Hector, Hero of Troy

"Deep in my heart I know the day is coming when Troy will be destroyed."
- Hector to Andromache, Homer, Iliad, 6.445

Let’s talk about the Trojan War. It should have fun to watch this one. I
have to admit: even I thought ten years was too long. I am the all knowing, all seeing Zeus,
so I could sit here and bore you with all the details of the war, but not much happened in the
first eight years. It was war! Greeks died! Trojans died! No
one was really winning. It was the ninth year of the war when things
began to get interesting.

The Greeks were led by Agamemnon, King of Mycenae and brother to
Menelaus. King Priam was the commander and supreme leader of the Trojan
armies, but Hector, Priam's son, was the one remembered for his valor in
battle. Hector was the oldest son of Hecuba and Priam. He was expected to
take the throne when Priam died. He was one of the noblest and bravest
warriors of all time. I will admit Hector was one of my favorite humans. Hector
did not approve of the war, but he knew that the people of Troy looked to him to bring
victory. Hector rightfully blamed Paris for bringing the Greek army to Trojan shores.
Despite his reservations, Hector acted to defend Troy without delay.

The Greek ships sail for Troy

When Agamemnon raided Apollo's temple and took the priest's daughter, Apollo
took offense to this act. Apollo inflicted a plague upon the Greek army
and Agamemnon was forced to return the girl to her father. Because of his arrogance, Agamemnon
took the concubine of Achilles to replace the girl. Achilles was so angry that he withdrew from battle.
Achilles was the greatest warrior within the Greek army. He was needed on the battlefield if the
Greeks were going to win. Achilles was so angry at Agamemnon that he wanted the
Greeks to lose. So he sent his mother to ask that Trojan army win many battles
in his absence. I granted her wish and gave favor to the Trojans. I
also decreed that no other god could favor the Greeks until Achilles rejoined
the battle.

With the absence of Achilles, the two armies came to a standstill until one day
Hector finally berated his brother Paris for avoiding the battle that Paris had caused. Paris challenged
Menelaus to a duel, and whoever won would take Helen home and the war would be over.
Hector agreed and arranged the duel.

Menelaus was a better and more skilled warrior than Paris,
so Paris was losing the fight. Menelaus had Paris by the
horsehair on the crest of his helmet, ready to kill Paris
when Aphrodite broke the horsehair and took Paris away from the battle.
She took Paris to his bedchambers where she made Helen remain with him.

The Trojan War

The war continued with a major fight between Ajax and Hector.
The fight ended in a draw since both warriors were evenly skilled. With respect for
the dead, both armies collected the bodies and called a truce for the night. The
Greeks took the opportunity to build a wall on the beach in defense against
the Trojans.

The next day, Hector led his army to the beaches and attacked the Greeks, but
the wall hindered their plan. In frustration, Hector then devised a plan
to return the next day and burn the Greek ships. If not for the rain,
that plan would have failed too. I must admit, I like rain.

Hector was almost successful in his campaign. He reached the ships, but
only burned one. This is partly my fault. Yes, I forbade any of the
gods to interfere during the absence of Achilles, but my eyes were elsewhere when
Posideon gave the Greeks a renewed spirit to fight and the Trojans were
forced to pull back.

A turning point in the war that gave favor back to the Greeks was when Patroclus,
dear friend of Achilles, came into the battle wearing Achilles' armor.
Mistaking Patroclus for Achilles, Hector made his way into combat with
Patroclus. With the assistance of Apollo, Hector killed Patroclus.
Hector removed the helmet to look upon his victim and realized his
mistake. Afterward, Hector took the armor that Patroclus wore, put it on,
and rallied the Trojans. I thought that was very arrogant of
Hector. I did not approve, but it gave Hector strength and gave
Achilles more reason to be angry.

