What If Hector Is Not the Opposite of Achilles? (And We Should Talk About It)
I finally decided to make a post about Hector. I've wanted to do this for a long time because I think he's a very interesting person and a fascinating character.
First of all, I should say right away that this post will probably be quite controversial. You may disagree with me, and that's completely fine. I'm simply sharing my own thoughts, opinions, and analysis based on what I see in the text. And I will be supporting my views with quotations from the Iliad.
I have never read the Iliad in an English translation because English is not my native language, and I find it much easier to engage with literature in my own language. So I read the Iliad in a translation available in my native language. Nevertheless, the quotations included in this post are my own translations from that version into English. I do not claim that my translations are perfectly accurate, and I do not know Homer's original language, so mistakes are certainly possible.
So! Very often I see and hear the popular opinion that Hector is the complete opposite of Achilles. He is often presented as a symbol of nobility, valor, morality, and moral purity, someone who surpasses Achilles in all of these respects. According to this view, Achilles fought solely for glory, while Hector fought out of duty and for the sake of his people and his family. Glory and war supposedly never mattered to him; all he ever wanted was to live peacefully and harmoniously with those he loved. In other words, Hector is often portrayed as a pure and highly virtuous man without any real flaws.
At first, I accepted this interpretation because it is such a widespread view. But over time I found myself questioning it. I simply could not fully believe it. What exactly makes Hector morally "good" by modern standards when he was a man of his own era and did not belong to ours at all?
And after reading the Iliad, my perspective changed completely. My conclusion now is this: Hector and Achilles are NOT complete opposites. They share similarities as well as differences. That does not mean I deny Hector's positive qualities. Hector absolutely has admirable traits, and his love for his family and his people is among the most important of them. However, people are often inclined to overlook his flaws. And I want to draw attention to some of the qualities that are usually considered darker aspects of his character (because yes, Hector has those too).
If I tried to quote the entire Iliad, this post would turn into a full-length essay. So instead I will focus on a few specific passages that I think reveal Hector's character particularly well. If love for his family, love for his people, and duty were Hector's highest priorities, that does not automatically mean that glory was unimportant to him. On the contrary, glory clearly mattered to Hector as well. As did honor and pride.
In Book 6 of the Iliad, Hector meets his wife on the walls of Troy and finds her utterly distraught. Andromache addresses him with these words:
[âUnhappy man, your courage will destroy you! You have no pity for your infant son, nor for me, your ill-fated wife. Soon I shall be a widow; soon the Achaeans will slay you in battle, all rushing upon you together. And if I lose you, it would be better for me to go down into the earth. No more joy will remain for me in life when your death has come upon you. My lot shall be nothing but sorrow.
Hector, you are now all things to meâfather and noble mother, my only brother, and my flourishing husband as well.Have pity upon us, and go not forth into battle, but remain here upon the tower, lest you make your child an orphan and your wife a widow. Set your troops by the fig tree; there lies the weakest part of the city, where the wall is most easily approached and scaled. Thrice already have our foes made attempt upon that place, led by valiant captains: glorious Idomeneus, both Aiases, and the two renowned sons of Atreus, and mighty Diomedes. Surely some prophetic seer has told them this, or else their own spirit has driven them to it.â]
And in fact, Andromache is giving Hector very sensible advice. She tells him to station troops at a vulnerable point in the city's defenses, a place that genuinely needs protection. She is grieving and terrified of losing her husband. She is literally begging Hector to think of her and their young child, not to make them a widow and an orphan.
And if you think about it, Hector could have listened to her. Doing so would not have made him any less of a defender of Troy. He would simply have followed sensible advice and continued protecting the city in a different way.
But what does Hector actually answer?
[âAll this also troubles me, wife; yet it would be a bitter shame for me among the Trojans and the Trojan women with trailing robes, if I should remain away from battle, like a coward, and shrink from war. Nor would my spirit permit it; for long since have I learned to be valiant always, and to fight among the foremost, winning great glory for my father and for myself.
For I know well in my heart, yes, I know in my mind: the day will come when sacred Troy shall perish, and Priam and the people of spear-bearing Priam shall be destroyed. Yet it is not so much the grief of the Trojans that weighs upon my heart, nor that of Hecuba herself and lord Priam, nor the sorrow of my brothers, so many and so brave, who shall be laid low in the dust by the hands of raging foesâas it is your fate.
