Hector's shield, which once protected him in battle, is repurposed after the war as a coffin for his young son
In Greek mythology, Hector (/ˈhɛktər/; Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, pronounced [héktɔːr]) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing countless Greek warriors.
In Homer's Iliad he is represented as an ideal warrior and the mainstay of Troy. Hector's character is drawn in most favourable colours as a good son, a loving husband and father, and a trusty friend.
Hector named him Scamandrius after the River Scamander, near Troy. The Trojans named him Astyanax (“Lord of the City”) as the son of Troy's greatest warrior.
Hector's Powers. Hector had no god-like powers. Instead, as a mortal, he trained, learned from life and eventually became the greatest of Troy's warriors. He was supposedly admired not only by the Trojans but also by the Greeks.
If Hector is a tragic hero, than his tragic flaw would be his stubbornness to accept the force of fate and his own delusional belief in a Trojan victory. But beneath these flaws are the works of understandable human feelings; Hector does all this because of his desire to protect Troy, his people and his family.
Hector was considered the greatest warrior of Troy, but he did not approve of the war that had started between the Greeks and the Trojans. During the Trojan War, he was the leader of the Trojan army. It was prophesied that the first Greek who would land on Trojan soil would die.
Hector has a spear, too, mentioned conspicuously in Books 6 (319f.) and 8 (494f). However, he lops off the blade of Ajax' spear in Book 16 with a sword (114-116). He casts his spear against Achilles in the Book 22 duel—accurately, but the Hephaestian shield deflects it (289-291).
Upon his death Hector, the dying prince of Troy told Achilles, the warrior of Greece, his last words. “Spare my body!
Boy. Greek. From the Greek Hektor, which is from echo, meaning "to hold" or ekhein "to check". In Greek mythology Hector was a Trojan Prince, he was a fierce warrior who was slain by Achilles.
It was here the somewhat socially awkward Hector met the vivacious Andromache! The pair quickly fell in love – in one letter from his father, Hector is told: We would dearly love to hear from you, and especially to hear more about Andromache, but I know communication must be precarious.
The greatest Trojan of them all, Hector, also has distant blood ties to Zeus through the lineage of his father, Priam. All of these details contribute to Zeus's support of the Trojans throughout The Iliad.
Hector has a broad view of education and refuses to conform to modern teaching methods, or to the Headmaster's desires for Oxbridge places. He is a central character in the play, but there are conflicts in how he is presented.
Hector was one of the great heroes in Homer's epic Poem, the Iliad, which tells the story of the Trojan War. He was the son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, and he was heir to the throne. He was described by Homeric Epithets as the tamer of horses and slayer of men.
When they got to the city walls, Hector tried to reason with his pursuer, but Achilles was not interested. He stabbed Hector in the throat, killing him. Hector had begged for an honorable burial in Troy, but Achilles was determined to humiliate his enemy even in death.
Athena, taking the form of one of Hector's brothers, tricks him into fighting Achilles, who kills him. Still enraged, Achilles ties Hector's body to his chariot and drags it back to the Achaean camp, as Hector's family watches in horror from the walls of Troy.
Significance of Hector's Death
As one of the princes of Troy, Hector is also an important symbol of stability and honor for his people. His death marks the end of the Trojan's upper hand in the war. With Achilles' return to battle and Hector's death, the Trojans no longer stand a chance.
Near death, Hector pleads with Achilles to return his body to the Trojans for burial, but Achilles resolves to let the dogs and scavenger birds maul the Trojan hero.
We learn that both Achilles and Hector are good men. They are driven by courage and nobility; they want only to defend and avenge their loved ones. Each of them is their respective side's best warrior. It's no wonder that Homer wrote so much about them.
Hector's very name is a derivative of a Greek word that means “to have” or “to hold.” He could be said to have held together with the entire Trojan army. As a prince fighting for Troy, he was credited with killing 31,000 Greek soldiers. Hector was beloved among Troy's people.
However, when he wanted to return to his wife and daughter, Ernesto spiked Héctor's tequila with poison. Dying at the age of twenty-one, Héctor was left embittered when de la Cruz took his guitar and credit for all his songs.
Apollo, meanwhile, protects Hector's corpse from damage and rot and staves off dogs and scavengers. Finally, on the twelfth day after Hector's death, Apollo persuades Zeus that Achilles must let Hector's body be ransomed.
Overwhelmed with grief, Hector takes his son in his arms and prays to Zeus that the boy will“kill his enemy and bring home the blood stained spoils and bring joy to his Mother's heart.” Then he tells Andromache that fate is fate, and if he must die than so be it.
Achilles, seated, and Priam, crouched at his feet, cry at length, the one for Patroclus and Peleus, the other for Hector.
Hector is called “man-killing” or “man-killer” depending on the translation and it depicts his ability to route the Greek warriors. As a “man-killer”, Hektor kills some top officials in the Greek army including Patroclus and Protesilaus the king of Phylake.