Hector is the son of Priam and Hecuba, the main Trojan hero in the Iliad. About Hector's participation in hostilities in the early years of the war, sources only report that Protesilaus, who first entered the Trojan land, fell from the hands of Hector. Hector became famous in the tenth year of the war. As Priam's eldest son and his immediate successor, he leads the Trojans' warfare, himself distinguished by strength and heroism. Twice Hector enters into single combat with Ajax Telamonides, the most powerful Achaean hero after Achilles (Homer "Iliad", VII 181-305; XIV 402-439). Under the leadership of Hector, the Trojans break into the fortified camp of the Achaeans, approach the Achaean ships and manage to set one of them on fire. Hector also manages to slay Patroclus in front of the very gates of Troy and pull off the armor of Achilles from the slain. After Achilles entered the battle, Hector, despite the pleas of his parents, remains with him in the field alone and dies in a duel at the Skean gate, predicting the imminent death of Achilles himself. The latter, obsessed with a thirst for revenge for Patroclus, binds the body of the slain Hector to his chariot and circles around Troy, dragging the corpse of the slain enemy. Although in the future Achilles continues to desecrate the body of Hector, neither predatory animals nor decay touches him; the dead Hector is protected by Apollo, whose help Hector repeatedly used during his lifetime. God twice returned his strength in duels with Ajax, helped Hector during a duel with Achilles, until the lot of fate indicated the inevitability of Hector's death.

The support given to Hector by Apollo served in the post-Homeric tradition as a pretext for the claim that Hector was the son of God himself. Apollo is the first to raise his voice in defense of the murdered Hector at the council of the gods, after which Achilles receives an order from Zeus to hand over the body of the murdered Priam, who arranges an honorable funeral for his son.

Researchers of the ancient Greek epic have long drawn attention to the fact that no other events of the Trojan War are associated with the name of Hector, except those depicted in the Iliad. The tomb of Hector was shown not at Troas, but at Thebes; this makes it possible to speculate that Hector was originally a Boeotian hero, and that his battle with Achilles originally took place on Greek soil. Only relatively late was the image of Hector included in the circle of legends about the Trojan War, in which Hector, more than any other hero, personifies the idea of ​​patriotic duty. This is probably why the image of Hector enjoys great sympathy from the author of the Iliad. With special warmth, Hector is depicted in the famous scene of farewell to his wife Andromache

, Gehlen

Sisters: Creusa, Laodice, Polyxena, Cassandra, Ilion Hector Hector

The protagonist of the tragedies of Euripides "Alexander", Pseudo-Euripides "Res", Astidamant the Younger "Hector", the tragedy of Nevi "Hector outgoing".

The asteroid (624) Hector, discovered in 1907, is named in honor of Hector.

In popular culture In medieval France, where modern playing cards ("classical" or "French") appeared around the 14th century, "pictures" (cards with characters - kings, queens and jacks) were associated with certain historical or legendary characters. Jack of Diamonds matched Hector.

