Hector's Tragic Hero In The Iliad, By Homer

In the Iliad, by Homer, it was said that Hector was fated to die no matter what choice he made. Hector was a mighty Trojan leader. During the war, Hector returned home and asked all the women to pray to Athena for the men fighting in the war. While he was home, he went to get Paris with the agenda to bring him back to the battlefield to fight. Once he arrived home, he realized his wife, Andromache, and son, Astyanax were not there. The house keeper explained to Hector that his wife went to search for him. When Hector discovered his wife, she pleaded with him and indicated that his “courage is going to kill [him]” (Iliad Book VI: 427-428). Hector had to decide whether he would return to war, or stay home with his family, and Hector chose to fight in the war Hector decided that returning to the war would prove he is not a coward. When Hector arrived back in the city, a Greek warrior, Patroclus, warned Hector that Achilles was seeking revenge. Hector began to reconsider his choice, but Apollo, disguised as Hector’s uncle, convinced Hector to return to battle. Hearing that Hector was going to stay and fight, Achilles formed a plan to kill Hector. He needed to replace his armor since Hector took Achilles’ off of Patroclus’ dead body. Hector, motivated by a …show more content…
When Hector chose to go back and fight in the war he left his wife and his son alone to care for themselves. He was not socially responsible toward his family members and that resulted in Andromache, now a widow, at home, alone with the child. The child was still very young and the child would now grow up never knowing his father. Hector also did not think through the fact of who will lead the Trojan side throughout the rest of the war. Hector did not think about how his choices would affect his peers. When Hector decided to stay in the war he did not think at all about what sort of social responsibility he