For I foresee you led away in tears by some bronze-armored Achaean, robbed of your day of freedom. In Argos you shall live in bondage, weaving at another womanâs loom, or drawing water from the springs of Messeis or Hypereia, compelled by harsh necessity, though unwilling. And then someone, seeing you in tears, will say:
âThis is the wife of Hector, who was greatest in battle among the horse-taming Trojans who fought around Ilios.â
So shall they speak, and it shall bring yet another grief into your heartâ to remember the man who might have saved you from slavery. But may I lie dead beneath the earth before I hear your cry, or see you dragged away in shame!â]
If I am being honest, this is cruel toward Andromache. Hector does not WANT to hurt her here, but not wanting to hurt someone does not mean you will not hurt them anyway. He says directly that he would be ashamed to remain behind the walls of Troy, because doing so would damage his reputation in the eyes of his people. At this moment, Hector is concerned with maintaining his image as a brave warrior, just as any heroic warrior of his culture would be.
Moreover, Hector foresees his own death and Andromache's future enslavement. He openly declares that he would rather die than live to witness the shame and suffering that await her.
Once again: Hector LOVES both his wife and his son. But in this moment, he places his honor and reputation above his family. Because he has a choice. He could listen to Andromache and defend the city in the way she suggests, or he could continue to follow what we might call the heroic code. And he chooses the latter. To me, this shows that Hector lives according to the same heroic values that define all Homeric heroes, including Achilles.
Hector then speaks words that reveal not only his way of thinking, but also his inner values and his understanding of what is good and desirable in life.
[Hector at once took from his head his shining helmet, and set it down upon the ground. Then, taking his dear son into his arms, he kissed him, and rocked him in his hands; and, lifting him up, he spoke, praying to Zeus and the other immortal gods:
âZeus and you, all you great gods! Grant that this child of mine may become, as I am, preeminent among the Trojans; strong in power as well, and may he rule mightily in Ilios. And may men one day say of him, when they see him returning from battle:
âThis man is far greater than his father.â
May he come home from war bearing the blood-stained spoils of the enemy, and may he bring joy to his motherâs heart!â]
Please take note of what Hector is actually praying for here.
He asks Zeus to grant that his son surpass him in battle and return home carrying blood-stained spoils. And how are such spoils won? Through war, violence, and victory over one's enemies. That is the future Hector wishes for his child.
One could imagine a very different prayer. If Hector truly cared nothing for war or glory, he could have prayed for Astyanax to live a peaceful life. He could have wished for his son to grow up safely, rule Troy in peace, marry, have children, and enjoy an ordinary family life free from bloodshed. But that is not what Hector asks for.
Instead, he hopes that his son will surpass his father and become renowned in his own right. He wants people to speak of Astyanax and say that he exceeded even Hector's achievements. What is that, if not a wish for glory?
I find it difficult to believe that a parent would wish for their child to achieve things that they themselves do not value. Parents usually wish for their children what they consider to be the greatest blessings in life. They pass on their own ideals, hopes, and understanding of what makes a life successful.
Ironically, Hector is speaking of a future that Astyanax will never have. And, honestly, this prayer sounds remarkably similar to something Achilles might have wished for Neoptolemus. When Odysseus later brought news of Neoptolemus to Achilles in the Underworld, Achilles was overjoyed to hear of his son's accomplishments. In other words, Hector wishes for his son what his culture considered the highest ideal.
Much in the same way that modern parents might wish for their children health, love, education, personal fulfillment, or success in their careers, Hector wishes for Astyanax to become a great warrior whose name will be remembered.
Moving on. In Book 7 of the Iliad, Hector, following the advice of his brother Helenus, who himself was guided by the gods, challenges one of the Achaeans to single combat. He addresses both armies with these words:
[âHear me, sons of Troy and Achaeans with their splendid greaves! Hear what the spirit within my breast compels me to speak!
The son of Cronos, who reigns on high, has not permitted us to fulfill our oaths. Instead, harboring darker designs, he prepares battles for us still, until either you take our sacred city of strong towers, or you yourselves perish beside your seafaring ships. Among you stand the bravest champions of all the Achaeans. Let the man whose heart desires it come forth and face godlike Hector in single combat.
Thus I declare, and let Zeus the Thunderer bear witness. If my opponent strikes me down with his long-shadowed spear, let him strip my armor and carry it back to the hollow ships. Yet let him return my body to my home, so that the Trojans and the wives of Troy may grant me the rites of fire.
