Hirmer Fotoarchiv, Munich

In Homer’s epic poem the Iliad, Hector is the son of the Trojan King Priam and the greatest of the Trojan heroes. When the Greeks besieged Troy, Hector’s wife, Andromache, begged him not to fight, but Hector embraced their child and left to join the battle. Hector killed Patroclus, a friend of the Greek hero Achilles, and in revenge Achilles killed Hector. Achilles then drove his chariot around the walls of Troy, dragging Hector’s body behind him. Priam finally begged his son’s body from Achilles. The Trojans, mourning, burned Hector’s body, and buried his ashes. When the fighting resumed, Troy fell to the Greeks. (See also Achilles; Homeric legend.)