Hector.
The defender outside the walls
Hector: Trojan Hero, Andromache and His Battle with Achillesis ’s leading defender in the , a prince whose duty to the city threatens his life with and their child. His death brings the war’s human cost into the poem’s center.
More than a myth.
Hector and Andromache
In 6, asks to protect himself and consider the family he may leave behind. He knows can fall but feels compelled to face the danger outside its walls. When his helmet frightens their child, he removes it and holds him. The scene puts the public signs of a warrior beside the vulnerability of a parent.
From Patroclus to Achilles
kills after and have already helped bring him down. He takes ’s armor, but the victory calls the greater warrior back into battle. In their final encounter, deceives Hector into believing his brother stands beside him. When the promised help disappears, he understands the danger and chooses to make a final stand.
The body returned to Troy
initially refuses burial and drags the body behind his chariot. Divine intervention and ’s personal appeal eventually lead him to return it. The ends with Hector’s funeral, not the Trojan Horse. That ending centers the grief of the city’s people rather than the victory its enemies will later obtain.
Questions about Hector
Was Hector Greek or Trojan?
He is a Trojan prince defending his city against the Greek expedition. He belongs to Greek mythology as a literary tradition, but fights on ’s side within the story.
Who kills Hector?
kills him in 22 with decisive assistance from ’s deception. His burial follows in the poem’s final book.
It’s a family affair.
Hector
Troy’s defense & the IliadNo children represented in this edition.
The stories of Hector.
Ancient voices.
Enduring stories.
Myths have many tellings. These are the ancient works behind this profile, linked to freely available English translations.
Iliad
Book 6.390–502 · Hector’s household
Iliad
Book 16.788–857 · Patroclus
Iliad
Book 22
Iliad
Book 24