HECTOR

Right: This is a model for the statue of Hector created by Italian sculptor Antonio Canova (1757-1822).

Hector is one of the main characters in the stories of the Trojan War.

A Trojan prince and elder brother of Paris, he was viewed even by his ancient Greek enemies as being noble, honest, and fearsome in battle.

Hector was the eldest of the many children of King Priam of Troy. Although it was another of Priam’s sons, Paris, who triggered the Trojan War by running away with Helen, wife of Spartan king Menelaus, the ancient Greeks viewed Hector with respect and admiration. He was their enemy, but he was also a figure of great courage and principle. The Greeks also believed that there was ill feeling between the brothers and that Hector criticized Paris for abducting Helen, even though his loyalty to his brother and his city then led him to fight for Paris’s cause.

During the Trojan War, Hector was the leader of the Trojan forces in their battle against the besieging Greeks. Yet Hector’s story is more than simply a tale of military might; it also emphasizes the importance the ancient Greeks placed on the institution of the family. In Homer’s Iliad, thought to date from around 800 BCE, there is one emotional scene in particular when Hector, fresh from his feats on the battlefield, enjoys a happy moment with his wife, Andromache, and their young

Son, Astyanax. Later in the story Homer also tells of the deep grief felt by Andromache and the Trojans in general at the news of Hector’s death.