. It was to a son of his by Lanassa, granddaughter of Heracles, that the later kings of Epirus traced back their descent, and accordingly styled themselves Aeacidae; while from his son by Andromaché, Molossus, the district of Molossia was said to derive its name (Pausan. i. 11). He afterwards went to Phthia, to reinstate his grandfather Peleus in his kingdom whence he had been expelled by Acastus and wedded Hermioné. He soon, however, met his death at Delphi, whither, according to one story, he had gone with dedicatory offerings, or, according to another, to plunder the temple of Apollo in revenge for his father's death. The accounts of his death vary, some attributing it to Orestes, the earlier lover of Hermioné; others to the Delphians, at the instance of the Pythian priestess; others again to a quarrel about the meat-offerings. The scene of his death was the altar, a coincidence which was regarded as a judgment for his murder of Priam. His tomb was within the precincts of the Delphic temple, and in later times he was worshipped as a hero with annual sacrifices by the Delphians, as he was said to have vouchsafed valuable assistance against the Gauls when they threatened the sacred spot (B.C. 279) (Pausan. x. 23).

(2) A king of Epirus, father of Alexander I. and of Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great. He died about B.C. 360.

(3) A king of Epirus, the son of Alexander I. and grandson of the preceding ( Pyrr.).

(4) A general of Alexander the Great. He obtained the government of Armenia after Alexander's death. He was slain in battle by Eumenes (q.v.) (Plut. Eum. 4, 7).

(5) A general of Mithridates (App. Mith. 17).

Neoptolemus Neoptolemus, son of Alcetas

Paus. 1.11.1

Neoptolemus(2), son of Achilles by Deidamia

formerly called Pyrrhus: Paus. 10.26.4, Apollod. 3.13.8
always called Neoptolemus by Homer: Paus. 10.26.4
fetched from Scyros to Troy by Odysseus and Phoenix: Apollod. E.5.10
sails from Scyros: Paus. 3.25.1
slays many Trojans: Apollod. E.5.10, Apollod. E.5.11
kills Telephus: Apollod. E.5.11
slays Priam at altar: Apollod. E.5.21, Paus. 4.17.4, Paus. 10.27.2
slays Elasus, Astynous, Eionous, Coroebus, and Agenor: Paus. 10.26.4, Paus. 10.27.1, 2
murders son of Andromache: Paus. 10.25.9
is awarded Andromache: Apollod. E.5.23
persuaded by Thetis to wait at Troy: Apollod. E.6.4
and at Tenedos: Apollod. E.6.11
sets out with Helenus by land for the country of the Molossians: Apollod. E.6.11
buries Phoenix: Apollod. E.6.11
conquers the Molossians and reigns as king: Apollod. E.6.11
gets a son Molossus by Andromache: Apollod. E.6.11
father of Molossus, Pielus, and Pergamus by Andromache: Paus. 1.11.1, Paus. 3.20.8
gives Helenus his mother Deidamia to wife: Apollod. E.6.11
burns temple of Apollo at Corinth: Paus. 2.5.5
settles in Epirus: Paus. 1.11.1, Paus. 2.23.6
succeeds to his father's kingdom: Apollod. E.6.11, Apollod. E.6.13
carries off Hermione, wife of Orestes: Apollod. E.6.13
marries Hermione, daughter of Menelaus: Paus. 1.33.8, Paus. 3.25.1, Paus. 3.26.7, Paus. 10.16.4
has no child by her: Paus. 1.11.1
makes attempt on Delphic sanctuary: Paus. 10.7.1
said to have rifled and fired the temple in revenge for the death of his father: Apollod. E.6.14
condemns Odysseus to exile: Apollod. E.7.37, Apollod. E.7.40
his murder plotted by Pylades: Paus. 2.29.9
slain by Orestes or by Machaereus at Delphi: Apollod. E.6.13, Apollod. E.6.14
slain by priest at altar of Apollo at Delphi in obedience to command of Pythian priestess: Paus. 1.11.1, Paus. 1.13.9, Paus. 4.17.4, Paus. 10.24.4
his grave: Paus. 10.24.6, Paus. 10.26.4
annual sacrifices offered to him: Paus. 10.24.6
his phantom fights for Delphians against Gauls: Paus. 1.4.4, Paus. 10.23.2
worshipped as hero at Delphi: Paus. 1.4.4
retribution of: Paus. 4.17.4
gives his name to Pyrrhichus: Paus. 3.25.2

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