Neoptolemus

Luke Murphy as Neoptolemus

### Seen In

The Crossed Girders, The Crate Room, The Palladium, The Square, The Tenement Area, The Elysium Hotel, The Nightclub Office, The Nightclub, The Tents, Mycenae, Troy

### Seen With

Patroclus, Agamemnon, The Watchman, Iphigenia, Artemis, Hecuba, Polyxena, Cassandra, Macaria, Eurydice, Hades, Laocoön, Persephone

## Relationship Information

### Family

Best Friend & Potential Lover to Patroclus, Second-In-Command to Agamemnon

## Cast

### Played By

Adam Khazhmuradov, Ali Goldsmith, Luke Murphy, Mitch Harvey, Ryan O'Neill, Seirian Griffiths, Steven James Apicello, Timothy John Bartlett, Will David Thompson

Neoptolemus is a soldier within the Mycenean Army, serving as Agamemnon's second-in-command, and best friend to fellow soldier, Patroclus.

His story arc revolves around his extreme guilt, despair and fractured mental state, as a consequence of his involvement in both Princess Iphigenia and Polyxena's sacrifices.

He also shares a complex, but passionate relationship with Patroclus, which in turn contributes to his eventual unravelling.

## Loop

*Based on Loop 2*

He begins stood beneath the second of The Crossed Girders, where Patroclus approaches him and incites a brawl between the two of them. What starts as just playful sparring, becomes more disruptive and aggressive, eventually alerting Agamemnon, who sprints across to break up the fight. After scolding the soldiers, Agamemnon receives an urgent phone call, before swiftly telling Neoptolemus, Patroclus and The Watchman of his plan to win the war, and successfully storm Troy. Neoptolemus is given a pink carnation and told he is to pose as a potential suitor for Iphigenia in a mock wedding, laid as a trap to lure her close, so she may be sacrificed, to appease Artemis.

Neoptolemus and Patroclus retire to The Crate Room where they apologise to one another and prepare for the sacrifice, in one of the larger crates; the pair share a quiet moment as Patroclus adds another chalkline to a large tally on the wall (presumably the number of days they've been at war), before tenderly helping his friend get ready (washing his back with a cloth, rolling up and buttoning his sleeves etc.). He then presents Patroclus with the carnation and the pair engage in a playful chase, for the flower, atop the many stacked crates.

Donning both their coats and brave faces, the soldiers head towards the first Crossed Girder and await Iphigenia, as she descends the large staircase in her bridal gown; Neoptolemus is raised onto the structure by Patroclus, and slots the carnation into his lapel. Iphigenia mounts the structure and approaches him, where the two share a kiss, before Neoptolemus begrudingly climbs down off the girder and watches on as Agamemnon carries out the sacrifice.

A frenzied Agamemnon rallies Neoptolemus, Patroclus and Artemis into summoning the winds to transport them to Troy. With Artemis thoroughly satisfied, Agamemnon and his men successfully storm Troy, via The Palladium doors.

Upon entering The Square, the soldiers are met by Hecuba, Polyxena, Cassandra and Macaria; they stand off against the Trojan women, until Agamemnon is attacked by Polyxena, who offers herself to him as a sacrifice. Agamemnon orders Neoptolemus to carry out the killing, but when he cannot bear to do it, she does it herself - pulling his hand to her chest, to stab herself in the heart. As the Princess' body is hoisted into the air, Neoptolemus sits beneath her, griefstricken, clutching her hand and dripping in her blood. Pleased with the result, Agamemnon takes to the Troy backstreets, as Neoptolemus flees, sickened by what he has done.

Stumbling through to The Tenement Area, he barges into Room IIIIIII to wash his face, before noticing a terrified Eurydice sat at the table, watching him. Approaching cautiously, he sits across the table from her and weeps, as she hesitantly hands him a cloth to wipe the blood from his hands. She pours him a drink, as he asks her if she saw what just happened. Suddenly hearing a noise outside the apartment, he goes to leave, but not before telling Eurydice to stay inside and stay safe.

Bewildered, he staggers through The Elysium Hotel, following the noise until he reaches Hecuba's Bedroom, where he looks over the balcony to see Polyxena's body, laid out on the counter of Alighieri's. Hades enters and acknowledges him, clearly disapproving of his part in the sacrifice. \*

Hearing thumping bass music next-door, Neoptolemus storms through to The Nightclub Office, to see Laocoön glaring at him through the Klub window. He grabs a bottle of alcohol from Polymestor's drinks cabinet and charges through to The Nightclub, where he drinks excessively and bursts into a furious, hysterical dance - upon noticing the blood smeared on the window (by Laocoön), he becomes all the more struck with guilt, as his dance grows increasingly volatile and frightening, culminating in him breaking down on the floor, screaming and wailing.

