One Prince, Two Names: Why is Paris also called Alexander?

When we think of the man who started the Trojan War by whisking Helen away to Troy, we usually call him Paris. But if you pick up a copy of Homer’s Iliad, read the Cypria, or Euripides's Rhesus, there's a chance you might get confused. Throughout these works, the characters and the narrator frequently refer to this same handsome prince as Alexander.

So, why the double identity? Was "Paris" a nickname, or is there something deeper hidden in the ruins of Troy? To find the answer, we have to look at a "cosmic disaster," a protective bear, and some real-world archaeological archives.

The Cursed Beginning: Hecuba’s Dream

The story of Paris doesn't actually begin in the Iliad (which only covers a few weeks of the war), but in the "prequels" found in the lost poems of the Epic Cycle.

Before Paris was born, his mother, Queen Hecuba, had a terrifying nightmare: she dreamt she gave birth to a flaming torch that set the entire city of Troy on fire. When the seers (among whom was her own son, Aesacus) heard this, they couldn't help but interpret it as an alarming prophecy: the baby would grow up to destroy the city.

To save Troy, King Priam ordered the baby to be "exposed" — the Ancient Greek term for this is ἔκθεσις (from ἐκτίθημι, "to set out"). It was the ancient practice of leaving a child in the wilderness to let the elements — or the gods — decide their fate.

💡Interestingly, the word έκθεση is still used in Modern Greek, meaning an exhibit (as in a museum exhibit). I.e., it's still an exposition to the world at large.

From Mountain to Palace

Accordingly, the baby was then taken to Mount Ida and left to die. But the "Torch of Troy" refused to go out. According to the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus, the baby was found five days later, miraculously still alive and being nursed by a bear.

A shepherd named Agelaos, astonished by the child’s survival, took him home in a leather knapsack.

One tradition, then, suggests the name Paris comes from the Greek word πήρα (leather bag), referring to the knapsack in which he was carried down the mountain.

As the boy grew up, he became a brave protector of the shepherds. After successfully defending their flocks against a band of robbers, he was given the name Ἀλέξανδρος (Greek for Alexander), which literally means "Defender of Men" (from ἀλέξειν, "to ward off"; and ἀνήρ, "man").

Eventually, his royal identity was discovered during a series of athletic games in Troy. Despite the old prophecy of the flaming torch, Priam was so happy to see his son alive that he welcomed him back into the palace as a prince. From then on, he used both his "country" name (Paris) and his "heroic" name (Alexander).

The Historical Side of the Coin: Alaksandu

While the myth explains the two names through a story of lost princes and bears, history offers another, perhaps even more interesting explanation.

In the 1920s, archaeologists found clay tablets in Hittite archives. These records mention a vassal king in a city called Wilusa (which sounds a lot like Wilios, the Greek name for Troy/Ilios).

💡The Hittites

 

While the Greeks were in the "Heroic Age" (the Mycenaean period), the Hittites were their massive neighbors to the East. They were an Indo-European people who established an empire centered in Hattusa in north-central Anatolia (modern-day Turkey).

 

At their peak (roughly 1400–1200 BC), they were the equals of Pharaonic Egypt. In fact, they fought the Egyptians in the famous Battle of Kadesh.

 

For a long time, Troy was considered a myth. However, Hittite archives mention a place called Wilusa (which matches the Greek Ἴλιος, Ilios) and a kingdom called Taruiša (which matches Τροία, Troy).

 

What's more, the Hittites often dealt with a "troublesome" group of people they called the Ahhiyawa, which most scholars now agree is the Hittite way of saying Ἀχαιοί (Achaeans/Greeks). The Hittite records suggest that the Greeks were raiding the coast of Anatolia and meddling in Trojan politics centuries before Homer's poems were even composed.

Even more interestingly, Wilusa's vassal king in these records is called Alaksandu.

This suggests that "Alexander" wasn't just a poetic invention. It was likely the actual name of a historical ruler of Troy. "Paris" may have been his local Luwian name, or perhaps a nickname that survived in the oral traditions of the local people.

💡Luwian

 

If the Hittites were the imperial administrators, the Luwians were the "locals." Luwian is a language closely related to Hittite, but it was much more widespread across Western and Southern Anatolia.

 

Most modern archaeologists and linguists believe that the people of Troy likely spoke Luwian as their primary daily language, even if their elite was influenced by Hittite or Greek culture.

 

Unlike the Hittites, who primarily used Cuneiform (wedge-shaped writing), the Luwians also developed a unique system of Hieroglyphics, often seen carved into rock faces and seals.

The Stinging Irony

In the Iliad, the use of these two names is often very deliberate. The narrator and the Trojans often use the noble Alexander, but the Greeks — and especially his brother Hector — frequently use Paris when they want to insult him.

The irony was clear to an Ancient Greek. For a man whose royal name means "Defender of Men," he is the one who brings the "torch" to Troy and causes the death of his brothers, his father, and his entire civilization. Every time Hector shouts "Alexander!" at his brother for hiding in the bedroom while the city burns, it serves as a painful reminder of the hero he was supposed to be.