A Thousand Ships

Unlike the mountains of Troy, the mountains of Epirus make Andromache feel trapped. But it’s easier to miss Troy instead of everything else she’s lost. Unaccustomed to the colder climate, Andromache weaves herself a woolen cloak upon arrival. On the voyage from Troy, she had starved herself until Neoptolemus claimed she was “damaging his property.” Though she eventually eats, Andromache feels the Fates have made a mistake—she should have died in Troy instead of her son. Weaving the wool cloak reminds her of the finery she made for Hector, which dragged behind him as Achilles pulled his body around Troy’s walls. Even so, Andromache comes to recognize her desire to be warm as a desire to continue living.

Despite the cloak, Andromache feels inescapable cold as she submits to Neoptolemus. When she becomes pregnant, Andromache worries the man who murdered her first child will also kill her second. She is also disgusted at merging her family line with that of the men who killed her son and husband, though she is equally angry at Hector for abandoning her. Lastly, Andromache feels guilt for the small joy she feels at the prospect of something new to love. Though she never loves Neoptolemus, she finds herself able to tolerate him after the birth of their son, Molossus. Neoptolemus eventually marries Hermione (daughter of Menelaus and Helen) but often seeks comfort in Andromache’s bed.

One night in bed, Neoptolemus tries to comfort Andromache by telling her he killed Polyxena as “painlessly” as he was able. The Greeks refused to sail without another sacrifice to appease the gods. Neoptolemus says Polyxena died nobly, without fear or resistance. As a result, her memory alone torments him. Andromache says Polyxena was more afraid of slavery than death, therefore she saw the latter as a preferable fate. Neoptolemus asks Andromache if she feels the same way. Bemused at his desire for her approval, she says she used to, but now she has Molossus. Neoptolemus says she will marry Helenus, Cassandra’s brother, when he dies. No one has threatened him yet, but he knows they will.

Later, Orestes, Agamemnon’s son, kills Neoptolemus and takes Hermione as his wife. He claims to be punishing some impiety despite his family’s own offenses against the gods. Andromache weeps for herself, once again defenseless in the world. Despite her life’s many tragedies, she is still able to love Molossus—though, unlike with Astyanax, she is always aware of her own inability to protect her child. Andromache sends word to Neoptolemus’s grandfather, Peleus, who takes her to live with him. Eventually she marries Helenus and together they begin to build a city reminiscent of Troy. Though her losses never leave her, Andromache is able to find a “shadow of happiness” if not happiness itself.