Homer's Iliad: the characterisation of Hector and the Trojan royal family (Priam, Hecabe, Andromache, Paris and Helen), the scenes within Troy, and how Homer dramatises the human and domestic cost of war.

What this dot point is asking

The Iliad is not only the story of Achilles. Homer gives the Trojan side a humanity that makes the war's cost felt, above all through Hector and his family. For The World of the Hero you must know the scenes within Troy, Hector's characterisation, his death in Book 22, and the laments in Book 24, and be able to argue how Homer dramatises the human and domestic cost of war. The paper tests precise knowledge (AO1), close analysis of the text (AO2 and AO3) and your own argument.

The answer

Hector and Andromache: the farewell in Book 6

Hector as defender and as flawed hero

Homer presents Hector as the champion of Troy, but not as flawless:

• His motives are defensive and communal, the protection of his city, wife and child, which makes him sympathetic.
• He can be rash: he rejects the prudent advice of Polydamas to retreat behind the walls, a decision that leads to Trojan deaths.
• He boasts over the body of Patroclus and strips Achilles' armour, an overreach that seals his fate.

Book 22: the death of Hector

In Book 22, Hector waits alone outside the walls while his parents Priam and Hecabe beg him to come inside. When Achilles approaches, Hector at first flees, chased three times around the city. Athene, in the guise of his brother Deiphobus, deceives him into standing his ground; realising he has been abandoned by the gods, Hector resolves to die with glory and is killed. His death, and the dragging of his corpse, is felt as the symbolic fall of Troy itself.

Book 24: the laments and the cost of war

Examples in context

A strong 10-mark stimulus answer on the Book 6 farewell would quote the printed text closely, analysing how specific touches (the child's terror, Andromache's list of lost kin, Hector's prayer) generate pathos.

Try this

Q1. Read a passage from Iliad Book 22 in which Hector decides to face Achilles. How does Homer present Hector's state of mind in this passage? Refer to the passage. [10 marks]

• What the marker wants. AO1 plus AO3: set the moment (Hector alone, deceived by Athene), then analyse details (his deliberation, his recognition that the gods have abandoned him, his resolve to die gloriously) and how they create tragedy.

Q2. 'The women of the Iliad are its most powerful voices.' To what extent do you agree? [marked out of 20; real H408/11 tariff is 30]

• Cue. Argue both sides using Andromache, Hecabe, Helen and Briseis: their laments and pleas carry the poem's grief, though the narrative is dominated by male warriors. Reach a judgement supported by named scenes.