Collecting himself as the music dies down, he picks himself up and makes his way to the laundry room off of the office, and washes his hands and face once more; as he looks up into the mirror above the sink, he swiftly turns off the light, too ashamed to face himself. Leaving the hotel, he wanders through the graffiti corridors, where he begins to move erratically, slamming himself against the floor and scaling the walls with great speed. After tiring himself out, he journeys back to Mycenae.

Now back home, he retires to The Crate Room once more, where he cleans himself up and attempts to put the traumas of the day behind him. Calmed, he makes his way across to The Crossed Girders to find Patroclus strewn across the first structure, bleeding out heavily. A desperate Neoptolemus hauls his dear friend to the ground and hopelessly tries to revive him, before giving up and placing his body within the entrance to The Tents.

He climbs atop the crates in the corner of Mycenae, throwing himself across them, lamenting his actions and the chaos it has brought him. Utterly defeated, he retreats to his bunk-bed and crawls into it, before being slowly sucked down inside and disappearing. As the reset music begins to play, he bursts out from the locker beside his bed and checks his reflection in the mirror, before making his way back across to The Crossed Girders, ready for the next loop. \*\*

*\* This Hades interaction does not occur in Loop 1 or 3. \*\* In Loop 3, he does not return to his bunk-bed, and instead climbs the second girder (where he starts his loop), where he is greeted by Persephone, who wipes his hands clean with a cloth. He then climbs the ladder to The Stone Table and joins in the Mycenae Finale.*

## 1:1s

Not including a walk-out, Neoptolemus has no true '1:1' scenes.

Upon the conclusion of the Mycenae Finale, Neoptolemus will arise from the floor and reach out a hand to a WM, walking them through to Troy, remove their mask, thank them for coming, and redirect them towards PEEP.

## Quotes

* "You were there, I saw you. Did you know her? She was strong...Try and stay out of sight." - to Eurydice, in The Tenement Area

* "You're okay. You're okay" - to himself, in the mirror in The Crate Room, after returning from Troy (Luke Murphy)

## Trivia

* Many consider this character to be an amalgamation of Achilles and his son, Neoptolemus.

## Mythology

**Achilles**

Achilles was the son of the Thetis (a nereid/sea nymph) and Peleus (the king of the Myrmidons).

According to the Achilleid (written by Statius) when Achilles was born Thetis tried to make him immortal by dipping him in the river Styx; however, he was left vulnerable at the part of the body by which she held him: his left heel. None of the sources before Statius make any reference to this general invulnerability.

Peleus entrusted Achilles to Chiron the Centaur, who lived on Mount Pelion, to be reared. Thetis foretold that her son's fate was either to gain glory and die young, or to live a long but uneventful life in obscurity. Achilles chose the former, and decided to take part in the Trojan War. According to Homer, Achilles grew up in Phthia with his companion Patroclus.

Some post-Homeric sources claim that in order to keep Achilles safe from the war, Thetis (or, in some versions, Peleus) hid the young man at the court of Lycomedes, king of Skyros. There, Achilles was disguised as a girl and lived among Lycomedes' daughters, under the name Pyrrha (the red-haired girl). With Lycomedes' daughter Deidamia (whom in the account of Statius he raped) Achilles fathered two sons, Neoptolemus (also called Pyrrhus, after his father's possible alias) and Oneiros.

In Cypria, Achilles sails to Scyros after a failed expedition to Troy, marries princess Deidamia and has Neoptolemus, until Achilles is called to arms again.

According to the Iliad, Achilles arrived at Troy with 50 ships, each carrying 50 Myrmidons.

*In the Iliad*

The Homeric epic only covers a few weeks of the decade-long war, and does not narrate Achilles' death. It begins with Achilles' withdrawal from battle after being dishonoured by Agamemnon.

The Trojans, led by Hector, subsequently push the Greek army back toward the beaches and assault the Greek ships. With the Greek forces on the verge of absolute destruction, Patroclus leads the Myrmidons into battle, wearing Achilles' armour, though Achilles remains at his camp. Patroclus succeeds in pushing the Trojans back from the beaches, but is killed by Hector.

After receiving the news of the death of Patroclus Achilles grieves over his beloved companion's death. His mother Thetis comes to comfort the distraught Achilles.

Enraged over the death of Patroclus, Achilles ends his refusal to fight and takes the field, killing many men in his rage but always seeking out Hector.

Zeus himself takes note of Achilles' rage and sends the gods to restrain him so that he will not go on to sack Troy itself before the time allotted for its destruction, seeming to show that the unhindered rage of Achilles can defy fate itself.