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Excerpt from Hector

On the same evening, as the prince was giving orders to Alpatych, Desal, demanding a meeting from Princess Marya, told her that since the prince was not completely healthy and did not take any measures for his safety, and from the letter of Prince Andrei it was clear that his stay in Bald Mountains unsafe, he respectfully advises her to write a letter with Alpatych to the head of the province in Smolensk with a request to notify her of the state of affairs and the degree of danger that Bald Mountains are exposed to. Desalles wrote a letter to the governor for Princess Marya, which she signed, and this letter was given to Alpatych with the order to submit it to the governor and, in case of danger, return as soon as possible.
Having received all the orders, Alpatych, escorted by his family, in a white downy hat (a prince's gift), with a stick, just like the prince, went out to sit in a leather wagon, pledged by a trio of well-fed Savras.
The bell was tied up, and the bells were covered with pieces of paper. The prince did not allow anyone to ride with a bell in Bald Hills. But Alpatych loved bells and bells on a long journey. The courtiers of Alpatych, the Zemsky, the clerk, the cook - black, white, two old women, a Cossack boy, coachmen and various courtyards saw him off.
The daughter put down chintz pillows behind her back and under him. The old sister-in-law secretly slipped the bundle. One of the coachmen put him on the arm.
- Well, well, woman's fees! Women, women! - puffing, Alpatych spoke rapidly, exactly as the prince spoke, and sat down in the wagon. Having given the last orders about the work of the Zemsky, and in this he did not imitate the prince, Alpatych took off his hat from his bald head and crossed himself three times.
- You, if that ... you come back, Yakov Alpatych; For Christ's sake, have pity on us, ”his wife shouted to him, hinting at rumors of war and the enemy.
“Women, women, women’s fees,” Alpatych said to himself and drove off, looking around the fields, where with yellowed rye, where with thick, still green oats, where there were still black ones who were just starting to double. Alpatych rode, admiring the rare harvest of spring crops this year, looking closely at the strips of rye sings, on which they began to grind in some places, and made his own economic considerations about sowing and harvesting and whether some princely order had not been forgotten.
Having fed him twice on the road, by the evening of August 4, Alpatych arrived in the city.
On the way, Alpatych met and overtook the convoys and troops. Approaching Smolensk, he heard distant shots, but these sounds did not strike him. Most of all, he was struck by the fact that, approaching Smolensk, he saw a beautiful field of oats, which some soldiers apparently mowed for feed and on which they camped; this circumstance struck Alpatych, but he soon forgot it, thinking about his business.
All the interests of Alpatych's life for more than thirty years have been limited by one will of the prince, and he never left this circle. Everything that did not concern the execution of the prince's orders, not only did not interest him, but did not exist for Alpatych.
Alpatych, having arrived in the evening of August 4th in Smolensk, stopped behind the Dnieper, in the Gachensky suburb, at an inn, at the housekeeper Ferapontov, with whom he had been in the habit of staying for thirty years. Ferapontov twelve years ago, with the light hand of Alpatych, having bought a grove from the prince, began to trade and now had a house, an inn and a flour shop in the province. Ferapontov was a fat, black, red, forty-year-old man, with thick lips, a thick bump in his nose, the same bumps over black, frowning eyebrows and a thick belly.
Ferapontov, in a waistcoat, in a chintz shirt, was standing at a shop overlooking the street. Seeing Alpatych, he went up to him.
- Welcome, Yakov Alpatych. The people from the city, and you to the city, - said the owner.
- Well, from the city? - said Alpatych.
- And I say - the people are stupid. Everyone is afraid of the Frenchman.
- Woman's talk, woman's talk! - said Alpatych.
- So I judge, Yakov Alpatych. I say there is an order that they will not let him in - that means it’s true. And the peasants ask for three rubles from the carts - there is no cross on them!

Hector, Greek - the son of Priam and Hecuba, the leader of the Trojan troops in the war with the Achaeans.

The Trojan people called him the shield of their city and revered him as a god. Hector was not only the most powerful and brave Trojan warrior, he was also distinguished by the beauty and nobility of spirit. In everything, Hector was superior to the leader of the Achaean troops, and the hero Achilles surpassed him only in strength.

If Agamemnon brought one hundred thousand Greeks under the walls of Troy, then Hector had fifty thousand at his disposal, and the majority were the allies of the Trojans, who fought only for the sake of booty or money. The Trojans themselves, who defended their hometown, numbered only ten thousand. Nevertheless, under the leadership of Hector, they successfully resisted the Achaeans for nine years. Hector did not limit himself to defensive battles, knowing full well that attack is the best form of defense. During sorties, Hector always fought in the forefront, by his example, dragging the entire Trojan army with him. Even enemies recognized the greatness of his exploits. At the very beginning of the war, he was not afraid of the tenfold superiority of the Achaeans and entered into battle with them to prevent them from landing on the shore. If he retreated, it was only in order to save his army for new defensive battles. During the nine years of the war, the Achaeans suffered such losses that they lost heart and were ready to lift the siege of Troy, conclude an honorable peace and return to their homeland.

