The Iliad celebrates the exploits of some of the most famous Greek heroes, but perhaps the most memorable character to appear in the epic poem is the Trojan warrior Hector. Throughout the poem we get the impression that Homer treats Hector as a unique character who should be regarded differently from Greek heroes. While characters like Achilles and Diomedes fight thousands of miles from their homelands to achieve glory and make a name for themselves, Hector fights to protect and defend his family and the Trojan homeland that lies just an instant away from battle. In Book VI he tells his wife Andromache that he fights to prevent her from being forced into slavery by the Achaean armies. No other character in the poem gives us such a touching glimpse into their personal lives and innermost feelings. In this scene, as well as in many others, we see Hector as something different than the other heroes of the poem; he appears to us both as a powerful and fearsome warrior and as a loving and compassionate "human" who inevitably runs towards his tragic destiny. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The first time we are truly introduced to the character of Hector is in book 3, when he berates his brother Paris for running away from Menelaus. In this scene we see Hector as a brother, which introduces a recurring theme of Hector appearing in many different types of relationships with people; later we will see him as a husband, a father, a son and a leader of men. As Paris' brother, Hector does not hold back in his frequent disgust at Paris's many less than heroic actions. In this particular scene, Hector is obviously unhappy with Paris' cowardice and has no reservations about showing it. In his relationship with Paris, Hector clearly looks down on his younger brother and treats him with contempt, but we also get a sense of a kind of brotherly love and human care. Hector constantly criticizes Paris' actions, but he does so because he wants Paris to act more like a man. In this particular case, Hector's display of disgust shames Paris enough for him to find the courage to face Menelaus. Hector has managed to get what he wants from Paris; that is, taking more responsibility for his actions and acting more heroically as his position as a Trojan prince demands. Hector once again rebukes Paris' actions in book 6 when Hector returns to Troy for a brief respite from the fighting. In this scene, Paris makes love to Helen while he should be helping the Trojan cause, considering that it was his kidnapping of Helen that unleashed the fury of the Greek armies in the first place. This scene is a further characterization of Hector's attitude towards Paris; however, Book 6 also contains many other events that further flesh out Hector's character and relationship with other people. Hector's mother, Hecuba, is the first person to greet him upon his return to Troy. Their relationship is one of love and familial bonding and they both treat each other with mutual care and compassion. While their interaction may not be as nuanced as Hector's relationship with Paris, Hecuba's greeting to Hector is extremely important in the poem because he is the first person she sees after he leaves the battlefield. Homer immediately contrasts the brutality of war with loving family bonds by having Hector interact with his mother so soon after leaving the battlefield. This reminder of the humanity of the warriors is crucial to the emotional undercurrent of the poem. In book 6, we also find Hector whomeets Elena for the first time. Their relationship is interesting; Hector could easily harbor resentment and contempt for the woman who causes so much pain, yet he doesn't seem to single her out or blame her. Perhaps he also resists some kind of step made by Helen, who asks him to sit with her because she feels pity for him as he is the one most affected by the fighting she has caused. But Hector proves that he is above the pettiness of self-pity or any other distraction that will make him lose focus. The strength of Hector's determination is clearly illustrated here, as he wants to see his wife and newborn son and will not be bothered by trivial things. This is in stark contrast to Paris, who is easily influenced and attracted by his own desires and who constantly tries to take the easy way out. The scene between Hector, his wife, and his son is one of the most powerful and moving passages in the Iliad. . Here we clearly see Hector as a family man capable of the same love that all husbands and fathers normally demonstrate. Perhaps Homer is using Hector as an example for all the warriors in the poem because they all have families and personal stories behind their exploits on the battlefield. Homer reminds us of the humanity of the soldiers by showing Hector with his family here; however, because he is the only character who is actually given this personal insight, Hector seems to stand out from the other main characters in the poem. Andromache begs Hector to abstain from battle because she has lost her father and brother at the hands of the mighty Achilles, and Hector is now all she has left. But Hector knows that she will be in more danger if she stays away from the fighting, and he confesses to her that the desire to avoid being taken away as a slave is the main driving force of his fighting spirit. This seems quite unusual to us for such a great fighter, because deep down he doesn't seem to be a warrior but a loving husband. While we are never given specific insight into the inner psyche of most of the Iliad's other great fighters, we are generally led to believe that their pursuit of glory and honor is what drives them to excel in war. Homer separates Hector in this way because he shows him fighting for what he loves and wants to protect, and this perhaps creates a deeper bond between us and Hector because his reasons for fighting have more qualities of simple humanity than heroism. Hector's relationship with his son Astyanax also helps separate him as a character. In an absolutely unforgettable scene, Hector raises his newborn son to the sky and proclaims that he wants his son to grow up to be bigger than him. In a poem full of characters with incredible egos and stubborn pride, here is a humiliating statement made by one of the most powerful of his warriors. This may be the most humane and compassionate of all Hector's actions; he doesn't care so much about satisfying his soldier's ego as about wanting the best for his son. The theme of a father who loves and desires more for his son than he has for himself is a universal human feeling that spans the course of human history. Homer created a lot of empathy for Hector because he appears to us not simply as a great warrior but as someone who shares the same values ​​as most ordinary men. While there are many examples in the Iliad that show Hector as an ordinary human being, most of his time in the poem is spent with him as the great and fearsome warrior for which he is traditionally known. In book 7, he challenges the Achaean troops to send their best warrior to face him in a duel to the death. Hector's challenge partly illustrates his brazen and courageous attitudewhen it comes to fighting, and also shows that he has as much desire for fame