After his father lost the throne of Athens, Acamas grew up as an exile in
Euboea with his brother under the care of
Elephenor, a relative by marriage. He and
Diomedes were sent to negotiate the return of
Helen before the start of the Trojan War, though
Homer ascribes this embassy to
Menelaus and
Odysseus. During his stay at Troy he caught the eye of
Priam's daughter
Laodice, and fathered her son Munitus. The boy was raised by
Aethra, Acamas' grandmother, who was living in Troy as one of Helen's slaves. Munitus later died of a snakebite while hunting at
Olynthus in
Thrace. After the war, he rescued Aethra from her long captivity in Troy. Later mythological traditions describe the two brothers embarking on other adventures as well, including the capture of the
Palladium. Some sources relate of Acamas the story which is more commonly told of his brother Demophon, namely the one of his relationship with
Phyllis of
Thrace. and almost certainly the
Iliou persis, mention that Acamas was one of the men inside the Trojan horse. The dominant character trait of Acamas is his interest in faraway places. ==Eponyms and Acamas in art==