Asteropaios was a newcomer to the war at the start of the
Iliad; he had only been in Troy for less than two weeks. Asteropaios had the distinction in combat of being
ambidextrous and would on occasion throw two spears at once. In Book XII of the
Iliad, as the Trojans attacked the
Achaean wall, Asteropaios was a leader of the same division as the
Lycian warriors
Sarpedon and
Glaucus, the division which pressed hard enough to allow
Hector and his division to breach the wall. In Book XXI, as
Achilles is mercilessly slaughtering Trojan warriors alongside the river god
Scamander and polluting the waters with dead bodies (including one of
Priam's sons,
Lycaon). While the river god pondering how he might stop Achilles, Achilles in turn attacks Asteropaios (himself the grandson of a river god) whom Scamander instills with courage to make a stand against Achilles. Achilles and Asteropaios thus engage in one-on-one combat, Asteropaios throwing two spears at the same time at Achilles. One spear hit Achilles' shield, while the other reached his right forearm and drew blood. Asteropaios was the only Trojan in the
Iliad who was able to draw blood from Achilles. However, he fails to kill Achilles, and is slain. And Achilles boasts that though Asteropaios may be descended from a river-god, that he, Achilles, is descended from a mightier god, Zeus. Later, in the funeral games for the slain
Patroclus, the bronze and tin
corslet and the silver-studded sword of Asteropaios are awarded as prizes. The
asteroid 4805 Asteropaios is named after the hero. ==Notes==