and glory as the other warriors. Here we also discover how much the Greeks respected and feared his abilities, as Homer writes: "A subdued silence ran through all the ranks of the Achaeans, ashamed to refuse, fearful of accepting his challenge..." (Iliad 7,106-107). In the end, the Achaeans decide to draw lots among their best warriors to choose who will fight the mighty Hector, and Great Ajax is defeated. chosen and duels with the man until he stops him. One function of this scene is for Homer to establish Hector's valor and fame on the battlefield, establishing him as equal to or better than all the great Greek warriors except Achilles. Although there are many other Trojan warriors that Homer describes as brilliant, there are none that he truly puts on the same level as the Greek heroes, with the exception of Hector. Of all the heroes of the poem, there is perhaps none so beloved by the king of Troy. The gods Zeus as Hector is. It is Zeus who helps Hector rout the Achaeans in book 8 and return them to their ships. It is also Zeus' love for Hector that partially allows him, in Book 14, to burn one of the Greek ships and threaten to end the war right there. In all these passages, Hector carries everything before him, clearly towering above all other soldiers on the battlefield and striking the fear of death deep into the hearts and minds of the Greeks. But the real reason Zeus allows this is because it is the will of fate; he will let Hector and the Trojans drive the Achaeans back to their ships only because he will force Achilles back into battle. From that moment on, the Trojans will be driven back into the walls of Troy by Achilles, and their city will eventually fall. Hector knows this is his city's fate, yet he is too deluded by its greatness and pride to accept it. The tragic elements of Hector's story begin to emerge in full force now; he fails to see that he is simply an instrument of the gods and destiny, and this is what will ultimately lead to his downfall. This is understandable, though, because Hector is too great a character to lie down and accept the will of the gods. In this way Homer perhaps further shows Hector's humanity; we are all subject to forces beyond our control, yet it is how we live our lives in the face of these forces that shapes our character and determines what kind of people we are. Hector's fall begins around the events of book 16, in which Patroclus dons Achilles' armor and brings the Myrmidons back into battle. Hector's pride and self-delusion begin to get the better of him in this book, as he kills Patroclus, strips him of his armor, and threatens to drag his body to Troy. Hector is unable to comprehend the fact that it was the work of the gods that caused Patroclus' death, and his defiance is further shown in his donning of Achilles' armor and his threat to mutilate Patroclus' body. Homer foreshadows Hector's tragic fate; Hector has donned the armor of Achilles, a much greater fighter, and intends to drag Patroclus' body to Troy as a warning to the Greek armies. In book 22, Hector will be struck down by Achilles, who will then drag his body to the Achaean camps as punishment for Patroclus' death. If Hector is a tragic hero, his tragic flaw would be his stubbornness in accepting the force of fate and his delusional belief in a Trojan victory. But beneath these defects are the works of understandable human feelings; Hector does all of this because of his desire to protect Troy, his people, and his family. In book 18, Hector makes a glaring error of judgment for which he and the Trojans will pay dearly. Insteadto listen to Polydamas, who says that with the return of Achilles the Trojan army should return to their city where it is less dangerous, Hector stubbornly refuses to leave and keeps his army camped on the field, close to the Achaean forces. Hector fails to see that Achilles' fury will soon be unleashed and that man's wrath, previously directed at Agamemnon, will now be concentrated and supported by his shoulders. Thousands of Trojan soldiers will soon die due to Hector's mistake, partially caused by Hector's self-isolation from his comrades and reality. Hector isolating himself from his peers somehow parallels Achilles' isolation from society. However, Achilles was fueled by his own divine energy by anger and by the offense to his pride; Hector has been blinded by the success that Zeus has granted him and does not want to give up the hope that Troy can be saved from ruin. Hector's death in book 22 of the Iliad can be seen as the climax of the epic poem, furthermore illustrating the incredible importance that Hector's story has on the work. Hector standing alone ready to meet Achilles outside the gates of Troy is one of the most symbolically significant events of the poem. Here these two contrasting elements, who serve as the poem's main characters, meet in an arena and battlefield separated by simple war. Together, their meeting seems to occur beyond the simple physical world and exists on an artistic plane where two polar forces collide with each other to determine the literary outcome of the poem. Before meeting Achilles, Homer gives us one last look at Hector as a son, as both his parents Priam and Hecuba plead with him to take refuge behind the walls of Troy. But Hector cannot hear their cries, for there are far greater forces forcing him to stand tall and face Achilles.2E In one of the most brutally honest insights into his inner self, Hector debates what course of action he should take . He realizes that he alone is responsible for what has happened, saying, "Now my army is ruined, because of my reckless pride" (Iliad 22:124). The awareness of this heightens the tragic quality of Hector's fall. For one last time, Hector attempts to delay his fate by fleeing from Achilles when he first sees him, allowing himself to be chased three times around the walls of Troy. It is only through Athena's deception that Hector turns to face his tormentor; perhaps demonstrating that in the end Hector is still reluctant to accept the course of life that fate has ordained for him2E Even if he does not want to accept his death, he still faces it valiantly and heroically, and perhaps finally embraces it when he says, "The My time has come! Finally the gods have called me to death." (Iliad 22.350-351). But even in this acceptance there are still hints of the strength of Hector's resolve and his rebellion against fate. Just before rushing to duel Achilles, Hector proudly proclaims: "Well, let me die, but not without struggle, not without glory..." (Iliad 22.359-360). Even in the face of his own death, Hector stubbornly clings to the hope that he is stronger than the forces that control men's lives and that he can perhaps kill Achilles and save Troy. Therefore, his death at the hands of Achilles is the most touching and tragic of all the many deaths that occur in the Iliad. Hector's death effectively symbolizes the fate of Troy itself. Although the war continues, Troy will soon be sacked and destroyed now that its guardian Hector has been killed. The poem does not narrate the fall of Troy; the last act of war he deals with is the death of Hector. This fact further separates Hector from the rest of the warriors; not even Achilles.