The Iliad Hector Quotes

They held tight as a working widow holds the scales,
painstakingly grips the beam and lifts the weight
and the wool together, balancing both sides even,
struggling to win a grim subsistence for her children.
So powerful armies drew their battle line dead even
till, at last, Zeus gave Hector the son of Priam
the greater glory – the first to storm the wall.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 12, lines 502-508. As Lycians and Achaeans fight it out on the rampart, neither side of getting the better of the other, until Zeus decides to intervene to give Hector the greater glory – the first to storm the wall. The standoff between the forces is likened in an epic simile to a widow measuring out wool on a scales until the scales balance.

As a shepherd lifts a ram’s fleece with ease,
plucks it up with a hand – no weight at all to him –
so Hector raised the rock, bore it straight for the doors
that blocked the gateway, powerful, thickset, the pair
towering up with two bars on the inside, crossing over
each other, shot home with a bolt to pin them firm.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 12, lines 524-529. Hector picks up a huge rock to smash the Achaean gates. An epic simile compares him to a shepherd lifting up the fleece of a ram with ease with his hand.

Ajax. Ajax!
Both of you – fight to save the Achaean armies.
call up your courage, no cringing panic now!
At other points on the line I have no fear
of the Trojans’ hands, invincible as they seem –
troops who had stormed our massive wall in force –
our men-at-arms will hold them all at bay.
But here 1 fear the worst, I dread a breakthrough.
Here this firebrand, rabid Hector leads the charge,
claiming to be the son of high and mighty Zeus.
But the two of you, if only a god could make you
stand fast yourselves, tense with all your power,
and command the rest of your men to stand fast too –
then you could hurl him back from the deep-sea ships,
hard as he hurls against you, even if Zeus himself
impels the madman on.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 13, lines 58-73. God of the sea Poseidon, who is on the side of the Greeks in the Trojan War, emerges from the sea disguised as the Greek seer Calchas. In this passage he urges Great Ajax and Little Ajax to fight to save the Achaean armies and stand strong against Hector, whom he calls a madman. Even if Zeus himself impels Hector on, they can hurl him back from the ships, Poseidon says.

Here were the best picked men
detached in squads to stand the Trojan charge
and shining Hector: a wall of them bulked together
spear-by-spear, shield-by-shield, the rims overlapping,
buckler-to-buckler, helm-to-helm, man-to-man massed tight
and the horsehair crests on glittering helmet horns brushed
as they tossed their heads, the battalions bulked so dense
shoulder-to-shoulder close, and the spears they shook
in daring hands packed into jagged lines of battle
single minded fighters facing straight ahead,
Achaeans primed for combat.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 13, lines 152-162. The Achaeans are massed in a tight wall and primed for combat, after Poseidon rallies them to fight the Trojan charge led by Hector.

Tight formations led by Hector careering breakneck on
like a deadly rolling boulder torn from a rock face –
a river swollen with snow has wrenched it from its socket,
immense floods breaking the bank’s grip, and the reckless boulder
bounding high, flying with timber rumbling under it,
nothing can stop it now, hurtling on undaunted
down, down till it hits the level plain
and then it rolls no more for all its wild rush.
So Hector threatened at first to rampage through
the Argives’ ships and shelters and reach the sea
with a single sudden charge, killing all the way.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 13, lines 163-173. Hector and his Trojans advance to the Achaean ships in this passage, killing all before them. An extended Homeric simile compares the charge to an unstoppable deadly boulder ripped from a rock face by a swollen river and hurtling down to the plain.