Stills from the film Troy: Hector (left) and his brother Paris. In the role of Hector - actor Eric Bana.

When, in the tenth year of the war, the Trojan ally Pandarus violated the truce, and Hector had to fight the war in spite of the pact consecrated by the oath, he did not despair and with his courage again won the favor of the gods. Skillfully using the feud between Agamemnon and Achilles, because of which Achilles ceased hostilities, Hector pushed the Greeks beyond the walls of their camp, broke through the gates, broke through to the Greek ships to burn them. He was not taken aback even when the Trojans ran away, frightened by the appearance of Patroclus in the armor of Achilles. Hector closed ranks again, opposed Patroclus and killed him in single combat.

After defeating Patroclus, Hector faced the last feat: death on the battlefield. Forgetting about past grievances, Achilles rushed into battle to avenge his friend's death. He put the entire Trojan army to flight, made his way to the city walls and was ready to break into Troy through the Skean gate. No one dared to stand in his way, except Hector, who obeyed the dictates of honor and duty. Despite all the pleas of his parents, wife, and other Trojans, he was left alone in front of the locked gates and challenged Achilles to a duel for life and death, on the condition that the body of the defeated be given to his friends for burial. Achilles rejected this condition and threw himself at Hector. Fear seized Hector, and he ran around the city walls three times, fleeing from Achilles who was relentlessly pursuing him. Not only people, but also the gods watched the duel intensely. Finally Zeus threw two death lots on the golden scales of fate, Hector's lot dropped - his fate was decided.

Athena, who stood on the side of the Achaeans, descended from Olympus to earth and, assuming the image of Deiphobus, Hector's beloved brother, began to persuade the Trojan hero to combat Achilles. But as soon as Hector threw his spear at Achilles, Athena disappeared, making it clear to Hector that he was abandoned by the gods. Hector did not shy away from his fate: “Woe! the almighty gods called me to death! ../ But I will not die without deed, I will fall into dust not without glory; / I will do something great that the descendants will hear! " In a fierce battle worthy of the greatest of heroes, Hector finally fell at the hands of Achilles. Finding a place not protected by armor, Achilles pierced him with a spear.

Further sad events are described in the article "".

"Of all the characters in the Iliad, Hector evokes the greatest sympathy, both for his character and for his actions," say the researchers of the Iliad, and they are right. It is to him that the best episodes of the Homeric epic are dedicated: Hector's farewell to his son, Hector's duel with Achilles and Priam's plea for the delivery of Hector's body belong to the highest peaks of world poetry.

Even the best images of Hector in sculpture and painting are far from the image of this hero in Homer's presentation in their expressiveness. In ancient sculpture and vase painting, the following plots were widespread: "Hector's Farewell to Andromache", "Hector's Duel with Achilles", "Duel with Ajax", "Achilles Dragging Hector's Body". Among the works of European masters, it is worth noting Thorvaldsen's marble relief "Hector's Farewell to Andromache" (1837) and a painting by J.-L. David's "Dead Hector" (1788).

At the end of the 18th century. the tragedy "Hector" was written by Ya. B. Knyazhnin, in 1780 I. F. Schiller wrote the poem "Hector's Farewell".

Despite the greatness and tragedy of his fate, Hector did not become the protagonist of either ancient drama or poetry. Yes, and with modern authors this happened less often than the image of Hector deserves. Nevertheless, for almost three thousand years he has been acting as a true knight without fear and reproach in all the works devoted to the Trojan War, from Homer to the present day.

Hector - in ancient Greek mythology, the bravest leader of the Trojans, the main Trojan hero in the Iliad, the son of Priam and Hecuba.

