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Deidameia
Hector is one of the princes of Troy, son of Priam and brother of Paris; he’s also the second-best fighter in the Trojan War, bested only by Achilles. He’s known for his strength, piety, and precision, and he’s favored by the god Apollo. Before Achilles and Patroclus sail to Troy, Thetis tells Patroclus that Achilles will only die after Hector does. Hector is such a strong fighter that Patroclus assumes Achilles will be the one to kill him, he and warns Achilles not to; Achilles agrees, joking that Hector has done nothing to him. Later, Achilles discovers that he killed Hector’s wife’s family during the war—even though Hector hasn’t hurt him, he’s unknowingly hurt Hector. He can sometimes see himself killing Hector, though he’s vowed not to, and though he constantly dodges the idea when anyone asks. As the war goes on, it becomes clear that no one but Achilles can kill Hector, as soldiers like Ajax try and fail. Achilles refuses to fight, but eventually, Hector kills Patroclus, and Achilles kills him in revenge. This renders Achilles’s earlier comments ironic: Hector ended up “doing something” to Achilles after all, and Achilles had to kill him, even knowing he’d die next. It remains unclear why Hector targets Patroclus specifically; it’s possible that he knows what Patroclus means to Achilles and is angry that Achilles slaughtered his family. Before he dies, Hector asks Achilles to return his body to his father, Priam, but Achilles refuses, dragging Hector’s corpse around long after he’s dead. Eventually, Priam begs Achilles to reconsider and connects with him through their shared grief; Achilles takes pity on him and returns Hector’s body.
Hector Quotes in The Song of Achilles
The The Song of Achilles quotes below are all either spoken by Hector or refer to Hector. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 10 Quotes
His eyes opened. "Name one hero who was happy."
I considered. Heracles went mad and killed his family; Theseus lost his bride and father; Jason's children and new wife were murdered by his old; Bellerophon killed the Chimera but was crippled by the fall from Pegasus' back.
"You can't." He was sitting up now, leaning forward.
"I can't."
"I know. They never let you be famous and happy." He lifted an eyebrow. "I'll tell you a secret."
"Tell me." I loved it when he was like this.
"I'm going to be the first." He took my palm and held it to his. "Swear it."
"Why me?"
"Because you're the reason. Swear it."
"I swear it," I said, lost in the high color of his cheeks, the flame in his eyes.
"I swear it," he echoed.
We sat like that a moment, hands touching. He grinned. "I feel like I could eat the world raw."
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Chapter 15 Quotes
My hand closed over his. "You must not kill Hector," I said. He looked up, his beautiful face framed by the gold of his hair.
"My mother told you the rest of the prophecy."
"She did."
"And you think that no one but me can kill Hector."
"Yes," I said.
"And you think to steal time from the Fates?"
"Yes."
"Ah." A sly smile spread across his face; he had always loved defiance. "Well, why should I kill him? He's done nothing to me."
For the first time then, I felt a kind of hope.
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Chapter 30 Quotes
The thought of Troy's fall pierces me with vicious pleasure. They deserve to lose their city. It is their fault, all of it. We have lost ten years, and so many men, and Achilles will die, because of them. No more.
[…]
I will crack their uncrackable city, and capture Helen, the precious gold yolk within. I imagine dragging her out under my arm, dumping her before Menelaus. Done. No more men will have to die for her vanity.
[… ]
I am delirious, fevered with my dream of Helen captive in my arms. The stones are like dark waters that flow ceaselessly over something I have dropped, that I want back. I forget about the god, why I have fallen, why my feet stick in the same crevices I have already climbed. Perhaps this is all I do, I think, demented—climb walls and fall from them.
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Chapter 31 Quotes
He lifts his ashen spear.
No, I beg him. It is his own death he holds, his own blood that he will spill.
[…]
Hector's eyes are wide, but he will run no longer. He says, “Grant me this. Give my body to my family, when you have killed me.”
Achilles makes a sound like choking. “There are no bargains between lions and men. I will kill you and eat you raw.”
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Her skin is whiter than I have ever seen it. “Do not be a fool. It is only my power that—”
“What does it matter?” He cuts her off, snarling. "He is dead. Can your power bring him back?”
“No," she says. "Nothing can.”
He stands. “Do you think I cannot see your rejoicing? I know how you hated him. You have always hated him! If you had not gone to Zeus, he would be alive!”
“He is a mortal,” she says. “And mortals die.”
“I am a mortal!” he screams. “What good is godhead, if it cannot do this? What good are you?”
“I know you are mortal,” she says. She places each cold word as a tile in a mosaic. “I know it better than anyone. I left you too long on Pelion. It has ruined you.”
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Chapter 32 Quotes
“I am sorry for your loss,” Priam says. “And sorry that it was my son who took him from you. Yet I beg you to have mercy. In grief, men must help each other, though they are enemies.”
[…]
Priam's voice is gentle. “It is right to seek peace for the dead. You and I both know there is no peace for those who live after.”
“No,” Achilles whispers.
Nothing moves in the tent; time does not seem to pass. Then Achilles stands. “It is close to dawn, and I do not want you to be in danger as you travel home. I will have my servants prepare your son's body.”