The rest of them fought on like a mass of whirling fire.
But Hector dear to Zeus had no idea, Hector
heard nothing of how his men, left of the ships,
were torn and mauled in the Argives’ rough response.
The glory might even have gone to them at any moment,
so intent was the god who grips and shakes the earth
as he surged his Argives on and the god surged too,
adding his own immortal force in their defense.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 13, lines 777-784. The support of the gods has suddenly flipped in favor of the Greeks. Hector is unaware of this and also the casualties that the Trojans troops are suffering elsewhere. Zeus had manipulated the battle to favor Hector and enable him to be the first Trojan to cross the Achaean fortifications. But Zeus has left the battlefield and Poseidon is urging on the Greeks, with glory almost within their reach. And poor Hector "dear to Zeus" hasn’t a clue. This is another case of dramatic irony that we find throughout The Iliad, showing that advantage in the Trojan war is a forever changing thing. It perpetually seesaws from one side to the other – often depending on the will and whim of the gods. Homer uses a simile to describe the Trojans still fighting on "like a mass of whirling fire" oblivious to the sudden shift in the battle.

How can you hope to garner all the gifts at once?
One man is a splendid fighter – a god has made him so –
one’s a dancer, another skilled at lyre and song,
and deep in the next man’s chest farseeing Zeus
plants the gift of judgment, good clear sense.
And many reap the benefits of that treasure:
troops of men he saves, as he himself knows best.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 13, lines 842-848. Polydamas begs Hector to be reasonable and to fall back and regroup. Because some god has exalted Hector in battle, Polydamas warns him that he thinks he can beat the rest at tactics too. But Polydamas points out that the gods give each person a gift, one is a great fighter, another a dancer, another has the gift of judgment. He is advising Hector to have regard to his own limits.

Down the Trojans came like a squall of brawling gale-winds
blasting down with the Father’s thunder, loosed on earth
and a superhuman uproar bursts as they pound the heavy seas,
the giant breakers seething, battle lines of them roaring,
shoulders rearing, exploding foam, waves in the vanguard,
waves rolling in from the rear. So on the Trojans came,
waves in the vanguard, waves from the rear, closing,
bronze men glittering, following captains, closing
and Hector led the way, a match for murderous Ares.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 13, lines 920-928. Hector leads the Trojans in battle against the Achaean ships. The dramatic image of Zeus sending out blasts of storm winds to pound the seas is used in an epic simile to describe the advancing waves of Trojans. Hector is compared to god of war Ares.

squadrons clashed with shattering war cries rising.
Not so loud the breakers bellowing out against the shore,
driven in from the open sea by the North Wind’s brutal blast,
not so loud the roar of fire whipped to a crackling blaze
rampaging into a mountain gorge raging up through timber
not so loud the gale that howls in the leafy crowns of oaks
when it hits its pitch of fury tearing branches down –
Nothing so loud as cries of Trojans, cries of Achaeans,
terrible war cries, armies storming against each other.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 14, lines 466-474. As Hector drives the Trojans against the Greeks by the Achaean ships, we get this description of the clash of armies and the terrible cries of war. In a brilliant extended simile, Homer says the cries are louder than the roar of breakers driven against the shore by the North Wind, a rampaging fire in a mountain gorge, or howling gales in the crown of oak trees.

As a huge oak goes down
at a stroke from Father Zeus, ripped up by the roots
and a grim reek of sulphur bursts forth from the trunk
and a passerby too close, looking on, loses courage –
the bolt of mighty Zeus is hell on earth – so in a flash,
for all his fighting power, Hector plunged in the dust,
his spear dropped from his fist, shield and helmet
crushing in on him, bronze gear clashing round him.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 14, lines 489-496. Great Ajax seizes a rock and heaves it at Hector’s chest and knocks him down. Homer in one of his epic similes paints an image of a giant oak tree felled by a bolt of lightning from Zeus.

