Hector
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Hector brought back to Troy. From a Roman sarcophagus. |
In
Greek mythology,
Hector ( Ἑκτωρ, "holding fast"), or
Hektor, was a
Trojan prince and one of the greatest fighters in the
Trojan War, equal to
Ajax and surpassed only by
Achilles.
He was the son of
Priam and
Hecuba, his younger brother being the less brave
Paris (Paris is commonly looked upon as a cowardly lover, who brought on the downfall of the kingdom of Troy over an affair with Helen). With his wife,
Andromache, he fathered
Astyanax. He had a horse named
Lampos and friends named
Misenus and
Poludamas. His charioteer was
Cebriones, his half-brother.
In the
Iliad,
Homer calls him "breaker of horses," largely to maintain the meter of his lines and because Troy in general was known for horse raising. Another
epithet applied to him is "of the flashing helmet".
Hector provides a stark contrast for Achilles, who was from first to last a man of war. Hector represents Troy and what it stood for. Some modern scholars have even suggested that he, not Achilles, is the true hero of the
Iliad. Hector was fighting not for personal glory, but in defense of his homeland.
His rebuke to Poludamas, "Fight for your country â€" that is the first and only omen" became a proverb to patriotic
Greeks. Through him we can see glimpses of what life in Troy and elsewhere in the
Bronze Age Mediterranean civilization depicted by Homer might have been like in more peaceful times. The scene where he bids farewell to his wife
Andromache and his infant son is one of the more moving scenes in the
Iliad. In the second battle at Troy Hector told his men, " I have abided by three laws in my life. Honor the gods, love your woman, and defend your country".
Hector versus Achilles
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Hector Exposed on the Banks of the Xanthus River, Jean-Baptiste Deshays (1729-1765) |
Hector shares some of the same faults as Achilles, and does have a great amount of pride that proves to be disastrous for the Trojans. Both were their armies' greatest champions, and both serve as the driving force of the morale for their armies.
Hector was a great warrior. During the Trojan War, Hector killed
Protesilaus and was wounded by Ajax during combat. In the portion of the war described in the
Iliad, he fights with many of the Greek warriors and usually (but not always) succeeds in killing or wounding his opponent. When, with the assistance of
Apollo, he kills Achilles' companion
Patroclus and throws the entire Greek force into disarray, it seems that the war has reached a turning point.
Hector's personal fate, as decreed by
Zeus early on in the story, is never in doubt. Achilles, enraged over the death of Patroclus, ends his refusal to fight and challenges Hector. Achilles chases Hector around the wall of Troy three times before
Athena, dressed as a Trojan, persuades Hector to fight face to face. Achilles, aided by the gods, kills Hector with a blow to the neck. Andromache knows of her husband's death instantly from the wailing of the Trojans who witnessed it, and watches from the city walls as Achilles draws a rope through Hector's feet. Hector's body is then dragged behind Achilles'
chariot around the battlefield for thirteen days. Priam is initially denied the sacred right of burying his eldest son.
With the assistance of the god
Hermes, Priam convinces Achilles to permit him to allow Hector his funeral rights. The final passage in the
Iliad is his funeral, after which the doom of Troy is just a matter of time. In the final sack of Troy, as described in Book II of the
Aeneid, his father and many of his brothers are killed, his son is hurled from the walls in fear that he would avenge Hector, and his wife is carried off by Achilles' son
Neoptolemus to live as a slave.
According to the Greek travel writer
Pausanias, who lived in the mid-second century A.D., the city of
Thebes sent a delegation to Troy to recover the bones of Hector.
Although a Pagan, Hector is listed as one of the
Nine Worthies by
Jean de Longuyon for his bravery and chivalrous spirit.
Homer,
IliadApollodorus,
Bibliotheke III, xii, 5-6;
Apollodorus,
Epitome IV, 2.
