The Death of Hector

Hector waits outside the walls to face Achilles, despite the pleas of Priam and Hecabe. When Achilles approaches, Hector’s courage fails and he runs. The two men circle the city three times while the gods watch. Zeus weighs their fates on a scale, and Hector’s pan tips toward death.

Athena takes the form of Deiphobus and persuades Hector to stand and fight. He throws his spear and misses; Athena returns it to Achilles. The duel is decided before it begins, and the poem shows the gods arranging the death of a man who has been told he is not alone.

Achilles strikes Hector in the throat, the one place where the armour leaves him vulnerable. Hector begs for his body to be returned to his parents, and Achilles refuses. He strips the armour, ties the body to his chariot, and drags it around the walls while the Trojans watch.

The scene is the poem’s most violent assertion of grief. Achilles’ rage is not satisfied by the killing, and the dragging is an outrage against the heroic code as well as against Hector. The laments of Priam, Hecabe, and Andromache that follow turn the victory into a funeral.