Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The father of Paris, Hector, and Cassandra and king of Troy, who was killed when his city fell to the Greeks.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun Greek mythology The king of Troy during the Iliad

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun (Greek mythology) the last king of Troy; father of Hector and Paris and Cassandra

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Anglicized version of Latin Priamus, from the Ancient Greek Πρίαμος.

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Examples

  • Once he discovered the gold and silver objects he called Priam's Treasure, however, Schliemann smuggled them to Greece.

    Is the Mask a Hoax? 1999

  • Until archaeologists saw the axes in Moscow's Pushkin Museum in 1994, they were considered lost, along with the gold artifacts from the so-called Priam's Treasure.

    Calvert's Heirs Claim Schliemann Treasure 1996

  • From this time he was called Priam, a word which in the Greek language means "purchased."

    The Story of Troy Michael Clarke 1880

  • If I'd as large a family as the ould gentleman called Priam we used to hear of at school, it's the only inheritance I'd give them, and one comfort there would be besides, the legacy duty would be only a trifle.

    Charles O'Malley — Volume 2 Charles James Lever 1839

  • I have learned to be skeptical, particularly of the more dramatic events in Schliemann's life: a White House reception; his heroic acts during the burning of San Francisco; his gaining American citizenship on July 4, 1850, in California; his portrayal of his wife, Sophia, as an enthusiastic archaeologist; the discovery of ancient Greek inscriptions in his backyard; the discovery of the bust of Cleopatra in a trench in Alexandria; his unearthing of an enormous cache of gold and silver objects at Troy, known as Priam's Treasure.

    Is the Mask a Hoax? 1999

  • They were letters such as Priam might have indited on the night when his Troy was in a blaze.

    Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 61, No. 378, April, 1847 Various

  • The treasure was named 'Priam's Treasure,' the largest building, 'Priam's Palace,' and the gate, 'The Scæan Gate.'

    The Sea-Kings of Crete James Baikie 1898

  • A dispute with the Turkish Government over the disposal of 'Priam's Treasure' led to obstacles being placed by the Porte in the way of the resumption of work on the plain of Troy, and in July, 1876, he settled down to excavate at Mycenæ, the historic capital of the King of men,

    The Sea-Kings of Crete James Baikie 1898

  • Our stars had paled their not ineffectual fires, only in the daylight; and while Dan Phoebus was yet rising, "jocund on the misty mountain's top," I was busy in adjusting my foot in the stirrup and mounting my good steed "Priam," to find my way by a close cut, and through narrow Indian trails, to my lodgings in the little town of C. --, on the very borders of Mississippi.

    The Wigwam and the Cabin. By the Author of "The Yemassee," "Guy Rivers," &c. Second Series 1845

  • Priam’s three oldest sons — Hektor, Agathon, and Antiphones — often were mistaken for one another by visitors to the king’s megaron, and he winced as he recalled Priam saying to his guests, “Alike in looks but not in character.

    Lord of the Silver Bow Gemmell, David 2005

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