Hector: The Honourable Man in the Wrong Argument
First appears: Act 2, Scene 2
Hector is the best soldier in the play and the most morally serious character. In the Trojan council scene, he argues that keeping Helen is wrong: private reasons cannot justify a public war. He is right.
Then he changes his mind. Personal honour (his reputation as a warrior) overrides his own argument. He will keep fighting.
His death in Act 5 is brutal and unheroic. Achilles finds him unarmed and has his Myrmidons (personal soldiers) surround and kill him. There is no single combat, no dignity. Achilles then drags the body behind his horse. The greatest warrior in the play is murdered, not defeated.
Key Scenes
Famous Quotes
“Though no man lesser fears the Greeks than I As far as toucheth my particular.”
Hector — Act 2, Scene 2
“Wert thou an oracle to tell me so, I'd not believe thee.”
Hector — Act 4, Scene 5
Themes
Other Characters in Troilus and Cressida
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