Hector and Andromache's marriage was the emotional heart of the Iliad. Their farewell at the Scaean Gates, with infant Astyanax frightened by his father's plumed helmet, is one of literature's most poignant scenes.
Neoptolemus threw Astyanax from the walls of Troy after the city fell, following the Greek commanders' decision that Hector's son must not live to avenge his father.
Andromache lost her son Astyanax when the Greeks threw him from Troy's walls. His death compounded her grief after Hector's fall, leaving her utterly bereft before her enslavement.
Hecuba was Astyanax's grandmother. She witnessed the destruction of her family, including her grandson's murder, during the sack of Troy.
Neoptolemus, son of Achilles who had slain Hector, killed the infant Astyanax during the sack of Troy. He later took Andromache as his war prize.
Odysseus argued before the Greek council that Astyanax must die to prevent Hector's son from growing up to avenge his father and rebuilding Troy's power.
⚠ The Little Iliad (Proclus summary) attributes the killing to Neoptolemus; Euripides' Troades has the Greeks collectively decide to throw the child from the walls on Odysseus's counsel.
Priam was Astyanax's grandfather. The infant represented the future of Troy's royal line, and his death ensured that Priam's dynasty would end with the city's fall.
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