About Hector's participation in hostilities in the first years of the Trojan War, sources only report that Protesilaus, the Thessalian leader who led 40 ships to the shores of Troy and was the first to descend to the Trojan coast, fell from the hands of Hector. According to Hyginus, in this battle, Hector killed a total of 31 soldiers, in the Iliad - 28 Greeks.

Hector became famous only in the tenth year of the war. As Priam's eldest son and his immediate successor, he leads the Trojans' warfare, himself distinguished by strength and heroism.
If Agamemnon, the leader of the Achaeans, brought one hundred thousand Greeks under the walls of Troy, then Hector had fifty thousand at his disposal, and the majority were the allies of the Trojans, who fought only for the sake of booty or money.
The Trojans themselves, who defended their hometown, numbered only ten thousand. Nevertheless, under the leadership of Hector, they successfully resisted the Achaeans for nine years. Hector did not confine himself to defensive battles, knowing full well that offense is the best form of defense. During sorties, Hector always fought in the forefront, by his example, dragging the entire Trojan army with him. Even enemies recognized the greatness of his exploits.
Twice Hector enters into single combat with Ajax Telamonides, the most powerful Achaean hero after Achilles (Hom. Il. VII 181-305; XIV 402-439). Under the leadership of Hector, the Trojans break into the fortified camp of the Achaeans (XII 415-471), approach the Achaean ships and manage to set one of them on fire (XV 345-388; 483-499; 591-745).
At the very beginning of the war, he was not afraid of the tenfold superiority of the Achaeans and entered into battle with them to prevent them from landing. If he retreated, it was only in order to save his army for new defensive battles. During the nine years of the war, the Achaeans suffered such losses that they lost heart and were ready to lift the siege of Troy, conclude an honorable peace and return to their homeland.

When, in the tenth year of the war, the Trojan ally Pandarus broke the truce, and Hector had to fight the war in spite of the oath-consecrated treaty, he did not despair and with his courage again won the favor of the gods. Skillfully using the feud between Agamemnon and Achilles, because of which Achilles ceased hostilities, Hector pushed the Greeks beyond the walls of their camp, broke through the gates, broke through to the Greek ships to burn them. Seeing the plight of the Achaeans, the patrokol asked Achilles to come to their aid, but Achilles refused, but he allowed Patroclus to lead the Myrmidon army into battle, gave him his armor, but did not order to completely defeat the Trojans: after repelling them from the Achaean ships, Patroclus had to return back, so as not to take up arms against him one of the benevolent Three gods.
Meanwhile, the Trojans managed to set fire to the ships of Protesilaus at this time. Seeing the sinking of the ships, Achilles in anger hit himself on the thighs and exclaimed:
“Hurry, noble Patroclus, quickly put on your armor! The Achaean ships are already burning: if the enemies destroy our ships, then we will not return to our native land! Arm yourself quickly, and I will go and gather the militia. "
Patroclus quickly equipped himself into battle: he put on strong leggings and armor, threw a shield over his shoulder, covered his head with a helmet with a high crest and a long horse mane, took a sword and two spears, but did not take Achilles' spear: it was heavy, none of the Achaeans, except Achilles himself, could not fight them. The spear was made by the centaur Chiron for the father of Achilles, Peleus. While Patroclus was donning battle armor, his friend Automedont harnessed the swift-footed horses of Achilles, Xanthus and Balias, born from the wind, to his chariot, while Achilles himself gathered soldiers. Flaming with a thirst for battle, the Myrmidon leaders with their retinues quickly gathered around Patroclus.
Patroclus, who was looking for Hector everywhere, quickly ran through the phalanxes of enemies, defeating their troops. The Trojans mistook Pratocles for Achilles, because he was dressed in his armor. The brave Patroclus forgot about the Achilles warning and pursued the Trojans to the very walls of the city.
Hector was not taken aback when the Trojans ran away, frightened by the appearance of Patroclus in the armor of Achilles. Hector closed ranks again and stepped forward. In the battle of the battle, Euphorbus, the son of Panfoy, ran up to Patroclus, hit him from the rear with a spear, but did not defeat the hero; having pulled the spear out of the wound, Euphorbus ran back and hid in the crowd of his companions, since he did not dare to obviously fight Patroclus, albeit unarmed. Patroclus, having escaped death, retreated to the Myrmidon squads.
As soon as Hector saw that his enemy was wounded and was retreating from the battle, he rushed after him through the ranks of the fighting Trojans and Danaans and, approaching, threw a spear at him. A spear hit in the groin and struck Patroclus to death: he fell with a noise to the ground, horror then struck the Danaans. Thus fell a mighty hero at the hands of Hector.

