34 Facts About Hector

Hector is a major character in Homer's Iliad, where he leads the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing countless Greek warriors.

Hector is ultimately killed in single combat by the Greek hero Achilles, who later drags his dead body around the city of Troy behind his chariot.

Hector is described by the sixth-century Christian chronicler John Malalas in his account of the Chronography as "dark-skinned, tall, very stoutly built, strong, good nose, wooly-haired, good beard, squinting, speech defect, noble, fearsome warrior, deep-voiced".

Hector is the first-born son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, making him a prince of the royal house and heir to his father's throne.

Hector is loved by all his people and known for never turning down a fight.

Hector is gracious to all and thus thought of favorably by all but the Achaeans, who both hate and fear him as the Trojans' best warrior.

Hector turns the tide of battle, breaking down their barriers and slaughtering their troops.

Hector's parents plead for him to take shelter within the city walls.

Hector refuses, wanting to talk with Achilles, in an attempt to resolve the altercation without bloodshed, though Achilles is not one to be placated after Hector slays his close friend, Patroclus.

Hector then proposes that whoever wins, be it him or Achilles, will be respectful to the other's body and give it back so there can be a proper burial.

Hector then foretells Achilles' own death, saying that he will be killed by Paris and Apollo.

Hector drags the body around the city of Troy, as the Trojans watch from the walls and lament, especially Andromache, Hector's wife.

Hector had fought the Greek champion Protesilaus in single combat at the start of the war and killed him.

Hector is unable to pierce Ajax's famous shield, but Ajax crushes Hector's shield with a rock and stabs through his armor with a spear, drawing blood, upon which the god Apollo intervenes, and the duel is ended, as the sun is setting.

Hector gives Ajax his sword, which Ajax later uses to kill himself.

Hector takes it off, embraces his wife and son, and for his sake prays aloud to Zeus that his son might be chief after him, become more glorious in battle than he, to bring home the blood of his enemies, and make his mother proud.

The Trojans are driven off, night falls, and Hector resolves to take the camp and burn the ships the next day.

Hector goes down, hit by a stone thrown by Ajax, but Apollo arrives from Olympus and infuses strength into "the shepherd of the people", who orders a chariot attack, with Apollo clearing the way.

Stung, Hector calls for the armor, puts it on, and uses it to rally the Trojans.

Hector chooses to remain outside the gates of Troy to face Achilles, partly because had he listened to Polydamas and retreated with his troops the previous night, Achilles would not have killed so many Trojans.

When he sees Achilles Hector is seized by fear and turns to flee.

When Hector turns to face his supposed brother to retrieve another spear, he sees no one there.

Hector decides that he will go down fighting and that men will talk about his bravery in years to come.

Hector pulls out his sword, now his only weapon, and charges.

The wound is fatal yet allowed Hector to speak to Achilles.

Hector then fastens the girdle to his chariot and drives his fallen enemy through the dust to the Danaan camp.

In Virgil's Aeneid, the dead Hector appears to Aeneas in a dream urging him to flee Troy.

Many scholars consider Hector to be the most sympathetic character in the Iliad, more than the main hero of the story, Achilles.

For example, Richmond Lattimore writes that Hector "is still the hero who forever captures the affection of the modern reader, far more strongly than his conqueror [Achilles] has ever done".

Emily Wilson describes Hector as bringing on his own death through his pursuit of martial glory, itself a result of his "dread of shame" and the demands of his social role as a warrior.

Hector falls victim to his fear of disgrace before his community and is "defeated by his own characteristic goodness".

Hector is described by different characters as the most fearsome warrior among the Trojans but falls short of these expectations on many occasions.

Steven Farron agrees that the incongruence between Hector's achievements and reputation is a deliberate choice by the author but rejects the idea that it reflects a pro-Greek bias.

Hector's tragedy is that he is a peaceful, home-loving man who is forced by circumstances into the role of the great hero and defender of Troy.