Hermione (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Hermione was the only child of Menelaus, king of Sparta, and his wife, Helen of Troy. Prior to the Trojan War, Hermione had been betrothed by Tyndareus, her grandfather, to her cousin Orestes, son of her uncle, Agamemnon; she was just nine years old when Paris, son of the Trojan king Priam, arrived to abduct her mother, Helen.
During the war, Menelaus promised her to Achilles' son, Neoptolemus. After the war ended, he sent Hermione away to the city of Phthia, where Neoptolemus was staying. The two were married, yet, soon afterwards, Neoptolemus traveled to Delphi in order to exact vengeance against Apollo for having caused his father's death, only to be shot down by the god's arrow. With Neoptolemus dead, Hermione was free to marry Orestes, after which she bore him a son, Tisamenus.