But if I cast him down, and Apollo the Far-Shooter grants me glory, then I shall strip his armor and bear it to sacred Troy, and hang it within the temple of Apollo, Lord of the Silver Bow. His body, however, I shall send back to the well-benched ships, that the long-haired Achaeans may bury him and raise a mound above him beside the broad Hellespont.
And one day, some man yet unborn, sailing across the wine-dark sea in a many-oared ship, shall say:
âThis is the tomb of a warrior who died long ago. Mighty though he was, he was slain in battle by glorious Hector.â
So shall men speak in ages yet to come, and my glory shall never perish.â]
What Hector proposes here is a fairly standard arrangement: the victor takes the armor of the defeated warrior, while the body is returned to his companions for burial. Armor served as a military trophy. It was proof of victory over an opponent, tangible evidence of success, and a source of prestige.
Yes, Hector says that he will dedicate the armor to Apollo. In that regard, he is no different from Odysseus and Diomedes in Book 10, when they dedicate Dolon's weapons and clothing to Athena after killing him. One could therefore argue that Hector is not taking the spoils for himself, but for a god.
And yet Hector is still participating in exactly the same system as the Achaeans, including Achilles. The taking of trophies was a widespread heroic practice. It was not unique to either Greeks or Trojans. And it was closely connected to the pursuit of glory and reputation.
Hector is not detached from this system at all. On the contrary, he embraces it. And then there is the ending of his speech.
After describing the burial mound that will stand for generations, Hector imagines future travelers speaking his name and remembering his victory. He explicitly ends his speech by declaring that his glory will never perish.In other words, Hector is concerned with being remembered after death. He wants future generations to know who he was. He wants his name to endure. Does that remind anyone else of somebody?
In Book 8 of the Iliad, in the very heat of battle, Hector rallies his army and urges his warriors onward:
[âSons of Troy, Lycians, and Dardanians mighty in close combat! Be men, my friends, and remember your fierce courage! I know that the son of Cronos, lord of all, has graciously promised me victory in battle and great glory, while to them he has ordained destruction!
Those fools have built walls for their defenseâbut those walls are weak and worthless! They shall never withstand our strength. Our horses will leap the trench with ease.
And when I reach the hollow ships of the Achaeans, remember my words and be ready with fire at hand! I shall burn their ships with flame and slaughter the Argives before their vessels as they perish amid the smoke of burning.â
So he spoke. Then he turned to his horses and addressed them:
âAethon, Xanthus, Podargus, and noble Lampus, repay me now for the care you have received! Remember how Andromache, daughter of lord EĂŤtion and my beloved wife, would bring you sweet wheat before all others and mix wine into your water as often as your hearts desiredâeven before she served me, her own young husband.
Come then, my horses! Forward! Let us overtake the enemy and seize the shield of Nestor, whose fame reaches the heavens, said to be fashioned entirely of gold, shield and handles alike!
And let us strip from the shoulders of horse-taming Diomedes that splendid breastplate over which Hephaestus himself labored with weary hands.
If we can capture these trophies, then I believe that this very night the Achaeans will flee to their swift ships and abandon the field.â
So Hector spoke, exulting in his boast.]
At first glance, one could argue that all of this is perfectly natural. Hector wants victory for his people, and there is nothing inherently wrong with that. The issue is something else.
For someone who supposedly does not care about glory, Hector speaks remarkably often about glory. Not only glory for Troy, but glory for himself and for his father. More importantly, Hector is already celebrating a victory that has not yet happened. Zeus has promised him success, and that promise appears to intoxicate him. What we can see in this passage is the gradual growth of Hector's confidence into something more dangerous.
He has not yet won these trophies, yet he is already dividing them among the victors. He speaks as though Nestor's shield and Diomedes' armor already belong to him. And Homer himself makes a point of telling us that Hector is boasting. That detail matters. This is not merely a brave commander encouraging his troops. It is also a man becoming increasingly certain that victory is his by right.
To me, this feels like the beginning of a larger transformation. The glory promised by Zeus is starting to affect Hector's judgment. Confidence slowly turns into self-assurance, self-assurance begins to drift toward pride, and pride moves dangerously close to arrogance.
What makes this especially interesting is that these traits are rarely discussed when people talk about Hector. Yet Homer does not hide them. On the contrary, he places them directly in the text. Hector is not simply a noble defender of Troy. He is also a man who is beginning to believe in his own invincibility, long before victory has actually been secured.
