The story of Hecuba and Polymnestor (a tragedy).
After Troy fell the Greeks burned the city, killed the men, and captured the women to take back to Greece as slaves. Hecuba, wife of Priam, was among the reluctent slaves to go. She was found clinging to her sons Hector's and Paris" graves and had to be dragged off to the ship by Ulysses. .
Hecuba's youngest son, Polydorus, however had been secretly sent by his father to be brought up as far away from the Trojan war in a land opposite of Troy named Thrace. He was sent to Thrace to be spared of the cruel fate of his other siblings who were now dead. It was there that he was to be watched for and protected under the trusted Thracian king, Polymestor. When Polymestor, however, learned of Troy's fall, he cruelly murdered Polydorus for the large fortune of gold that he owned which his father left him. Her plan had failed.
On his return to Greece, Agamemnon along with the slaves onboard, anchored his ships on the shores of Thrace because a storm had made the sea unfit for travel. There the ghost of Achilles emerged out of the sea and demanded that Poyxena, Hecuba's daughter and sole remaining comfort, be sacrificed in his honor. The Greeks obeyed his command and ordered a priest to plunge a sword into the girl's chest. The girl went to her death bravely, and Hecuba violently wept for her. Now the "Hard-hearted woman" that she is had to endure the loss of yet another child. She was childless and furious with the gods. The world has come crashing down on her and she has nothing left. Yet Polymestor, the traitor that killed Polydorus, still remained giving her reason to live. Plotting her revenge, she tricked Polymestor into meeting with her under the guise of giving gold to Polydorus. Polymestor agreed to meet with her in private. Once they met Polymestor was eager to receive the gold but Hecuba, enraged with fury, wasted no time to execute her punishment on the king.
