MEMNON THE WARRIOR.

In Greek mythology, Memnon was an Ethiopian king and son of Tithonus and Eos. Thithonus was the lover of Eos, Titan of the dawn, who was known in Roman mythology as Aurora. Tithonus was a Trojan by birth, the son of King Laomedon of Troy by a water nymph named Strymo.
According to ancient Greek poets, Memnon's father Tithomus and Ganymede were snatched away from the royal house of Troy by the goddess of the dawn Eos  and were taken to the ends of the earth on the Coast of Oceanus, to be her lovers.  They were carried by the East Wind and were driven to the Western Ends of the earth beyond the Ocean or pillars of Hercules. Eos bore to Tithonus 2 sons, the bronzed armed Memnon, the King of the Ethiopians and his brother the lordly Emathion. Zephyrus, god of the West Wind, like Memnon was also the 1st born son of Eos (East Wind) by another father Astraeus, making him the brother of Memnon.
As a warrior Memnon was considered to be almost Achilles' equal in skill. Memnon journeying from the Western Ocean with his army of Ethiopians, arrived at Troy in the immediate aftermath of an argument between Polydamas, Helen, and Priam centered on weather or not the Aethiopian King will show up at all.
Memnon's army is described as being too big to be counted and upon his arrival a huge banquet started in his honor. Memnon and Priam ended the dinner  by exchanging glorious war stories, and Memnon's tales lead Priam to declare that the Aethiopian King was Troy's saviour. Memnon in a very humble way  warned that his strength had to be seen in battle, although for him boasting in dinner was unwise. Before the next day's battle, Zeus made all the other Olympians promise not to interfere in the fighting.
In battle, Memnon kills Nestor's son Antilochos, because Antilochos had killed Memnon's dear comrade, Aesop. Seeking vengeance and despite his age, Nestor tries to fight Memnon but the Aethiopian warrior insisted it would not be just to fight such an old man, and respected Nestor so much that he refused to fight. In this way, Memnon is seen as very similar to Achilles -both of them having a strong sets of values that were looked upon favorably by the warrior culture of the time.
When Memnon reached the Greek ships, Nestor begged Aquilles to fight Memnon and avenge Antilochos, leading to the two men clashing while both were wearing divine armor made by Hephaestus. Zeus favored both of them and made each man tireless and huge so that the whole battlefield would watch them clash as demigods.
Eventually, Achilles stabbed Memnon through the heart, causing his entire army to flee in terror.
In honor of Memnon, the gods collected all the drops of blood that fell from him and used them to form a huge River that on every anniversary of his death would bear the stench of human flesh. The Aethiopians that stayed close to Memnon in order to bury their leader were turned into birds (which they were called Memnons) and stayed by his tomb so as to remove dust that gathers on it.