Who was the leader of the Paphlagonians in the Iliad?

Pylaemenes was the leader of the Paphlagonians in the Iliad. He appears in the Trojan Catalogue, where Homer lists the peoples and commanders who came to support Troy.

Paphlagonia was an ancient region on the southern coast of the Black Sea in northern Anatolia. Its warriors fought as Trojan allies, and Pylaemenes led their contingent to the war. The Iliad associates him with the Eneti, a Paphlagonian people, though Homer does not provide a complete genealogy for him.

Pylaemenes later dies in battle at the hands of Menelaus. His son Harpalion also fights for the Trojan side and is killed by Meriones, a Cretan warrior serving among the Greeks. These details help place Pylaemenes within the poem’s wider catalogue of allied kings and war leaders.

A frequent mix-up is with Aeneas, Glaucus, or Sarpedon, all important figures on the Trojan side. Aeneas commands Dardanian forces, while Glaucus and Sarpedon lead Lycian troops. The Paphlagonian commander is specifically Pylaemenes.