HELENUS (Trojan prince and seer)

Helenus possessed the ability to divine the counsel of the gods, interpret dreams, and prophesy the eventual capture of Troy.^9,10 He knew the oracles that protected the city and identified stealing the Palladium as a condition for Troy's destruction, explaining that its presence inside the walls prevented capture.^5,11,12 He also knew that bringing Pelops' bones to Troy was a prerequisite for its fall, and stated that Neoptolemus fighting for Troy was necessary for the city to be taken.¹² Helenus foretold that Troy would not fall unless Philoctetes was brought there, and predicted the city would be completely captured that summer.^3,13 He forewarned the Trojans about their future through faithful instructions, possessing a prophetic ability to predict dark events that marked him as the wisest of augurs.^14,15,16

During the war, Helenus led the third company of Trojan warriors and fought with a large Thracian sword.^17,7 He killed Deipyrus by striking him on the temple with a sword, though the son of Cronus saved Helenus from death.^17,18 Helenus attacked Menelaus with a bow and arrow, but his arrow struck Menelaus's breastplate and failed to penetrate the armor.¹⁹ Menelaus wounded Helenus's hand with a spear that pierced through it and remained stuck in his bow, after which Agenor removed the spear and bound Helenus's hand in a sling.^19,18 He recognized the divine voice of Ares, which the other Trojans could not hear, and shouted to the fleeing Trojans to stop fearing and fight the Argives.⁴

Captured by Odysseus during a solitary night raid, Helenus was brought back in bonds to the Achaeans along with the abducted Pallas.^13,20,11,21 He was held as a Trojan prisoner by the Greeks, and in one account, Helenos failed to provide any warning or sign to the army before the city fell by force.^3,22 Helenus prophesied for the Achaeans regarding matters they asked about, advising them to slay the temple-warder Alcathous.^13,23 He counseled Tydeus' son and Odysseus to scale the wall, and Achaea's sons seized Helenus and dragged him to their ships.²³

After Pyrrhus was killed at Delphi, Helenus married Andromache, who accompanied him to the region he ruled.^24,25 Accounts differ on his first wife, with some stating he married Deidamia, whom Neoptolemus gave to him, while others name Andromache.^26,27 Helenus and Andromache had a son named Cestrinus, who is also listed as his child in other accounts.^28,25 He provided oracles that influenced Pyrrhus to settle in Epeirus, and traveled to Epeirus alongside Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles.^25,28 He served as guardian to the children of Pyrrhus, and upon his death, Helenus transferred his kingdom to Molossus.^29,28 Some accounts state that Helenus received Hecuba as a prize after the fall of Troy, while a Greek lord desired to be granted his wife by lottery.^30,31