Priam Character Analysis in Troilus and Cressida

Priam is the king of Troy, the husband of Hecuba, and the father of Hector, Paris, Helenus, Deiphobus, Troilus, Cassandra, and Polyxena. He presides over a war council comprised of his sons, although he is clearly too old to fight himself any longer. Frightened by bad dreams the night before the climactic battle, he joins Andromache and Cassandra in attempting to prevent Hector from going to fight Achilles but still reluctantly agrees when Hector appeals to his honor.

Priam Quotes in Troilus and Cressida

The Troilus and Cressida quotes below are all either spoken by Priam or refer to Priam. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

TROILUS […] It was thought meet
Paris should do some vengeance on the Greeks.
Your breath with full consent bellied his sails;
The seas and winds, old wranglers, took a truce
And did him service. He touched the ports desired,
And for an old aunt whom the Greeks held captive,
He brought a Grecian queen, whose youth and freshness
Wrinkles Apollo’s and makes pale the morning.
Why keep we her? The Grecians keep our aunt.
Is she worth keeping? Why, she is a pearl
Whose price hath launched above a thousand ships
And turned crowned kings to merchants.
If you’ll avouch t’was wisdom Paris went—
[…]
If you’ll confess he brough home a worthy prize—
[…] why do you now
The issue of your proper wisdoms rate
And do a deed that never Fortune did,
Beggar the estimation which you prized
Richer than sea and land?

Related Characters: Troilus (speaker), Helen, Paris, Priam, Hector

Page Number and Citation: 81-83

Explanation and Analysis:

Priam Character Timeline in Troilus and Cressida

The timeline below shows where the character Priam appears in Troilus and Cressida. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...Pandarus both saw Cressida the previous evening at a dinner hosted by Troilus’s father, King Priam. Troilus says that he was worried his father or his brother Hector would catch the... (full context)

...as she and her serving man, Alexander, share war gossip. Hector, the eldest son of Priam and the leader of the Trojan forces, recently discovered that his nephew, Ajax, is fighting... (full context)

In Troy, King Priam calls a council of his sons to determine how to respond to Nestor’s most recent... (full context)

...Paris wants to keep Helen and continue the war. Of course he thinks that way, Priam retorts, since Helen is his lover. It’s not just that, Paris insists. He—and the rest... (full context)

...first, he has a favor to ask: will Paris make excuses for Troilus at King Priam’s feast that evening? Paris agrees, assuming that his brother will be dining with Cressida instead.... (full context)

...isn’t there, but Aeneas insists on talking to the prince. He warns Troilus that King Priam has already agreed to trade Cressida for Antenor, and that Diomedes is on his way... (full context)

...he must honor the vow he made to fight Achilles. Cassandra runs to fetch King Priam just as Troilus arrives. (full context)

Cassandra returns with King Priam, who also expresses reservations about Hector going out to fight. But Hector will not be... (full context)

Reluctantly, King Priam bids his son Hector farewell, and the two men leave Troilus standing in the room.... (full context)

...caught up watching other men fight. This time, it’s Menelaus and Paris. He’s surprised by Priam’s bastard son, who challenges him to fight. But, saying that it’s bad luck for one... (full context)

...battlefield behind his horse. Troilus wonders how he—or anyone—will break the news to his parents, Priam and Hecuba, or to the citizens of Troy, who pinned their hopes on their prince.... (full context)

Priam Character Analysis

Priam Quotes in Troilus and Cressida

Act 2, Scene 2 Quotes

Priam Character Timeline in Troilus and Cressida