Philoctetes was a Greek hero who fought, all be it at the end, during the Trojan War.

Philoctetes is probably most well known as the Sophocles plays that depict the Greek hero. He is far from being a central character in Homer’s Iliad, arguably the most famous source that tells of the period of Greek history when Philoctetes was said to be alive. Philoctetes though does appear in many other sources, although unfortunately only fragments of these sources survive.

The sources that do survive tell a fairly linear story for the life of Philoctetes, although each tends to add their own embellishment or detail about events.

The first mention of Philoctetes sees the son of King Poeas and Queen Demonassa of Meliboea, Thessaly, acting as the armour bearer to Heracles. This role sees the young Philoctetes joining the crew of the Argo. From Heracles, Philoctetes learns how to draw and fire a bow, and soon gains a reputation as being the most skilful of all Grecian archers.

Philoctetes was present when Heracles died, and in some sources it is said the he was the only one willing to light fire to the funeral pyre for the demi-god. For his willingness to act Philoctetes was given possession of Heracles’ legendary bow and arrows.

Years later Philoctetes would seek out the hand of Helen, daughter of Leda, although he was just one of the many eligible suitors of Helen. Menelaus would of course eventually win the hand of the woman said to be the most beautiful of all mortals. Shortly afterwards Helen though was abducted by Paris, an event that would start off the Trojan War. The fact that Philoctetes was a one time suitor of Helen though gave him an obligation to retrieve her.

This obligation meant that when the Greek forces came together to set sail for Troy, Philoctetes was at the head of seven ships comprising forces from Meliboea, Olizon, Thaumacia and Methone. Upon the ships arrival at Troy though, Philoctetes was no longer in charge, having been replaced by Medon; Philoctetes having been abandoned by the Greek forces on route to Troy.

The reason for this abandonment varies between sources. Generally speaking the abandonment was due to an injury caused by a snake bite that would not heal, with the abandonment occurring on Lemnos. The wound itself may have occurred on the island of Tenedos, with the reason for the snake attack being put down to an act of Apollo, Hera or the nymph Chryse. Whilst the decision to leave Philoctetes must have been Agamemnon’s, Odysseus is normally said to have been the instigator of the decision.

For almost ten years the Greek forces toiled at Troy, until the Trojan soothsayer, Helenus, was captured. From him the Greek forces learned of further criteria that would be needed for the walls of Troy to fall, adding to predictions made by the Greek seer, Calchas.

One of the requirements made was that the weapons of Heracles must be used by the Greek forces, and so an expedition was made back to Lemnos by Odysseus and Diomedes. It was presumed that Philoctetes by then would be dead from his wound, but when he was found alive the possession of the weapons of Heracles became a more difficult proposition. Philoctetes was rightfully angry about being abandoned for ten years.

The bow and arrows of Heracles though were eventually given over to the Greek leaders, whether this was by force, by a trick or willingly is not particularly clear. It is generally considered though that it was Diomedes, rather than Odysseus, who ensured that this time Philoctetes was taken back to Troy with the weapons. At the walls of Troy Philoctetes finally found those skilled enough to heal the snake bite, as both Machaon and Podalirius, sons of Asclepius were present amongst the Greek forces.

During the subsequent fighting Philoctetes took up the bow and arrows of Heracles, and is said to have killed three of the Trojan forces, although the most notable of those killed was Paris. It is said that it took even the best archer in the Greek forces four arrows to kill the Trojan prince. Philoctetes would also take up his place in the Wooden Horse which would eventually lead to the downfall of Troy.

Like many of the Greek heroes though the journey home was not an easy one, and even when he reached Meliboea he found that an uprising had occurred. Philoctetes therefore made his way to the Calabria region of Italy where he established the towns of Petilia and Crimissa. The death of Philoctetes is said to have occurred in Italy, although there are few sources that give much detail about the hero’s death. It is though occasionally mentioned that the hero died in battle fighting for forces from Rhodes who had landed in Italy.

Some sources also claim that the bow used by Odysseus upon his return home in the Odyssey once belonged to Philoctetes, although how the bow came to be in Odysseus’ possession is not mentioned.

The story of Philoctetes is one that should be better known, and perhaps shows how many stories have been lost or are only partially known from ancient Greece.