In
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...
, Asius ( grc, Ἄσιος, ''Asios'') refers to two people who fought during the
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ...
:
*Asius, son of
Hyrtacus In Greek mythology, Hyrtacus (; Ancient Greek: Ὕρτακος) is an obscure character associated with the Trojan War. He was a comrade of King Priam of Troy. Hyrtacus married Arisbe (daughter of Merops), Arisbe, daughter of King Merops (mythology) ...
, was the leader of the
Trojan
Trojan or Trojans may refer to:
* Of or from the ancient city of Troy
* Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans
Arts and entertainment Music
* ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...
allies that hailed from, on, or near the
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...
. He was a son of
Hyrtacus In Greek mythology, Hyrtacus (; Ancient Greek: Ὕρτακος) is an obscure character associated with the Trojan War. He was a comrade of King Priam of Troy. Hyrtacus married Arisbe (daughter of Merops), Arisbe, daughter of King Merops (mythology) ...
and
Arisbe, the latter being first wife of King
Priam and daughter of
Merops
MEROPS is an online database for peptidases (also known as proteases, proteinases and proteolytic enzymes) and their inhibitors. The classification scheme for peptidases was published by Rawlings & Barrett in 1993, and that for protein inhibit ...
. Asius led the contingent from a cluster of towns on both sides of the
Hellespont, including
Arisbe,
Percote
Percote or Perkote ( grc, Περκώτη) was a town or city of ancient Mysia on the southern (Asian) side of the Hellespont, to the northeast of Troy. Percote is mentioned a few times in Greek mythology, where it plays a very minor role each time. ...
,
Abydos and
Sestus
Sestos ( el, Σηστός, la, Sestus) was an ancient city in Thrace. It was located at the Thracian Chersonese peninsula on the European coast of the Hellespont, opposite the ancient city of Abydos, and near the town of Eceabat in Turkey.
In ...
. This last town was the only one to lie on the European (northern) side of the Dardanelles; the rest were situated on the Asian (southern) side. Asius himself lived in the town of Arisbe, by the river Selleis. Asius had two brothers, named
Nisus and
Hippocoon In Greek mythology, the name Hippocoön (; grc, Ἱπποκόων, ''Hippokóōn'') refers to several characters:
*Hippocoon, in one account, father of Neleus, who is otherwise called son of Cretheus or Poseidon.
* Hippocoon, a Spartan king, f ...
, according to
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
. All three men fought at
Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...
as allies of King Priam. During the assault on the
Achaean wall, Asius was the only soldier not to listen to
Hector
In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...
and
Polydamas, and did not dismount from his chariot. Asius was killed by the Cretan king
Idomeneus
In Greek mythology, Idomeneus (; el, Ἰδομενεύς) was a Cretan king and commander who led the Cretan armies to the Trojan War, in eighty black ships. He was also one of the suitors of Helen, as well as a comrade of the Telamonian Ajax. ...
during the assault.
*Asius, a
Phrygian leader and son of King
Dymas
In Greek mythology, Dymas ( Ancient Greek: Δύμας) is the name attributed to the following individuals:
* Dymas, a Mariandynian who warned the Argonauts about the cruelty of Amycus, king of the Bebrycians. Both Mariandynians and Bebrycians liv ...
, and brother of Queen
Hecuba
Hecuba (; also Hecabe; grc, Ἑκάβη, Hekábē, ) was a queen in Greek mythology, the wife of King Priam of Troy during the Trojan War.
Description
Hecuba was described by the chronicler Malalas in his account of the ''Chronography'' as "da ...
of Troy. Asius, son of Dymas, belonged to a tribe of Phrygians who lived by the River
Sangarius. He had two sons,
Adamas and
Phaenops. In the ''
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...
'', Apollo is said to have taken Asius's shape to encourage Hector to fight
Patroclus. This Asius does not die in the narrative of the Iliad, but
Dictys Cretensis
Dictys Cretensis, i.e. Dictys of Crete (, ; grc, Δίκτυς ὁ Κρής) of Knossos was a legendary companion of Idomeneus during the Trojan War, and the purported author of a diary of its events, that deployed some of the same materials worke ...
says he was killed by
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
.
*Asius, son of
Imbrasus
In Greek mythology, Imbrasus (Ancient Greek: Ιμβρασος or Ἴμβρασος ''Imbrasos'') may refer to the following personages:
* Imbrasus, a river-god of the island of Samos. As one of the Potamoi, he was presumably the son of the Titans ...
and companion of
Aeneas
In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...
in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
.
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
, ''Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of th ...
'' 10.123
Notes
References
*
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
,
''The Iliad'' with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.*Homer, ''Homeri Opera'' in five volumes. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1920.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*
Publius Vergilius Maro
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
, ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of th ...
.'' Theodore C. Williams. trans. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1910
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.*Publius Vergilius Maro, ''Bucolics, Aeneid, and Georgics''. J. B. Greenough. Boston. Ginn & Co. 1900
Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library
{{Characters in the Iliad
Trojans
Kings in Greek mythology
Characters in the Aeneid
Characters in the Iliad
Characters in Greek mythology