Hector is one of the key characters in the history of the Trojan War. He was the eldest brother of the Trojan Prince Paris, and is regarded by the ancient Greeks as gentle, fair and fearless in battle.
Hector was the oldest of many children of the king of Troy, Priamos. Although he was yet another son of Priam, responsible for the Trojan War, the ancient Greeks saw Hector with respect and admiration. Although he was an enemy, he was a figure of authority and enormous courage. They also believed that Hector did not approve of the actions of Paris, although dedication to the brother made him fight for him.
During the Trojan War, Hektor was the leader of the Trojan forces in their battles against the Achaeans (Greek) invaders. But the story of Hector is not just a story of war and battle. On the contrary, emphasis is placed on the importance that ancient Greeks gave to the institution of the family. In Homer's Iliad, dating back to the 8th century BC, there is a particular emotional scene where Hector, having just finished a tough fight, enjoys happy moments with his wife, Andromachi and their little son, Astyanax . Later in history, Homer describes the deep suffering of Andromachi and the Trojans in general, when knowing the death of Hector.
During the Trojan War, Hektor was the leader of the Trojan forces in their battles against the Achaeans (Greek) invaders. But the story of Hector is not just a story of war and battle. On the contrary, emphasis is placed on the importance that ancient Greeks gave to the institution of the family. In Homer's Iliad, dating back to the 8th century BC, there is a particular emotional scene where Hector, having just finished a tough fight, enjoys happy moments with his wife, Andromachi and their little son, Astyanax . Later in history, Homer describes the deep suffering of Andromachi and the Trojans in general, when knowing the death of Hector.
Greece, Troy and the Trojan War
The ancient city of Troy was part of the network of city states with which Greece traded and had relations around the Mediterranean. According to myth, King Priam, who was descended from Zeus, heard a prophecy that Newborn Paris would bring about the destruction of Troy. Thus Priam abandoned him on a slope, but there was found a shepherd who saved the baby and raised him as his own child. When he grew up, Paris returned to Troy and reunited with the royal family. Priam sent him to Greece where he visited King Menelaus of Sparta. The goddess of love, Aphrodite, had promised Paris that she would marry him with the most beautiful woman in the world, who was Menelaus' wife and her name was Helen. Helen and Paris were eloped and settled in Troy. When the Greeks learned of the insult to King Menelaos, they gathered the greatest army of that time, and they fought against Troy to take Helen back. So the Trojan War began.
King Priam was already old when the war began, so Hector was chosen to lead the troops of the Troy. Hector was the obvious choice to take the lead, not only because he was a prince, but also because he was renowned for his superiority in battle. The Greeks knew that if they could not kill him, they probably would not be able to conquer Troy. Hector was a terrible adversary, and he often had the help of God Apollo. It was one of the reasons that, according to myth, the Trojan War lasted for ten whole years. Although Hector was a skillful fighter and killed many of the best Greek warriors, he did not enjoy the war but saw the defense of the city as a sacred task. "Fight for one’s country is best" were the words with which he coached his co-operatives. In one case he tried to end the war by judging him with a duel between Paris and Menelaus, but Aphrodite fought in the battle to help Paris, and so the outcome of the duel was not clear.
The death of Hector.
The best warrior of the Greeks but also of the Trojan War was Achilles. However, because of a dispute with Agamemnon, the commander-in-chief of the Greeks, Achilles refused to fight and the Trojans had taken the upper hand. At that point, Patroclus, Achilles' best friend, decided to go to battle with Achilles' chariot, wearing Achilles' armor. He considered that if the Greek soldiers thought they had Achilles with them, they would fight with greater courage. He was right, so the Greeks led the battle back to the city. Hector, seeing that Achilles was also involved, was afraid to enter the battle. He knew that Achilles was a better warrior and could not confront him. Hector, however, overcame his fear and encountered the enemy in the battlefield, and as it turned out he was not Achilles, Ektor easily killed but Patroclus. Then he took the armor of Achilles from the body of Patroklos and wore it himself.