Homer even describes Hector with the following words:
[âAnd dreadful Hector swept across the battlefield upon his flowing-maned horses, his eyes like the Gorgon's, or like Ares, destroyer of men.â]
Of course, this is how Hector appears to the Achaeans. However, this is not spoken by an Achaean characterâit is part of the narrator's own description. We can see how war brings out the least attractive qualities that exist within a person, and Hector is no exception.
The imagery of the Gorgon and of Ares, destroyer of men, is quite terrifying and stands in sharp contrast to the popular image of Hector as a purely noble and morally flawless hero. Hector is not immune to the intoxication of glory. He knows that Zeus favors him, and that kind of divine approval is difficult not to be swept away by. He does not reject the glory being offered to him; on the contrary, he embraces it.
Moreover, Hector is also prone to underestimating his enemies, calling them fools. At times, he openly insults them. Of course, he owes them nothingâthey have come to his land, they are killing his people, and they are trying to destroy his city. Why should he respect them? Yet this still does not fit neatly with the idealized image of the perfectly virtuous Hector that many people like to imagine.
Later that night, after the battle, Hector addresses his warriors with these words:
[â...Tomorrow at dawn, when we have armed ourselves for battle, we shall raise a fierce conflict beside the ships of the Achaeans. There shall I learn whether mighty Diomedes, son of Tydeus, can drive me back from the ships to the walls, or whether I shall strike him down with bronze and return to Ilios bearing bloody spoils. Tomorrow he shall prove his courage, if he dares to stand against my spear. Yet I believe that, when the sun first rises, he shall lie among the foremost of the slain, pierced through amid the heaps of fallen comrades. Would that I were as certain of becoming immortal and ageless for all eternity, honored no less than Phoebus Apollo and Athena, as I am certain that this day shall bring destruction upon the Argives!â
So he spoke, and the multitude answered with a mighty cry.]
Once again, Hector speaks of bloody spoils.
What I find particularly interesting is that back in Book 6, Diomedes inspired such fear in the Trojans that Hector returned to the city and instructed his mother to pray to Athena and offer her the finest sacrifices, hoping that the goddess would restrain Diomedes. Yet by Book 8, Hector is already imagining himself stripping Diomedes of his armor and carrying home trophies taken from him.
Hector is celebrating victory long before victory has actually arrived. And that is important. A person who celebrates too early risks losing focus and clarity of judgment. They become consumed by emotion and confidence rather than sober assessment of reality.
On top of that, Hector compares the certainty of his expected triumph to the certainty with which he would believe himself immortal and honored like Apollo and Athena. To be clear, Hector is not placing himself on the same level as the godsâif he were, Homer would likely present that as outright arrogance deserving punishment. Yet Hector is coming dangerously close to that line. These are remarkably bold words.
To me, this is one of the clearest examples of how success and divine favor are affecting Hector's mindset. The more Zeus grants him victory, the more confident he becomes. And confidence, in Homeric heroes, often walks hand in hand with pride.
In Book 9 of the Iliad, Hector does not appear directly. However, he is mentioned by Odysseus in Achilles' camp. This is what Odysseus says about him:
["...Close beside our ships and wall the proud sons of Troy and their renowned allies have made their camp for the night.
Throughout their host they kindle countless fires and boast loudly that nothing can restrain them, that they will soon descend upon our ships.
And Zeus, son of Cronos, grants them favorable signs, casting his lightning across the sky.
As for Hector, exulting in his great strength, he rages fearfully, trusting in Zeus alone. Filled with fury, he holds neither men nor the immortal gods in any regard.
He prays only for the swift coming of divine Dawn.
At the ships he boasts that he will hew down the stern-ornaments from our vessels, set the fleet ablaze with raging fire, and slaughter us Achaeans beside the ships as we stumble amid the smoke of burning.
My heart is filled with dread lest the gods bring these threats to fulfillment, and fate decree that we perish here beneath Ilios, far from our beloved homeland.â]
To be fair, I do think there is a possibility that Odysseus is exaggerating hereâperhaps even deliberately. After all, he is speaking to Achilles and trying to persuade him to return to the war. It would make sense for him to portray Hector in the most alarming way possible.
