Talthybius (Ancient Greek:Ταλθύβιος) washerald and friend toAgamemnon in theTrojan War. Talthybius is a Greek soldier who serves as both a messenger and a herald during the time of the Trojan War. Only two mortal men are present in Euripides' play The Trojan Women, and Talthybius is the one who interacts with the Trojan women the most. Although he represents a hostile nation, he surprisingly shows his vulnerable side and affection towards these women. Even though he must obey orders (which in result, he will end up hurting these women) he does make an effort to lessen their suffering. Talthybius is a complex character who tries to be empathetic despite enabling the rape and enslavement of Troy's women.

Talthybius was the one who tookBriseis from the tent ofAchilles. Preceding the duel ofMenelaus andParis, Agamemnon charges him to fetch a sheep for sacrifice. He died atAegium inAchaia, according toPausanias.^[1]

Talthybius appears inEuripides'Hecuba andThe Trojan Women. In addition, he has a small role in TheIliad. In Book IV, Agamemnon orders Talthybius to fetch the medicMachaon after Menelaus is wounded with an arrow shot byPandarus.^[2] InHecuba andThe Trojan Women, Talthybius seems to always be the bearer of bad news. InThe Trojan Women, he tells Hecuba that all of the women are being divided up and given to different Greek Heroes as slaves. He says thatCassandra will be given to Agamemnon and that Hecuba herself will be given toOdysseus. Furthermore, Talthybius is the one who tellsAndromache of the Greeks' plan to killAstyanax, her son byHector. The plan is to throw Astyanax (who is only a small child) from the towers of Troy because it would not be wise to let the son of a Trojan hero reach adulthood.^[3] InHecuba, Talthybius brings an order from Agamemnon to Hecuba, telling her to bury her daughter,Polyxena, who was sacrificed to Achilles.^[4]

He exercises significant independence in the way he carries out his orders given to him from the commanders^{[according to whom?]}. He served in theTrojan War alongside his followers and others who supported him. Talthybius was committed to the interests of the Greek commanders and takes care to avoid their disapproval. In his dealings with the captive women he is felt in the main to be a sympathetic figure.

He was worshipped as a hero atSparta^[5] andArgos, where sacrifices were offered to him.^[6] According toHerodotus, "At Sparta there is a shrine of Talthybius and descendants of Talthybius called Talthybiadae, who have the special privilege of conducting all embassies from Sparta.^[7]

• Eurybates

• Euripides,The Complete Greek Drama edited by Whitney J. Oates and Eugene O'Neill, Jr. in two volumes. 1. Hecuba, translated by E. P. Coleridge. New York. Random House. 1938.Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Euripides,Euripidis Fabulae.vol. 1. Gilbert Murray. Oxford. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1902.Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Homer,The Iliad with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924.ISBN 978-0674995796.Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Homer,Homeri Opera in five volumes. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1920.ISBN 978-0198145318.Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.

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