Memnon and the Etiophian defenders of Troy
Memnon of Ethiopia was a great ally of Troy, who drew Achillev's blood (art by Kalin Popov
It is told that Memnon's father Tithonus came from the wealthy city Ilium in the land of Troy. Tithonus was the older brother of King Priam, making Memnon a cousin of among others Hecto, Paris and Cassandra. The historical Troy is located on the west coast of modern Turkey. The events in the Iliad ought to been set in the 13th to 11th century BCE, in the late Bronze Age (art by Christoph Haußner).
Memnon's mother was Eos, the goddess of dawn. Eos had taken Tithonus to the ends of the earth on the coast of Oceanus where she bore the sons Memnon and Emathion (Greek vase depiction of Memnon from circa 550-525 BC).
The great tradition of a war between the Trojans and the Achaeans and their allies (art by mark churms)
Aelian:NA_13.18
http://www.attalus.org/names/m/memnon.html In the royal residences in India where the greatest of the kings of that country lives, there are so many objects for admiration that neither Memnon's city of Susa with all its extravagance, nor the magnificence of Ecbatana is to be compared with them. Odysseus mentioned a trojan hero named "Eurypylus son of Telephus, who was the handsomest man I ever saw except Memnon" (The Odyssey; Book XI, translated by Samuel Butler). - Priam encourage the Trojans to keep fighting after Hector's death
https://www.theoi.com/Text/TzetzesChiliades6.html "Till our new champion come, the stormy heart Of Memnon. Lo, he cometh, leading on Hosts numberless, Aethiopia's swarthy sons. By this, I trow, he is nigh unto our gates; For long ago, in sore distress of soul, I sent him urgent summons. Yea, and he Promised me, gladly promised me, to come To Troy, and make all end of all our woes." Euseb]:Chron_57
http://www.attalus.org/names/m/memnon.html and the empire of the Assyrians in Asia had already lasted for over a thousand years. Priamus the king of the Trojans, worn out by the pressure of war, submitted to the king of the Assyrians, and sent an embassy to ask the Assyrians to send aid and reinforcements. The king of the Assyrians gave him ten thousand men from the land of the Ethiopians, and a similar number of Susians, with two hundred chariots; and he sent Memnon the son of Tithonus to be their leader. Euseb]:Chron_63
http://www.attalus.org/names/m/memnon.html [Priamus wrote to Teutamus:] 'The Greeks have invaded your territory and attacked me; we have met them in battle, and sometimes we have been victorious, but sometimes we have been defeated. Now even my son Hector has been killed, along with many others of my brave children. Therefore send a force to come to our relief, and appoint a valiant general to lead them.' "
After Hectors death arrive the Amazon Queen Penthesilea and Eos’ son Memnon, who both would face Achilles (art by Alan Lee)
IMAGE DESCR: "Eos, the winged goddess of the dawn, carries the body of her son Memnon from the battlefields of Troy. The bird hovering above the body represents his soul. Behind them strides Achilles, the slayer of Memnon."