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Chapter 33 Quotes
Others stand at the base to look at the scenes of his life carved on the stone. They are a little hastily done, but clear enough. Achilles killing Memnon, killing Hector, killing Penthesilea. Nothing but death. This is how Pyrrhus’ tomb might look. Is this how he will be remembered?
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You said that Chiron ruined him. You are a goddess, and cold, and know nothing. You are the one who ruined him. Look at how he will be remembered now. Killing Hector, killing Troilus. For things he did cruelly in his grief.
Her face is like stone itself. It does not move. The days rise and fall.
Perhaps such things pass for virtue among the gods. But how is there glory in taking a life? We die so easily. Would you make him another Pyrrhus? Let the stories of him be something more.
"What more?" she says.
For once I am not afraid. What else can she do to me?
Returning Hector's body to Priam, I say. That should be remembered.
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Hector Character Timeline in The Song of Achilles
The timeline below shows where the character Hector appears in The Song of Achilles. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 15
...can. He kneels, and she stops laughing, maybe because of the submission. She says that Hector’s death will come before Achilles, but that’s all she knows. He thanks her, which irritates...
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...his conversation with Thetis, and develops a plan to keep Achilles alive: Achilles shouldn’t kill Hector, since as Thetis describes Hector’s skill only Achilles can, and Hector has to die before...
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Achilles asks about Hector, and Odysseus says that he’s Priam’s eldest son, a favorite of Apollo. He then adds...
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Chapter 19
...soldiers waiting for them, an unexpected development. One is large and princely; he must be Hector. As the Greek ships sail into range of Trojan arrows, and the Greek men begin...
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Chapter 22
...and Menelaus return at night, reporting that they were warmly received by Priam, Paris, and Hector. Priam said that Helen didn’t want to leave and that they’d defend her; Diomedes thinks...
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...too: the beautiful Paris casually tosses spears from his chariot, vain in a red cloak. Hector is always alone, practiced and careful. When the armies withdraw, he washes his hands so...
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Chapter 23
...but they didn’t say how much. Because of that, Thetis worries that someone will kill Hector before Achilles, though soldiers like Ajax have already tried. Achilles knows that he can’t kill...
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One day, Achilles asks Briseis what she knows about Hector. She says that she knows more about his beloved wife, whose family lives in a...
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Chapter 25
...tell Achilles what the other kings are saying: Agamemnon says that Achilles hasn’t even killed Hector, so they don’t need him. He also reveals that Agamemnon’s men are coming for Briseis....
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Chapter 28
...was just a surface wound, all hell broke loose. No one knows where Paris went. Hector then offered a second duel to set things right, and Ajax was selected from a...
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...are Troy’s allies and have one of Zeus’s sons among them. The Trojans, led by Hector, begin to make progress in throwing back the Greeks, and the Greeks grow desperate. Achilles...
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Suddenly, Odysseus asks why Hector isn’t dead yet. He says that he’s not looking for an answer, just repeating what...
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Chapter 29
...is the moment he’s been waiting for. But he still won’t intervene unless Agamemnon begs, Hector attacks what belongs to Achilles, or Agamemnon dies. Patroclus worries the men will hate Achilles,...
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The ships are aflame now. Hector stands at the prow of one of them. He throws a torch directly on the...
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Chapter 30
...while the men around him yell Achilles’s name. The Greeks start to gain confidence, while Hector begins leading the Trojans in a full retreat. Patroclus insists that they follow the Trojans,...
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...him in the back. Someone pulls it out. A familiar man walks toward him: it’s Hector. Patroclus suddenly remembers that he can’t let Hector kill him, because Achilles will kill Hector...
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Chapter 31
...invisible—can almost feel him. Briseis enters, sees what happened, and wails. Menelaus tells Achilles that Hector did this. When Achilles grabs his spear, Odysseus tells him he has to wait until...
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...Achilles’s reputation, but Achilles doesn’t care about anyone but himself. She says that she hopes Hector kills him. Achilles responds that he hopes that happens, too.
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The next day in battle, Achilles charges at Hector, killing everyone in his path. Hector evades him. It’s not cowardice; he just knows he...
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...to lose this war yet. Patroclus knows that they shouldn’t be concerned; Achilles only wants Hector.
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Achilles finds Hector in a grove below Troy’s walls. Eyes wide, Hector asks Achilles to return his body...
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Achilles begins dragging Hector’s body around. Back in his tent, Thetis tells him to stop, that he’s angering Apollo....
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Chapter 32
At night, Priam (Hector’s father and king of Troy) sneaks to Achilles’s tent, soaking wet from swimming to the...
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Heroes come to Troy to replace Hector and Sarpedon and to kill Achilles. One of them is Memnon, the king of Aethiopia,...
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Chapter 33
...with a plan from Odysseus. But it’s Pyrrhus who kills Priam and Pyrrhus who finds Hector’s wife. He smashes her child against the wall, something that horrifies even Agamemnon. The Greeks...
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...tourists to see the monument. The stone depicts Achilles’s greatest acts of violence: killing Memnon, Hector, Penthesilea. This is probably how Pyrrhus’s grave will look too, Patroclus thinks. This is how...
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Thetis asks what things, and Patroclus tells her, newly unafraid: returning Hector’s body to Priam, playing the lyre, claiming the Trojan women. Thetis interjects, saying that was...
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