And let Apollo drive Prince Hector back to battle,
breathe power back in his lungs, make him forget
the pains that rack his heart. Let him whip the Achaeans
in headlong panic rout and roll them back once more,
tumbling back on the oar-swept ships of Peleus’ son Achilles.
And he, he will launch his comrade Patroclus into action
and glorious Hector will cut him down with a spear
in front of Troy, once Patroclus has slaughtered
whole battalions of strong young fighting men
and among them all, my shining son Sarpedon.
But then – enraged for Patroclus –
brilliant Achilles will bring Prince Hector down.
And then, from that day on, I’ll turn the tide of war:
back the fighting goes, no stopping it, ever, all the way.
till Achaean armies seize the beetling heights of Troy
through Athena’s grand design.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 15, lines 75-90. Zeus is speaking to his wife Hera, laying out the plan for the events to come. There is not much room for free will here, with each character’s fate predetermined and controlled by the gods. Apollo will drive Hector back to battle, this will launch Patroclus into action, Hector will slay him with a spear, an enraged Achilles will take Hector down, Zeus will turn the tide of war and the Greeks will seize Troy through Athena’s grand plan. A great deal of things are foreshadowed here.

As a stallion full-fed at the manger, stalled too long,
breaking free of his tether gallops down the plain,
out for his favorite plunge in a river’s cool currents,
thundering in his pride – his head flung back, his mane
streaming over his shoulders, sure and sleek in his glory.
knees racing him on to the fields and stallion-haunts he loves –
so Hector hurtled on, his legs driving, his knees pumping,
spurring his reinsmen once he heard the god’s command.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 15, lines 313-320. We are told in one of Homer’s brilliant extended similes that Hector, filled with new courage and strength by Apollo, is like a fully-fed stallion breaking free of his tether and charging with pride down the plain. So Hector rejoins the ranks.

Think how dogs and huntsmen off in the wilds
rush some antlered stag or skittish mountain goat
but a rocky gorge or shadowed forest gives him shelter –
they see it’s not their lot to bring that quarry down,
their shouting only flushes a great bearded lion
ramping across their path, suddenly charging them,
scattering men and packs despite their lust for battle –
so up till now the Achaeans kept advancing, close formation,
stabbing away with swords and rugged two-edged spears.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 15, lines 322-330. The Achaeans stand up to a refreshed and re-energized Hector at first. This is described well in an epic simile image of a stag or goat being hunted by dogs and men. But the huntsmens’ shouting only flushes out a big bearded lion, which charges and scatters them.

Look – a genuine miracle right before my eyes!
Hector’s escaped again, he’s risen from the dead!
And just as each of us hoped with all his heart
he’d dropped and died at the hands of giant Ajax.
But again some god swoops down and saves this Hector –
and hasn’t he wiped out enough of us already?
Now he’ll make more slaughter, well I know.
He’d never be at the front, smashing our lines
unless Old Thunder, Zeus, had put him on his feet.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 15, lines 339-347. The Greek Thoas is the first to comment when Hector, injured by a boulder, makes a remarkable recovery as if "risen from the dead" – he thought he was going to die. But Apollo filled Hector with new strength and he charges the Greeks with new vigor.

Routed like herds of cattle or big flocks of sheep
when two wild beasts stampede them away in terror,
suddenly pouncing down in their midst-pitch darkness,
the shepherd off and gone – so the defenseless Argives
panicked, routed. Apollo hurled fear in their hearts
and handed Hector and all his Trojans instant glory.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 15, lines 382-387. The Achaeans run away from Trojan leader Hector and Apollo, who puts fear into the Greeks’ hearts and hands instant glory to Hector. An epic simile compares the scene to herds of panicked cattle or flocks of sheep being routed by two wild beasts.

So fight by the ships, all together. And that comrade
who meets his death and destiny, speared or stabbed,
let him die! He dies fighting for fatherland –
No dishonor there!
He’ll leave behind him wife and sons unscathed,
his house and estate unharmed – once these Argives
sail for home, the fatherland they love.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 15, lines 574-580. Hector’s cry as he tries to instil fresh fighting spirit into each of his soldiers. He tells them that a comrade who falls fighting for the fatherland and to protect his family dies with honor. He reminds the Trojans of what is at stake in the battle against the Greeks and uses it to help build morale among his men.

he turned tail and broke like a rogue beast
that’s done some serious damage, mauled a dog to death
or a herdsman tending flocks, and takes to his heels
before the gangs of men can group and go against him.
So Antilochus turned and ran.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 15, lines 679-683. Antilochus cannot hold his ground against Hector, so he turns tail and runs from the Trojan warrior. An epic simile likens his flight to a rogue beast that flees after mauling a dog to death or attacking a herdsman tending flocks.

