Editing Troilus (section)

====''Alexandra''====
The first surviving text with more than the briefest mention of Troilus is ''Alexandra'', a [[Hellenistic]] poem dating from no earlier than the 3rd century BC by the tragedian [[Lycophron]] (or a namesake of his). The poem consists of the obscure prophetic ravings of [[Cassandra]]:<ref>Boitani (1989: p. 16).</ref>

{{quote|Ay! me, for thee fair-fostered flower, too, I groan, O lion whelp, sweet darling of thy kindred, who didst smite with fiery charm of shafts the fierce dragon and seize for a little loveless while in unescapable noose him that was smitten, thyself unwounded by thy victim: thou shalt forfeit thy head and stain thy father’s altar-tomb with thy blood.<ref>{{cite book| author= Lycophron| title= Alexandra| pages= 307–13| translator= A. W. Mair| publisher= [[Loeb Classical Library]]}} Also: [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k71504d Greek manuscript] (accessed 1 August 2007)</ref>}}

This passage is explained in the [[Byzantine]] writer [[John Tzetzes]]' [[scholia]] as a reference to Troilus seeking to avoid the unwanted sexual advances of Achilles by taking refuge in his father Apollo's temple. When he refuses to come out, Achilles goes in and kills him on the altar.<ref>Tzetzes' comments are not readily available but are discussed by Gantz (1993: p. 601) and Boitani (1989: p. 17).</ref> Lycophron's scholiast also says that Apollo started to plan Achilles' death after the murder.<ref>Sommerstein (2007: p. 201).</ref> This begins to build up the elements of the version of Troilus' story given above: he is young, much loved and beautiful; he has divine ancestry, is beheaded by his rejected Greek lover and, we know from Homer, had something to do with horses. The reference to Troilus as a "lion whelp" hints at his having the potential to be a great hero, but there is no explicit reference to a prophecy linking the possibility of Troilus reaching adulthood and Troy then surviving.