Tros in Greek tradition
Tros is a legendary hero and king of Troy who inherits the kingdom descended from Dardanos after Erichthonius dies. He rules the land granted by Teucros, names the country Troy after himself, and gives its people the name Trojans, while the city remains Ilios. After Zeus carries Ganymede away, Tros mourns and receives immortal horses from Hermes as compensation, with one tradition also adding a golden vine.
The quick answers
Who is Tros?
Tros is a Greek hero.Source
Source
- The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)
- Classical Mythology a to Z
What family links are recorded for Tros?
Father: Erichthonius of Dardania, Mother: Astyoche, Spouse: Acallaris, 5 children.
Tros’s family, at a glance
Parents above, children below, and the figure’s consorts named in between, the same family data as the fact box, laid out as a chart instead of a field list.
The names Tros answers to
Tros of Troy
The legendary king who gave Troy and the Trojans their name
SourceThe Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)
Tros, son of Erichthonius
Tros identified by his father, the earlier Trojan king
SourceClassical Mythology a to Z
Tros the Trojan
Tros identified as a Trojan ancestor and king
SourceThe Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)
The myths of Tros
2 myths, each traced to its primary text and corpus sources.
Tros Becomes King and Gives His Name to Troy
Tros took the throne after his father, Erichthonius, inherited the kingdom from Dardanos. Dardanos had founded the city of Dardanos after he left Samothrace and reached the mainland opposite the island. Teucros, the son of the River Scamander and the nymph Idaia, had ruled that land before him. Teucros welcomed Dardanos and gave him a share of the country. He also gave Dardanos his daughter Bateia as a wife. Dardanos then settled in the land with Bateia and held the territory that Teucros had granted him. When Teucros died, Dardanos named the whole country Dardania. Dardanos and Bateia had two sons, Ilos and Erichthonius. Ilos died without children, so Erichthonius inherited the kingdom. Erichthonius married Astyoche, the daughter of Simoeis. Astyoche and Erichthonius had a son named Tros. When Erichthonius died, Tros succeeded him as king and took control of the kingdom that had passed from Dardanos to his father. Tros then named the country Troy after himself. Its people became known as Trojans, and the land was called Troy, Troia, or Troas. The name Troy belonged strictly to the country. The city itself was called Ilios or Ilion, and later Ilium.
In the modern world
No modern rework confirmed yet.
3 sources· checked 2026-08-24
- 1The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)T1
- 2The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)T1
- 3Apollodorus, The LibraryT1
Quote
“Tros succeeds Erichthonius as king, and the country is named Troy after him, although the city is called Ilios.”
Apollodorus, The Library
Tros Receives the Horses for Ganymede
Zeus carried off Ganymede, the son of Tros, and took him away from his father. Tros grieved after he lost his son. He did not receive Ganymede back, and his grief followed the loss. Zeus then sent Hermes to Tros with immortal horses as compensation for Ganymede’s removal. Hermes came to Tros and delivered the horses to him. The gift answered the grief that Tros had suffered after Zeus carried Ganymede away. The horses were immortal, and they became the compensation that Tros received from Zeus for the loss of his son. Their arrival marked the settlement offered to Ganymede’s father after the seizure. Tros accepted the horses as the gift sent through Hermes. In one telling, Zeus also gave Tros a golden vine. The golden vine joined the horses as an additional compensation for Ganymede’s removal. In another telling, the immortal horses remained the central gift, while the golden vine appeared as an added part of the compensation. Tros therefore received the horses from Hermes after Zeus had carried Ganymede away, and the golden vine also came to him in that telling.
In the modern world
No modern rework confirmed yet.
3 sources· checked 2026-08-24
- 1The Greek MythsT1
- 2Apollodorus, The LibraryT1
Quote
“After Zeus takes Ganymede from Tros, Hermes brings Tros immortal horses as compensation, and a golden vine is also given in one account.”
Apollodorus, The Library
- 3The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)T1
Also appears in
The myths across MythSource where Tros features, each on that figure’s page.
- Aphrodite's Curse on Eos · on Aphrodite
- The Affair of Ares and Eos · on Ares
- Dardanus and King Teucer · on Dardanus
- The Birth of Dardanus · on Dardanus
- The Founding of Dardania · on Dardanus
- Electra’s Union with Zeus · on Electra
- Eos Carries Off Tithonus · on Eos
- Eos’s Affair with Ares and Aphrodite’s Curse · on Eos
- The Birth of Eos · on Eos
- Ganymede Among the Stars · on Ganymede
- Ganymede Becomes the Gods’ Cupbearer · on Ganymede
- The Abduction of Ganymede · on Ganymede
- Hebe Loses the Cupbearer's Office · on Hebe
- Electra Bears Dardanus and Iasion · on Pleiades
- Tithonus and Eos · on Tithonus
- The Abduction of Ganymede · on Zeus
What this page is built from
About this page
Written and maintained by MythSource. Last reviewed not yet recorded. How a page gets built.
3 sources are cited on this page, primary texts and corpus scholarship, listed below.
Cite this page
MythSource. (n.d.). Tros. https://www.mythsource.com/figures/tros
"Tros." MythSource, n.d., www.mythsource.com/figures/tros.
"Tros." MythSource. n.d. https://www.mythsource.com/figures/tros.
The mythology summaries and identity fields on this page are grounded in the primary texts and scholarship above. The appearance table records candidates separately; only reviewed joins are presented as modern reworks in Overview.
The film
The Underdrawing video on Tros embeds here once it publishes.