Meet in detail Hector, one of the most famous heroes of Greek mythology with a great number of feats and legends.
who was Hector?
In Greek mythology, Hector was the son of King Priam of Troy and his wife, Hecuba. A Trojan hero and warrior, he fought valiantly against the Greeks in the Trojan War. In the Iliad, Homer’s war epic, Hector is portrayed as a noble and honorable leader. He was a good son, a loving husband to Andromache and father to Astyanax, and a trusted friend. Honest and forthright, he greatly disapproved of the conduct of his brother Paris, who took Helen, the wife of the Greek ruler Menelaus. These actions laid the groundwork for the Trojan War.
Hector in Greek Mythology
Some of the most famous tales in Greek mythology relate to events before, during and after the Trojan War, and the heroes Achilles, Ajax the Great, Diomedes and Odysseus are undoubtedly the most famous mortals found in Greek mythological tales. These four heroes, however, were all Achaean heroes (Greek heroes) who came to Troy to retrieve Helen, the wife of Menelaus.
Less famous are the names of the defenders of Troy, although people are likely to have heard of Paris, effectively the prince who brought the Achaeans to Troy, Aeneas, the famous Trojan survivor of the war, and for some the name of Hector is equally recognizable.
Hector prince of Troy
The story of Hector comes mainly from Homer’s Iliad, one of the two complete works of the Epic Cycle. At the time of the Trojan War, Priam was on the throne of Troy, having been appointed king by Herakles years earlier, following the death of Priam’s father, Laomedon.
Under Priam, Troy prospered, and his family line seemed secure, for Priam was blessed with a large number of children by many different wives, and some said that Priam had 68 sons and 18 daughters. The most famous of Priam’s wives was Hecabe, and the eldest son of Priam and Hecabe was Hector. He would grow up in Troy as heir apparent to Priam, but Fate would intervene to ensure that this prince would never become King of Troy.
Hector’s reputation
Hector, of course, comes to light during the Trojan War, and the surviving sources speak little of his life before the arrival of the Achaean force. However, as the Achaean fleet assembled at Aulis, the reputation of this hero was such that the Greek heroes recognized that they would have to defeat the man considered the mightiest of all Trojan warriors.
Hector and Andromache
In Troy, Hector would marry Andromache, a Cilician princess; and Andromache would become one of the famous Trojan women. Hector would later have a son by Andromache, a boy named Astyanax.
Andromache is almost universally depicted as the perfect wife, her husband’s support, and the perfect future queen of Troy. Despite this, Andromache would plead with him on occasion not to leave the safety of Troy to enter battles outside of the city’s war.
Nevertheless, she would fight on, placing her duty to defend Troy above the duty of a loving husband, even though Hector recognized the inevitability of defeat. It was this duty to his city, as well as his courage and piety, that also saw Hector held in the highest esteem by the ancient Greeks, who heard the stories of Troy.
Defender of Troy
With the arrival of Achaean forces at Troy, Hector chastises his brother Paris for bringing potential destruction to his home, and also belittles him when Paris refuses to fight Menelaus in single combat, a fight that potentially could have prevented a full-scale war. However, the obliging Hector leads the Trojan defenders against the invading army.
This hero is usually credited with the death of the first Achaean hero, Protesilaus, of the war; Protesilaus was the first Greek to set foot on the beaches outside Troy. Eventually, despite the best efforts of Hector and Cycnus, the Achaeans gain a foothold on the beaches and men pour out of the 1000 ships of the Achaean fleet, and the ten-year war begins in earnest.
Throughout the war, Hector is in the vanguard of the Trojan forces, and Hyginus’ Fabulae, the author claims that Hector alone killed 30,000 members of the Achaean army; although most sources place the complement of the entire Achaean army at between 70,000 and 130,000 men.
The heroes of the Trojan War, however, are usually described in terms of the opposing heroes they killed, and Hector is said to have killed 30 Achaean heroes, including Menesthes, Eioneus, and Trechus. Hector is best remembered for his fights with three Greek heroes, Ajax (the Greater), Patroclus and Achilles.
Hector’s Battles with Ajax
With his anger aroused by Paris’ failure to fight Menelaus, Hector seeks to end the war quickly, and sends a challenge to the Achaean army, demanding that the bravest of the assembled heroes go out to meet him in combat.
Hector’s prowess results in some reluctance among the assembled Achaean heroes to test themselves in single combat with him. Recognizing that they could not decline the challenge, several volunteers finally appeared, and eventually drew lots, with Ajax the Great (Ajax Telamonianus), leaving the camp of the Achaeans to fight Hector.
The fight proves to be long and exhausting, and goes on until nightfall. Hector and Ajax have shown that they are not on equal footing with either man capable of gaining a significant advantage.
