I need to talk about the sons of Priam and the sons of Telamon and how their dynamics compare/contrast to each other right now. I had a post earlier during book club, but I wasn’t able to fully articulate my thoughts because of book club, so now we’re back with a more in depth post.
Paris and Teucer are (to a degree) the less desired sons of kings, Paris by prophecy and godly circumstance and Teucer by nature of his birth. On top of that, they both favor a bow and arrow in the face of war. Where Paris fights and deals death from afar, separate from his brethren but especially Hector, Teucer is right there in the thick of fighting at Ajax’s side. His brother’s tremendous, seven-hide shield protects him as they fight together. They (Teucer and Ajax) seamlessly fill the gaps in the other’s defense and offense. In the field of battle though, being an archer is not looked on as favorably as wielding a spear or sword — something repeatedly remarked upon by the narrative. Paris and Teucer are less skilled in close combat than their highly noble brothers, Hector and Ajax. In this way, no matter how many foes they slay during the fighting, they bring less honor to their fathers than their brothers.
Paris should have been raised as a prince. He was born fully and without doubt in the confines of a legitimate, noble marriage between Priam and Hecuba. Yet he was cast away due to prophecy, given to a slave to be exposed, and having survived that forced to grow up beneath his station from birth as a shepherd (slave) on Mount Ida away from his family by blood. Teucer on the other hand, is a bastard (as Agamemnon states within the Iliad), and as such is implied that he should have been raised on the fringes of the royal family, which he was not. Instead, Telamon raised him within his own palace alongside Ajax. Teucer is seemingly above his station. They have the upbringings the other “should” have.
It makes you wonder how often Paris and Hector looked upon Teucer and Ajax and wished that is who they should have been. But there will always be a gap between Paris and Hector. Their circumstances ensured it. Hector loves Paris fiercely, but he does not understand Paris on a fundamental level. Paris has lived a life that Hector has never seen, has never experienced in any similar capacity. Teucer and Ajax understand each other perfectly. They have never been apart. Teucer has always had most, if not all, of what Ajax had.
Hector cannot understand the notion of choosing his personal happiness over that of their people’s safety. He has never lived with wanting before. He does not understand why Paris clings so fiercely to that which he earned. His decision to return to battle despite Andromache’s pleas is selfish, for Hector does want the glory that fighting will bestow upon him. He will not submit to a life of slavery, something his very own brother has experienced for years. He would rather die in battle and be remembered as a prince that fought for their home than as a father that chose to be with his family. Yet in the same breath, it is sacrificial. He does want his family. He loves them dearly. But he, not Paris, is the protector of their city. He is the greatest fighter at the Trojans’ disposal. He must always return to the field of battle, even if he also desires to be with his wife and newborn son.
Paris knows that Hector loves him and will do anything for him. To some degree, he does abuse that in how resolutely he refuses to give up Helen and his place among his blood family, now that he has been returned to them. He earned these things for himself. Hector was given them. Why should he be the one to let go? Does he not have the same right to happiness that Hector has had all along?
I’ve lost my train of thought a bit, but yeah… how often do they wish that they were as close as Teucer and Ajax? How often do they wish things could have been different? It must sting to see what they should have had reflected in someone else.
