Home › Glossary › Letter P

Priam

Literary Character
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Priam is the aged king of Troy in Homeric epic, father of Hector and Paris, whose tragic dignity underscores the human cost of war.

Detailed Definition
Priam’s poignant plea to Achilles for Hector’s body in the Iliad epitomizes paternal grief and kingly dignity in defeat. In poetry, he symbolizes the human cost of war, the vulnerability of age, and the tragic nobility of fallen rulers, often serving as a counterpoint to youthful heroism.
Example
Example in poetry:
Priam in Homer’s "Iliad" is portrayed as a dignified yet grieving king, especially in his plea to Achilles for Hector’s body—a scene rich in poetic pathos; In Virgil’s "Aeneid," Priam’s brutal death at the hands of Pyrrhus symbolizes Troy’s fall and the cost of war; Shakespeare’s "Troilus and Cressida" draws on Homeric Priam to create a frail, humanized monarch; Poets like Auden reference Priam to meditate on paternal loss and the collapse of civilization.
Additional Notes
Priam, the aged king of Troy in the "Iliad," is portrayed with profound humanity during his plea to Achilles for Hector’s body; his literary character exemplifies kingly dignity in suffering and the universality of grief, making him a touchstone for studies of pathos and ethical recognition in epic poetry.
Also Known As
Priamos
Skip to main content