Hector

Also known as: Hector son of Priam / Priam's son / Priam’s son / great Hector / noble Hector / son of Priam · Family: Trojans · Role: warrior · First appears: BOOK I

🌐 Also appears in: Greek Mythology — A Family Orrery (as Hector) · The Aeneid (as Hector) · The Metamorphoses of Ovid (as Hector) · Greek Tragedy — The Same Myth, Three Voices (as Hector)

In Book II, Hector, son of Priam, broke up the Trojan assembly, and the Trojans armed for battle. In Book VI, his brother Helenus sent him and Aeneas to rally the defenders of Ilius; Hector did so, and the Trojans faced the Achaeans. In Book VII he killed Eioneus, then fought Ajax son of Telamon until nightfall. The two exchanged gifts and parted in friendship.

In Books VIII and XII, Hector led the Trojans through the Achaean defenses, broke open the wall’s gates, and fought against Teucer and Diomed; his charioteers Eniopeus and Archeptolemus were killed. In Book X he sent Dolon to scout the Achaean ships, and in Book XI renewed the assault after Agamemnon left the field. After Apollo restored his strength in Book XV, Hector pressed the attack on the ships. In Book XVI, after Euphorbus wounded Patroclus, Hector delivered the fatal spear thrust. In Book XVII he took Achilles’ armour from Patroclus and put it on.

In Book XVIII, Antilochus told Achilles that Patroclus had fallen and Hector had taken his armour; Achilles then vowed to pursue Hector. Hector rejected Polydamas’s counsel to withdraw and ordered the Trojans to fight around the ships. In Book XXII he refused the pleas of his parents, Priam and Hecuba, and stood outside Ilius to face Achilles. Minerva, disguised as his brother Deiphobus, persuaded him to stop fleeing; Achilles fatally wounded him with a spear. Achilles stripped his armour and dragged his body away, while Hector’s death left his son Astyanax fatherless. In Book XXIV, after Priam ransomed the body, the Trojans gathered Hector’s bones and buried them beneath a barrow.