Character: Hector Flashcards
What does Prof Richard Jenkins argue Hector to be ?
- He is an ordinary man being a father, wife and a son- imbedded in ordinary society
- shows an ordinariness however Homer uses him to show an ordinariness and see the inside
- Book 22 internal monologue knowing he will die and people will die: mental conflict and resolution
- allows us to image how we might feel in this situation because he is portrayed as more ordinary
What does Hector argue his heroic code to be in book 6?
In book 6, Hector explains to Andromache why has to return to the battlefield
- he would ‘feel deep shame’ if he did not return
- For Hector what drives him is the shame that would be expected if he did not fight
- Moroever, he fights for personal Kleos ‘to win glory for my father and myself’ on top of the respect for his family
- it’s a deeply personal matter where heroes do not only fight for themselves but their family as well
What does Hector say in book 22 before going out and fighting Achilles ?
how shame on a hero, damage to his timé is a driving factor
- both Priam then Hecabe, his M&F, beg him not to fight Achilles and they know the disastrous consequences; Hectors death, the fall of Troy and the ruin of everything he loves
- Hector’s response: if he does not fight Achilles he feels shame as Polydamas will blame him, the deaths of Trojans and the view of the Trojan men and women
- As Prof R. Jenkyns argues the terror of shame and his duty to the heroic code force him to fight Achilles
- the persuet of virtue becoming the great warrior
How is Hectors death made tragic by our prior understanding of the women of Troy ?
Book 6
- Hector goes back to Troy meets with the three most improtant women in his life
- Hecabe his mother Helen his sister in law and Andromache his wife with his son
- view into the life that could have been which highlights the pathos of a hero’s death
How is Hectors death symbolic ?
Book 22
- the death of Hector itself is key moment Ilium itself was ‘smouldering from top to bottom’
- Hectors life is symbolic of the life to Troy
- death is elevated to become symbolic of the wider survival and contortion of Troy
- incredibly poignant and tragic as Homer thinly veils the impeding destruction of Troy as Hector was the last line of defence holding Ilium up
How do we sympathy for Hector in what Andromaches plea ?
Book 6
- Andromache makes a poignant and moving plea to Hector
- Andromache looks ahead to what her fate will be once Hector dies as he is her ‘father and mother and brother..[and] Husband’
- she is the sole person he depends upon
- however, Hectors response is all the important as it shows an awareness of this from both male and female
- ‘much more the thought of you’ is what saddens him about his death
- Hector is more moved by the fate that will be Andromache taken as a slave than rather than his own death
- demonstrates how contingent women are on men adding a truly depressing layer of pathos to Hector’s death
How is Hector assisted by the gods ?
Book 22
- Zeus debates saving Hector from his death or prolonging it
- He compliments Hector saying he grieves for him calling him a ‘good man’ and he that he had ‘burnt the things of many oxen’ in his honour
- Adds pathos to his death as Zeus himself is inclined to save Hector and his heroic timé is well deserved in the eyes of the gods as Zeus would not consider saving a hero he deemed unworthy of this assistance
Book 23
- Apollo’s and Aphrodite both intervene to stop Hectors body from being ravaged by the gods and burnt by the sun
- Many hero’s would expect support from only one patron god where as Hector receives support from three
- Continued support from the multiple gods deomstrates his status as a mortal worthy of the heroic title
How is Hector’s treatment after death tragic ?
book 22
- Firstly, Hectors body is stabbed and hacked at by the Greeks who remind us of his past kleos as a great warrior saying he is easier to stab them when he ‘set the ships do fire’
- Hectors body is then ‘foully maltreated’ by Achilles who disputes his body and drags it from behind his chariot
- Even Homer himself expresses dismay and disapproval over this in his description and we too as readers feel disgusted hearing this visceral and graphic description
- added element of pathos from Hector’s plea in death begging Achilles to return his body to his father
- disrespected in death in a gruesome and violent act
- Greeks would have disapproved this as it demonstrates a lack of the heroic quality of self control
How is the reaction of Hectors family tragic ?
book 22
- We are guided by Homer through the reactions of all of his family
- First Hecabe wails and screams
- Next, Priam grovels around in the dung before making a tragic attempt at going out to supplicate the ‘inhuman monster’ which appeals to a reader who can appreciate this bitter and tragic paternal care for their child
- Lastly, Andromache faints upon seeing the body of her dead husband
- Made all the more poignant as we are reminded that Hector is leaving behind his Father, mother, wife and his son
- Moreover, Homer’s subtle comment that it was like ‘Ilium was smouldering from the top up’ reminds us as an audience that the destruction of Troy linking Hectors life to the life to Troy
- layer of tragedy to his death as Greek audience know that they will be killed or taken slave
How is Hector described by the Greeks ?
book 3
- Agamemnon commands the Greeks to stop firing their arrows as Hector is about to make a speech
- Agamemnon demonstrates his respect for Hector by entertaining his proposal and allowing him safe guard to make it
book 9
- Odysseus describes to Achilles the danger the Greek army is in
- He tells Achilles that ‘Hector is running wild, elated and irresistible’
- Hector is clearly described by Homer to be from the Greek point of view a formidable and respected hero who is unstoppable in driving the Greeks back
- clearly Hector has a sizeable degree of heroic timé his status as such as not disputed from the point of view of his enemies
How is Hector described as a leader by the Trojans ?
Book 17
- Glaucus criticises him as a leader describes him as having a ‘heroic reputation [that] hides a coward’
- Although Glaucus is motivated by his anger at the death of Patroclus his criticism are important as the Trojan allies do not see Hector to be demonstrating the qualities of a hero
How is Hector described physically ?
Book 17
- In his criticism of Hector he describes him as having ‘wonderful looks’ which is a conventionally heroic trait
- however this is overshadowed as he tells Hector he is ‘useless in battle’
What does Barbara Graziosi argue ?
Hector has no choice
He can either be shamed and loose his kleos and glory for himself, his family and Troy
Or
Uphold this honour but die but for Hector his glory is irrelevant instead he would rather die than see Andromache a slave
