Panthous was originally a priest of
Apollo at
Delphi. When
Priam, after Troy had been destroyed by
Heracles, sent a son of
Antenor to Delphi to inquire whether it was appropriate to build a new citadel on the foundations of the destroyed city, said son of Antenor was charmed by Panthous' beauty and carried him off. Panthous, in accord with Priam' s will, continued to perform his duties as a priest of Apollo at Troy.[6]
Panthous was credited with killing four
Greeks in the
Trojan War.[7] In the Aeneid, Panthous is portrayed lamenting his own and Troy's fate on the night of the city's fall, with his baby grandson in his arms.[8] He is further killed by one of the Greeks.[9]