An Exulted Hector

            We have had many class discussions regarding Hector and his evolution throughout the Iliad. While many of my peers have admitted to having first liked Hector in books 5 and 6, by books 12 and 13 many of them had changed their minds. They claim that his cockiness (13.868- and his disregard for advice (12.238-57) present a very different hero than the tender, kind, and thoughtful hero that first emerged in book 5. Indeed, some of my classmates have even claimed that the redemption of Hector’s character at his funeral in book 24, which is highlighted through the speeches of Andromache, Hecuba, and Helen who speak of his bravery, his piety, and his kindness (24.797-830), is only due to the fact that “you only remember the good things about the deceased at his funeral.”

However, in my opinion Hector has always remained the most valiant hero throughout the epic. While I cannot deny that books 12 and 13 paint a darker more sporadic picture of the calm and composed hero we first met in book 5, I believe that Homer hints at Hector’s actions in books 12 and 13 as understandable. Indeed, even Zeus’ message to Hector in book 11 explains why Hector acts as chaotically as he does in books 12 and 13;  

“As long as you see Lord Agamemnon storming through the ranks and laying them low you should hold back and order other troops to engage the enemy. But when at last Agamemnon is wounded…then will Zeus loan you the strength to kill and keep killing until you come to the thwarted ships.” (11.218-25).  

If such a direct sign from the father of the gods is not enough to make any sane man explode with confidence, the fact that book 7 marks the first time in 10 years the Trojans have posed a great enough threat to the Greeks that they have felt the need to build a wall definitely should be.

            Furthermore, Hector is the only warrior throughout the entire poem who receives a lengthy and emotional scene between him and his family. It is through this beautiful scene (6.412-6.528) that we realize how much Hector has to lose. Thus, by detailing Hector’s beautiful family and by expressing the fact that Zeus delivered a message to Hector saying that he would bequeath upon Hector enough strength to destroy the Greeks, something that has not even been conceivable for the past 10 years, Homer is assuring the audience that Hector’s actions are understandable. Surely any commander who has a beautiful family to protect and has for the first time in a decade come close to crushing his enemy would surely take the chance, no matter how much it cost him. Moreover, the fact that Homer ends the poem with Hector’s glorifying funeral must count for something. Lastly, I do not agree with some of my classmates that Hector is only remembered in a positive light at his funeral particularly because it is his funeral. I think he is remembered so fondly at the end of the poem because that is how Homer wants us to remember him – as an exulted hero.