Finally, Achilles finds his prey. Achilles chases Hector around the wall of Troy three times before Athena, in the form of Hector's favourite and dearest brother, Deiphobus, persuades Hector to stop running and fight Achilles face to face.

After Hector realizes the trick, he knows the battle is inevitable. Wanting to go down fighting, he charges at Achilles with his only weapon, his sword, but misses. Accepting his fate, Hector begs Achilles not to spare his life, but to treat his body with respect after killing him. Achilles tells Hector it is hopeless to expect that of him, declaring that "my rage, my fury would drive me now to hack your flesh away and eat you raw – such agonies you have caused me". Achilles then kills Hector and drags his corpse by its heels behind his chariot.

After having a dream where Patroclus begs Achilles to hold his funeral, Achilles hosts a series of funeral games in honour of his companion.

With the assistance of the god Hermes, Hector's father Priam goes to Achilles' tent to plead with Achilles for the return of Hector's body so that he can be buried. Achilles relents and promises a truce for the duration of the funeral, lasting 9 days with a burial on the 10th. The poem ends with a description of Hector's funeral, with the doom of Troy and Achilles himself still to come.

*Achilles and Patroclus*

The exact nature of Achilles' relationship with Patroclus has been a subject of dispute in both the classical period and modern times.

In the Iliad, it appears to be the model of a deep and loyal friendship. Homer does not suggest that Achilles and his close friend Patroclus had sexual relations.

Although there is no direct evidence in the text of the Iliad that Achilles and Patroclus were lovers, this theory was expressed by some later authors. In 5th-century BCE Athens, the intense bond was often viewed in light of the Greek custom of paiderasteia. In Plato's Symposium, the participants in a dialogue about love assume that Achilles and Patroclus were a couple. Ancient Greek had no words to distinguish heterosexual and homosexual, and it was assumed that a man could both desire handsome young men and have sex with women.

*Death*

The death of Achilles, even if considered solely as it occurred in the oldest sources, is a complex one, with many different versions. In the oldest version, the Iliad, the hero's death was brought about by Paris with an arrow to the heel. In some versions, the god Apollo guided Paris' arrow. All of these versions deny Paris any sort of valour, owing to the common conception that Paris was a coward. After death, Achilles' bones were mingled with those of Patroclus, and funeral games were held. He was represented in the Aethiopis as living after his death in the island of Leuke at the mouth of the river Danube.

Another version of Achilles' death is that he fell deeply in love with one of the Trojan princesses, Polyxena. Achilles asks Priam for Polyxena's hand in marriage. Priam is willing because it would mean the end of the war and an alliance with the world's greatest warrior. But while Priam is overseeing the private marriage of Polyxena and Achilles, Paris, who would have to give up Helen if Achilles married his sister, hides in the bushes and shoots Achilles with a divine arrow, killing him.

In the Odyssey, Achilles was cremated and his ashes buried in the same urn as those of Patroclus.

**Neoptolemus**

*Neoptolemus* (aka Pyrrhus) was the son of the warrior Achilles and the princess Deidamia.

Neoptolemos was originally called Pyrrhos, because his father had called himself Pyrrha, the female version of that name, while disguised as a woman (see above).

The Greeks captured the Trojan seer, Helenus, and forced him to tell them under what conditions they could take Troy. Helenos revealed to them that they could defeat Troy if they could:

1. Acquire the poisonous arrows of Heracles
2. Steal the Palladium (which led to the building of the famous wooden horse of Troy)
3. Put Achilles' son in the war.

In response to the prophecy, the Greeks sent Odysseus to retrieve Neoptolemos, then a mere teenager, from Scyros.

After the war, the ghost of Achilles appeared to the survivors, demanding Polyxena, the Trojan princess, be sacrificed before anybody could leave. Neoptolemos carried out the sacrifice. Euripides, in his play Hecuba, has a moving scene (ll 566–575) which shows Neoptolemos as a compassionate young man who kills Polyxena, Hecuba’s daughter, with ambivalent feelings and in the least painful way.

Other sources portray Neoptolemos as more brutal. During and after the Trojan war he killed Priam (King of Troy, Hecuba’s husband), Polyxena, Polites (Prince of Troy) and Astyanax (Hector and Andromache's infant son). He also captured Helenus, and made Andromache (the widow of Hector), his concubine.

With Andromache and Helenos, Neoptolemos then sailed to the Epirot Islands and became the King of Epirus.

After the death of Neoptolemos his kingdom was portioned and Helenus (who later married Andromache) took part of it: "Helenus, a son of Priam, was king over these Greek cities of Epirus, having succeeded to the throne and bed of Pyrrhus..."