After the death of Patroclus, forgetting about past grievances, Achilles rushed into battle to avenge the death of his friend.
When Thetis (mother of Achilles) the next morning brought her son new armor, forged by the god Hephaestus, Achilles challenged Hector:

Pelida had a sophisticated spear sparkling,
In his right hand he shook, intending life on Hector,
Looking for places on the body for sure blows.
But the hero's whole body was covered with copper-bound armor,
The magnificent one, which he stole, defeating the power of Patroclus.
There only, where the keys with the ramen are tied, the larynx
A part was exposed, a place where death is inevitable for the soul:
There, having swooped down, Achilles struck Priamides with a spear;
A deadly sting passed right through the white neck;
Only his larynx was not cut by a crushing ash
Just so that the dying man could say a few words;
He burst into dust, - and Achilles cried out loudly, triumphant:
“Hector, you killed Patroclus - and thought to stay alive!
You were not afraid of me either when I retired from battles,
Reckless enemy! But his avenger, incomparably strongest,
Rather than you, I remained behind the Achaean courts,
I, and the one who crushed your knees! You for shame
Birds and dogs will tear him apart, and the Argives will bury him. "

(Homer, Iliad, XXII)

Achiles put the entire Trojan army to flight, made his way to the city walls and was ready to break into Troy through the Skean gate. No one dared to stand in his way, except Hector, who obeyed the dictates of honor and duty.
Despite all the pleas of his parents, wife, and other Trojans, he was left alone in front of the locked gates and challenged Achilles to a duel for life and death, on the condition that the body of the defeated be given to his friends for burial.
Achilles rejected this condition and threw himself at Hector. Fear seized Hector, and he ran around the city walls three times, fleeing from Achilles who was relentlessly pursuing him. Not only people, but also the gods watched the duel intensely. Finally Zeus threw two death lots on the golden scales of fate, Hector's lot dropped - his fate was decided.

After the victory, Achilles tied the body of the slain Hector to a chariot and dragged it around Troy and then gave it to Priam, the ruler of Troy, for ransom. According to some authors, Hector's body was redeemed with an equal weight of gold (according to Homer, a large weight).

According to other sources, Apollo guarded the body of the dead Hector, so neither predatory animals nor decay touched him. Dead Hector is guarded by Apollo, whose help Hector repeatedly used during his lifetime. God twice returned his strength in duels with Ajax (VII 272; XV 235-279), helped Hector during a duel with Achilles, until the lot of fate indicated the inevitability of Hector's death (XXII 203-213).
The support given to Hector by Apollo, in the post-Homeric tradition, served as a pretext for the assertion that Hector was the son of God himself (according to Stesichor, Euphorion and Alexander of Aetolia, the same in Ivik and Lycophron).
At the council of the gods, Apollo was the first to raise his voice in defense of giving Hector's body to Priam, as a result, Zeus ordered Achilles to return Hector's body to Troy, where Priam arranges an honorary funeral for his son.
His bones were transferred by the oracle from Ilion to Thebes, where his grave was at the source of Oedipodia. Hector's grove was in Ophrinia (Troas). Another grave was shown at Troy.