Hector and Ajax finally agree to suspend hostilities, resulting in a fight between them. Both the Trojan and the Greek are taken with each other’s courage and skill, and so gifts are exchanged between the two heroes. Hector gives Ajax a sword, while he receives from his opponent a girdle; later in the war, both gifts received would be linked to the death of their new owners.
Hector kills patrol
The Trojan War would drag on, with Achaean forces unable to breach the walls of Troy. Other cities allied to Troy would fall, but this only led to disagreement between Achilles’ heroes, and the division of the spoils between Agamemnon and Achilles after one such victory caused Achilles to withdraw from the battlefield and refuse to rejoin.
The absence of Achilles from the ranks of the Achaeans galvanized the Trojan defenders, and counterattacks now emerged from Troy. One such attack saw the Trojans close to the burning of Achilles’ ships, and still refused to fight.
Achilles, however, agreed to lend his divinely designed armor to his closest friend, Patroclus; and at the head of the Myrmidons, Patroclus ensures that the ships are not destroyed. Achilles expected Patroclus to return immediately after defending the ships, but Patroclus moves on, and thus encounters Hector among the Trojan forces.
The use of Achilles’ armor did not endow Patroclus with the skill of the greatest warrior of the Achaeans, and Patroclus proved not to have the ability to fight on equal terms with Hector; and Patroclus soon lies dead, pricked by this hero’s spear. Hector removes Achilles’ armor from Patroclus, but Patroclus’ body is left intact due to the defense of Ajax the Great and Menelaus.
Hector and Achilles
Hector’s success against Patroclus proves to be a turning point in the war, but not a turn in favor of the Trojans. Death Patroclus sees Achilles emerge from his tent, don a new suit of armor and enter the battlefield once again.
Initially Hector stays behind the walls of Troy because a prophecy had been made that Hector would die at the hands of Achilles. He observes the death of many Trojan soldiers and his sense of duty sees him once again enter the battlefield.
Achilles and Hector are destined to meet, but the gods are also interfering, because Athena is helping Achilles, for in addition to bringing weapons to Achilles, Athena also tricks Hector into believing he has help.
Realizing that he is doomed, Hector decides to make his death memorable and glorious, and taking up his sword attacks Achilles, where he is felled by Achilles’ spear, which pierces his neck. With the fall of Hector, Troy has lost its greatest defender, and also its last hope.
Death of Hector
The death of Hector. Returning to the battle, Hector met and fought the Greek champion Ajax in single combat. The duel continued until nightfall, with neither hero gaining victory. long epic poem about legendary or historical heroes, written in a grand style.
The scene on this vase shows Achilles attaching the body of Hector to a chariot. Achilles dragged the body through the city, preventing the Trojans from performing a proper funeral. When fighting resumed between Greeks and Trojans, Hector and his forces seemed invincible. Hector killed many Greeks and managed to drive them back to the defenses they had built around their ships.
Hector was about to burn the Greek ships when the god Poseidon appeared, urging the Greeks to unite and defend themselves. At the same time, the Greek warrior Patroclus, Achilles’ beloved friend, entered the battle in Achilles’ armor. Believing that Achilles had returned, the Greeks rallied and drove back the Trojans. But then Hector, under the protection of the god Apollo, killed Patroclus and took the armor he was wearing.
Upon hearing of his friend’s death, Achilles re-entered the battle and turned his fury on Hector. Achilles chased Hector around the walls of Troy three times before catching him. Aware that Hector was destined to die at Achilles’ hands, Apollo abandoned him and allowed Achilles to strike a mortal blow.
Death
As he lay dying, Hector begged Achilles to return his body to his father, Priam. Achilles refused. Hector predicted that Achilles would also die very soon. After his death, Achilles tied the warrior’s body to a chariot and dragged the body around Troy before the grief-stricken eyes of the Trojans. He then dragged the body around the tomb of his friend Patroclus.
When Achilles’ fury and vengeance were finally satisfied, he left the body of this herooe on the ground to be devoured by dogs and birds of prey. The abuse of the dead Hector enraged Zeus, who sent a messenger to order Achilles to release the corpse to Priam. He also sent a message to Priam to offer a ransom for the body to Achilles. Priam did so and begged the Greek warrior for the body of his son. Moved by Priam’s grief, Achilles agreed.
Invincible and too powerful to be conquered Priam returned Hector’s body to Troy, and an 11-day truce allowed the Trojans to organize an elaborate funeral to mourn their great warrior.
Hector’s funeral marks the conclusion of the Iliad, as well as the beginning of the end for the Trojans. They later suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of the Greeks. After the fall of Troy, the Greeks killed his son, Astyanax, fearing that he would try to avenge his father’s death. Thereafter, the surviving Trojans honored him as one of their greatest heroes.
