Who was the Trojan ally from Paeonia killed by Achilles?

Asteropaeus was the Trojan-allied warrior from Paeonia whom Achilles killed. In the Iliad, Asteropaeus leads Paeonian forces fighting on Troy’s side and appears during Achilles’ violent assault near the river Scamander.

Asteropaeus is notable for being ambidextrous: he can throw a spear with each hand at once. In Book 21, he confronts Achilles and manages to strike his shield with one spear and graze his right forearm with the other. The wound draws blood, making Asteropaeus the only warrior in the Iliad who visibly wounds Achilles in combat.

Achilles nevertheless kills him after Asteropaeus fails to pull Achilles’ spear from the riverbank. Achilles boasts that his own divine ancestry through Peleus and Thetis is superior to Asteropaeus’ descent from the river god Axios. Later, Asteropaeus’ armor and weapons become prizes at the funeral games for Patroclus. The name also appears in the variant English spelling Asteropaios.