Andromache (translated from Greek "at war with her husband") - in ancient Greek mythology - the daughter of Eetion, originally from Thebes of Plakia (or daughter of Andremon), wife of Hector, mother of Astianact. She is called the "granddaughter of Dardan".
Going to his last battle, Hector approached the Skean gate (through which the road from the city to the field ran), Andromache, who was on the wall at that time, hurried to meet him; behind her was the nurse, holding in her arms the baby - the son of Hector Astianax.
Hector looked at his son with a silent smile; Andromache, in tears, went up to her husband, took his hand and began to speak to him such speeches:
“Cruel heart, you do not regret either the baby son or the unhappy wife; soon I will be a widow: soon the Achaeans will kill you, they will all attack you together. It is better for me then to descend into Hades: if I lose you, there will be no joy for me; sorrow will only have to be borne by me. I have neither father nor mother: my father was killed by Achilles on the day when he took and destroyed Thebes; from his own hand the brothers fell - all seven brothers, to one, killed Achilles; soon afterwards, death struck the mother as well. You are the only one with me now, you are everything to me: my father, my mother, and my brother, and my husband. Have pity on me, Hector, stay here on the tower; do not make your son a sirem, me a widow! Place an army there, on the hill, under the fig trees: in this place it is easiest for enemies to climb the walls. "
Hector answered her affectionately:
“All this worries me too, dear wife; I would only be ashamed to look at every Trojan, every Trojan, if I, like a coward, retired from the battle and, idle, began to look at it from afar. I cannot do this: I am used to fighting in the front ranks of the Trojans, gaining glory for my father and myself. My heart prophesies to me: once a day will come, and holy Ilion will turn to dust, Priam and the people of Priam the spear-bearer will perish. But the future grief of the Trojans, the fate of my decrepit mother, father and brothers, does not overwhelm me as much as your bitter fate: the Achaeans will take you prisoner, you will be a slave, weave a foreigner and carry water; someone will see you shedding tears and say: “Look, the wife of Hector, who exceeded in courage all the Trojans who fought at the walls of Ilion,” will say and awaken in you a new sorrow: then you will remember about the husband who would protect you from slavery, would save you from bitter want. No, it would be better if I perish, let them cover me with earth before I see you in captivity, I hear your groans! "
So he spoke and wished to hug the baby son. But the baby was frightened and fell to the nurse: he was afraid of the shine of copper armor and the shaggy mane on his father's helmet. Father and mother smiled; Hector removed the helmet from his head and put it on the ground, then, taking his son in his arms, began to kiss and swing him and prayed to Zeus and other immortals:
“Zeus and all of you, immortal gods! May my son, like me, be famous among the Trojan people, may he, like me, be strong in strength and may reign powerfully over Ilion! When, to the delight of his mother, he returns from battles, burdened with rich booty, let them say about him: he is superior to his father! "
Having said this, he handed the son over to his wife; smiling through her tears, Andromache hugged the baby to her breast. Embarrassed and moved, Hector hugged his wife and, caressing her, said to her:
“Do not crush my heart with sorrow: against fate, a person will not take my life, and no one else from the earth has been able to escape from fate. Go home, take care of the weaving and yarn, leave the military affairs to the husbands: let the men take care of the war, and of the Trojans I am more than anyone else. "
Having said this, he lifted his helmet from the ground, and Andromache, speechless, went to the house, often looking back and shedding bitter tears. When she came to her home and the attendants saw her in tears, her grief touched all of them, and they began to mourn Hector, as if he had already been killed by the Danes.

After the capture of Troy, the son of Hector and Andromache was killed by the Achaeans, Andromache became the concubine of the son of Achilles - Neoptolemus. She bore him the sons of Molossus, Piel and Pergamum (or one Amphial, according to Euripides - one Molossus).
After the death of Neoptolemus, Andromache becomes the wife of Helen, Hector's brother. Andromache and Gehlen reigned in Epirus, where they were found during his wanderings by Hector's former associate Aeneas.
After his death, together with her son Pergamum, she went to Asia, her heroon (sanctuary) was in the city of Pergamum.