Deïphobus

A Trojan prince. Deïphobus (Δηίφοβος) was a son of Priam and Hecuba; he was possibly their third son. He was a brother of Hector, Paris, Helenus and Cassandra. In their family, Deïphobus was probably the second best fighter among his brothers, next to Hector.

In the Iliad, his brother Helenus led a third battalion against the wall of the Greek camp with Deïphobus serving as lieutenant, but Homer didn't write anything of his exploits in the Iliad. Athena impersonated Deïphobus by taking his form, in order to dupe and lure Hector to fight Achilles in single combat. Here, Hector revealed that Deïphobus was Hector's favourite brother. When Deïphobus vanished from Hector's side, the Trojan commander realised that he was fated to die that day.

It was after the death of Hector that he became better known. According to one legend, he and Paris ambushed and killed Achilles by using their sister Polyxena as bait.

When Paris died, Deïphobus quarrelled with his brother Helenus over who should marry their brother's widow, Helen. By this time, Helen wanted to return home to her first husband and her daughter that she had abandoned in Sparta. It is not certain how he won the quarrel, but it was Deïphobus who eventually married Helen. The marriage would be short-lived. Helenus left Troy, but was captured by the Greeks. Helenus, as a seer, was very vital to the Greek victory.

When the Greeks breached the defence of Troy through the use of the Wooden Horse, Deïphobus was among those who tried to defend the city, but he was killed by Menelaus, Helen's first husband.

In The Aeneid, the hero Aeneas would encounter Deïphobus' shade in the Underworld. Aeneas was his cousin. Deïphobus talked of his last night, revealing Helen's treachery. While Deïphobus celebrated, getting drunk and then falling asleep after their supposed victory over the Greeks, Helen hid all of Deïphobus' weapons so he was defenceless when Menelaus and Odysseus (Ulysses) came into the house.