At the same time, I cannot completely dismiss what he says, because Hector has increasingly begun to project exactly this image: that of a man swept up in the violence and momentum of war. And there is something rather ironic about this. I often see people argue that Achilles cared only about glory, whereas Hector had no interest in glory at all. Yet in Book 9 I find myself seeing almost the opposite situation. At this point in the poem, Hector stands at the height of the glory Zeus has granted him. Victory follows victory, his confidence is soaring, and his influence over the battlefield has never been greater. Achilles, meanwhile, has withdrawn completely from the fighting. More than that, he openly questions the values that brought him to Troy in the first place. In his conversation with the embassy, he even declares that he intends to sail home at dawn.
If Achilles truly follows through with that decision, then he abandons the very path that was supposed to bring him immortal fame. He would be choosing life over glory. Of course, these are only my own observations, not an objective truth. But I find it fascinating that at the very moment when many readers imagine Hector as the selfless defender untouched by personal ambition, Homer shows him enjoying the greatest fame of his lifeâwhile Achilles, the hero supposedly obsessed with glory above all else, is seriously contemplating walking away from it.
Finally, one last passage from Book 10 of the Iliad, where Hector plots to send a Trojan into the Achaean camp as a scout. Dolon is the one who steps forward.
[With these words Dolon addressed the Trojans and Hector:
âHector, my spirit and courageous heart urge me to go near the swift ships and learn what passes there.
But first I ask this of you: raise your scepter and swear to me that you will give me those swift horses and the bronze-adorned chariot that bear fearless Achilles into battle.
I shall not prove a useless scout, nor less than you expect. I will make my way ever deeper through the camp until I reach the ship of Agamemnon himself, where, no doubt, the Achaean leaders are taking counsel whether to flee or continue the fight.â
So he spoke. Then Hector took the scepter in his hand and swore an oath:
âLet Zeus, thunder-wielding husband of Hera, be my witness!
No Trojan shall ever mount those horses and drive them. You alone, I say, shall glory in them.â
Thus he swore. But the oath was false, though it filled Dolon with confidence.]
In the end, Dolon was captured by Odysseus and Diomedes during his mission.
The point, however, is that Dolon asked for Achillesâ chariot and those famous immortal horsesâcreatures that no one can control except Achilles himself, and a very small circle around him, including Patroclus and Automedon.
What matters here is that Hector almost certainly knows these horses cannot be tamed. This kind of detail would have been widely known. It is therefore very likely that Hector understands Dolon will not be able to handle them. And yet he still gives his oath.
Why? Because victory matters moreâvictory at any cost. And Hector is not above using any means necessary to achieve his goals, including false promises. The text itself even explicitly marks the oath as false. What does this suggest?
It shows something that does not quite fit the idealised image of heroic honour. Glory and noble conduct do not normally allow for this kind of deception. And yet Hector understands the world he is living in. In moments like this, he seems to accept that in war, almost any method becomes acceptable if it leads to success.
Through all of these passages, quotations, and reflections, my intention was never to undermine Hectorâs image or strip him of his admirable qualities. That would feel unfair. I genuinely like this character. What fascinates me about him is precisely his complexity.
Homer never presents Hector as a model of morality in the modern sense. And similarly, he never presents Achilles as a one-dimensional figure either. On the contrary, Homer shows his heroes from multiple angles. They are not single-layered charactersâthey have depth, and that is exactly what makes them compelling.
Nowhere in the Iliad does Homer simply state that Achilles is âbadâ and Hector is âgood.â Instead, he reveals both their strengths and their flaws. There is not a single hero in the poem without imperfections, which is precisely what makes them feel alive.
If we look closely, we can see that Hector shifts between different roles and states of being. He can appear as a loving husband, a caring father, a devoted family man, and a courageous warrior. But he can also place his honour and reputation above his family, think in terms of glory, be intoxicated by the pursuit of fame, and show moments of arrogance, pride, and even brutality on the battlefield.
This post is not meant to demonise Hector or strip him of his positive traits. Rather, it is an attempt to look at him from multiple perspectivesâsome of them less expected than others. I want people to see all aspects of Hector, not only the admirable ones. And I also want him to be allowed to retain his flaws. He belongs to the same heroic culture as Achilles. And in fact, reading the Iliad has shown me that Hector and Achilles are not simply opposites. They can be different, yesâbut also strikingly similar. Their most important difference is not moral purity or moral corruption. It is simply that they fight on opposite sides of the same war.