When he realized that Hector had killed his friend Patroclus, Achilles decided to avenge his death and so he went back to battle. When Priam saw the danger of Achilles' raid, he ordered the Trojan army to retreat through the walls of the city. But Hector refused. He stayed outside the walls to face Achilles, but after a while he lost his courage and began to run away from him. Achilles chased him around the walls, until the goddess Athena, who supported the Greeks, tricked Hector. He appeared in front of him in the form of his brother, Deiphobus, and encouraged him to stand and fight. With the illusion that he had his brother beside him, Hector turned to face Achilles. In the battle that followed, Achilles killed him, running his spear through Hector’s neck.
Without being satisfied with the death of Hector, Achilles tied his opponent's corpse behind his chariot and circled it around the battlefield before returning back to the camp. Zeus encouraged the death struck Priam to visit Achilles to ask him to give him his son's body. Achilles pitied the old king and handed him over the body. Then Priam returned to Troy with the body of Hector and prepared it for the funeral.
Without being satisfied with the death of Hector, Achilles tied his opponent's corpse behind his chariot and circled it around the battlefield before returning back to the camp. Zeus encouraged the death struck Priam to visit Achilles to ask him to give him his son's body. Achilles pitied the old king and handed him over the body. Then Priam returned to Troy with the body of Hector and prepared it for the funeral.
Soon after the death of Hector, the Greeks finally tricked the Trojans with the Trojan Horse and entered the city. They burned Troy, and they took Helen back to Greece. Hector's son, Astyanax, was thrown out of the battlements and killed, in order not to try and take revenge when he would grew up, while Andromachi was enslaved.
Hector and Troy
In the history of the Trojan War, especially in the version of Homer's Iliad, Hector is not just a great hero, but a symbol associated with the fate of Troy. Like Troy, he is strong, intact, and standing proud against the Greek invaders for a long time. The hopes of Troy rely on him, and as long as he endures, so does the city. As the Hector is lost, in the same way Troy is condemned. The trick that cheated Hector to fight Achilles and the humiliating way Achilles treated his body was the act of the Greeks against Troy. They tricked them with the hollow Trojan Horse, carrying concealed warriors headed by Odysseus, then burning the city and humiliating its inhabitants. The weakness of Troy, like Hector, was her refusal to do anything but to fight. Instead of negotiating to find a compromise solution that would end the war, Troy relies solely on its military power, such as the Hector in his own power, and as a result he falls victim to the prominence of the Greeks.
The admiration of the Greeks
Although Hector was Trojan, the ancient Greeks respected him and considered him a model military leader. They admired the virtue, the courage, the sense of duty, and believed that these virtues were more useful in the battle than the brutal, unpredictable violent behavior of his opponent, Achilles.
Hector and Troy
In the history of the Trojan War, especially in the version of Homer's Iliad, Hector is not just a great hero, but a symbol associated with the fate of Troy. Like Troy, he is strong, intact, and standing proud against the Greek invaders for a long time. The hopes of Troy rely on him, and as long as he endures, so does the city. As the Hector is lost, in the same way Troy is condemned. The trick that cheated Hector to fight Achilles and the humiliating way Achilles treated his body was the act of the Greeks against Troy. They tricked them with the hollow Trojan Horse, carrying concealed warriors headed by Odysseus, then burning the city and humiliating its inhabitants. The weakness of Troy, like Hector, was her refusal to do anything but to fight. Instead of negotiating to find a compromise solution that would end the war, Troy relies solely on its military power, such as the Hector in his own power, and as a result he falls victim to the prominence of the Greeks.
The admiration of the Greeks
Although Hector was Trojan, the ancient Greeks respected him and considered him a model military leader. They admired the virtue, the courage, the sense of duty, and believed that these virtues were more useful in the battle than the brutal, unpredictable violent behavior of his opponent, Achilles.
Despite all his virtues, Ektor was a tragic figure. Homer connects Hector with his family and describes in detail his wife's sorrow after his death, demonstrating that the victims of a war are not just the warriors but also their families.
Sources
Homer's Iliad is considered to be the primary major work around the Trojan War. A large part of the epic focuses on Hector's life during the last events of the war, and ends with the funeral of the hero. The Iliad, however, does not contain the end of the war, even though Homer refers it to his other great epic, the Odyssey. The tragic poet Euripides, in his work Troads, refers to the wife of Hector, Andromache, after the fall of Troy. Other classical writers such as Pindar, Apollodorus and Ovidius added elements with their works in the Trojan War. Of those, we know more about the end of the war and the fate of the Hector family.
