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Hecuba |
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Hecuba (hĕk`y bə), in Greek mythology, chief wife of Priam, king of Troy. Hecuba bore to Priam 19 children, including Paris, Hector, Troilus, Cassandra, and others who were prominent in the Trojan War. To save Polydorus, her youngest son, from the Greeks, Hecuba sent him to Polymnestor, king of Thrace. After the sack of Troy she was allotted to Odysseus, who on his way home stopped at Thrace. Learning there that Polymnestor had murdered Polydorus, Hecuba, in revenge, blinded the king and killed his children. She is an important character in Euripides' plays Hecuba and The Trojan Women.HecubaIn Greek legend, the wife of the Trojan king Priam and mother of Hector. At the end of the Trojan War she was taken prisoner. According to Euripides, her youngest son, Polydorus, had been placed in the care of Polymestor, king of Thrace. When she arrived in Thrace, she learned that Polydorus had been murdered. In revenge, she blinded Polymestor and killed his two sons. In other versions of the legend, she was later turned into a dog, and her grave beside the Hellespont became a landmark for ships. Hecuba mourns the death of her children. [Gk. Drama: Benét, 450] See : Grief Hecuba kills Polymestor’s children and blinds him for his treacherous murder of her son Polydorus. [Gk. Drama: Euripides Hecuba in Benét, 450] See : Vengeance How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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Hecuba took out the largest robe, and the one that was most beautifully enriched with embroidery, as an offering to Minerva: it glittered like a star, and lay at the very bottom of the chest. So it has been since the days of Hecuba, and of Hector, Tamer of horses; inside the gates, the women with streaming hair and uplifted hands offering prayers, watching the world's combat from afar, filling their long, empty days with memories and fears; outside, the men, in fierce struggle with things divine and human, quenching memory in the stronger light of purpose, losing the sense of dread and even of wounds in the hurrying ardor of action. |
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