Achilles was beside himself with rage. He sought out Hector. Hector
did not want to face Achilles. He tried to hide. Athena disguised herself
as Hector's brother Deiphobus to convince Hector to turn back and face
Achilles. Hector realized that there was no turning back. Achilles
would not stop until he killed Hector. Hector asked Deiphobus to make
sure his body was returned to Priam. Achilles attacked throwing a spear at
Hector who dodged it. Athena then put the spear back in Achilles' hand.
Hector threw a spear of his own and hit Achilles' shield. When he turned to
Deiphobus to get another spear, Deiphobus was gone. Hector knew at that
moment that the gods favored Achilles. Hector drew his sword and charged
at Achilles. Since Hector was wearing Achilles' armor, Achilles knew
exactly where the weakness was in the armor. He took the spear that
Athena gave to him and stabbed Hector in the throat. Before Hector died,
he told Achilles that Paris and Apollo would avenge his death.

Achilles' rage did not stop. Achilles tied Hector's body to his chariot
and dragged the body around for twelve days. With the assistance of Hermes,
messenger of the gods, Priam went to Achilles and tearfully begged for the
return of his son's body. He asked Achilles to think about the love between
Achilles and his own father, Peleus. Moved by Priam's words, Achilles gave the body
back and Hector was given a proper burial.

It’s a shame that such a great man had to die.


Triumph of Achilles in Corfu Achilleion

Author's Note: The Iliad is a classic tale, and very hard to sum up in thousand words. Hector is the hero of Troy, so his death was something that was very detrimental to the Trojan people.
I chose to tell the story of Hector because he is considered one of the Nine Worthies. The Nine Worthies were nine figures of mythology, history and legendary status who personified chivalry. This list also includes Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, David, and King Arthur. Hector was recognized for his courage and heroic character.
Hector is a key figure in the Iliad and is the pillar of Troy. Even though he knows his fate is decreed by the gods, Hector gives his all in the war. He was known not to take long breaks or drink wine during his breaks. He didn't want anything to hinder his judgment or his courage. Even through all of the battles, Hector also made sure he was clean when he went to the temple to pray to the gods.
Hector was also a family man, but I made no mention of his wife Andromache and son Astyanax, who are featured in the first image. I assume that Hector loved his family very much. In the Iliad there is a scene where Andromache with Astyanax in her arms, begs Hector to not go to battle. He tells her that he knows that Troy is doom. He hugs and kisses his wife and son before going to war. Andromache survived the war and escape from Troy, but there are conflicting stories as to what happened to Astyanax. In many of the eariler stories including Ovid's Metamorphoses, Astyanax is thrown from the walls of Troy by the Greek soldiers. Later in the Middle Ages, Astyanax was saved or hidden from the Greek soldiers and escaped Troy.
This time around I wanted to include images of the war, but I was not able to find any paintings. So I used images from the 2004 movie, Troy. I only used images that depicted the war, and not any of the characters. The movie makers did a great job of bringing this story to life, especially when the Greek army sails to Troy. The image of the Greek ships starts with a couple and as the camera backs up, you see the thousands of ships that make the voyage.
I also included more of the divine intervention of the gods in the story. Each of the gods favored one side or the other for different reasons. For example, the reference of Zeus' attention being distracted when Hector tried to burn the Greek ships was actually a plan of Hera and Posideon. While Hera tried to seduce Zeus, Posideon gave the Greeks more courage to fight. Also, Aphrodite favored the Trojans because Paris had chosen her as the fairest goddess. This is the reason she chose to save him from Menelaus. I wanted the readers to know how the gods intervened to make sure that their decree would come true.

Bibliography
Story: The Iliad
Author: Homer
Book: The Iliad
Published: 800 B.C.E.
Web Source: Massachusets Institute of Technology

Other Sources:
Hector by Carlos Parada from Greek Mythology Link
Hector at Wikipedia.org

Images:
Les Adieux d'Andromaque et d'Hector by Joseph Marie Vien, 1786. Source: Le Projet Utpictura18
The Achaean ships sail to Troy, Image from the movie, Troy (2004). Source: The Armchair General
The Trojan War, Image from the movie Troy (2004). Source: Downloads Portal