But Hector all afire,
blazing head to foot, charged at their main force,
bursting down as a wave bursts down on a veering ship,
down from under the clouds it batters, bred by gale-winds –
showers of foam overwhelm the hull, blot it all from sight,
the hurricane’s killing blast thundering into the sails
and scudding clear of death by the skin of their teeth
the sailors quake, their hearts race on with terror –
so the Achaeans’ courage quaked.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 15, lines 722-730. Hector charges the main force of the Achaeans at their ships. This is dramatically described in an epic simile likening his assault to a great storm wave battering a ship where terrified sailors fear for their lives.

And Hector lunged again
like a murderous lion mad for kills, charging cattle
grazing across the flats of a broad marshy pasture,
flocks by the hundred led by an unskilled herdsman
helpless to keep the marauder off a longhorn heifer –
no fighting that bloody slaughter – all he can do
is keep pace with the lead or straggling heads,
leaving the center free for the big cat’s pounce
and it eats a heifer raw as the rest stampede away.
And so the Achaeans stampeded now, unearthly terror,
all of them routed now by Father Zeus and Hector.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 15, lines 730-740. Hector is likened to a murderous lion attacking cattle and eating a heifer raw in an extended simile describing his charge at the Achaean troops. He routs the Greeks with the help of Zeus.

And Hector too –
how could he hold back with his massing, armored Trojans?
Now like a flashing eagle swooping down on bird-flocks,
winged thousands feeding, swarming a river’s banks,
geese, cranes or swans with their long lancing necks –
so swooping Hector went headfirst at a warship,
charged its purple prow, and Zeus behind him
thrust him on with his mighty, deathless hand,
urging the soldiers on who crowded Hector’s back.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 15, lines 799-807. Hector is compared to an eagle swooping down on bird flocks in an epic simile describing how he moves against Great Ajax and the Achaean ships. He gets support from the god Zeus, who urges him and his soldiers on.

So you sprang at Cebriones, full fury, Patroclus,
as Hector sprang down from his chariot just across
and the two went tussling over the corpse as lions
up on the mountain ridges over a fresh-killed stag –
both ravenous, proud and savage – fight it out to the death.
So over the driver here and both claw-mad for battle,
Patroclus son of Menoetius, Hector ablaze for glory
strained to slash each other with ruthless bronze.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 16, lines 878-885. Pride, honor and glory are at stake as Patroclus and Hector fight over the body of Hector’s charioteer Cebriones. They are compared to two lions fighting to the death over a freshly killed stag.

Patroclus never saw him coming,
moving across the deadly rout, shrouded in thick mist
and on he came against him and looming up behind him now –
slammed his broad shoulders and back with the god’s flat hand
and his eyes spun as Apollo knocked the helmet off his head
and under his horses’ hoofs it tumbled, clattering on
with its four forged horns and its hollow blank eyes
and its plumes were all smeared in the bloody dust.
Forbidden before this to defile its crest in dust,
it guarded the head and handsome brow of a god,
a man like a god, Achilles. But now the Father
gave it over to Hector to guard his head in war
since Hector’s death was closing on him quickly.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 16, lines 917-929. Apollo knocks Achilles’s helmet off Patroclus and Zeus gives it to Hector to protect his head, as Hector’s death is said to be closing on him quickly. This foreshadows that Hector has not long to live, for while he escapes immediate death at the hands of Patroclus, he will soon be killed by Achilles in revenge for his friend’s slaying.

Down he crashed – horror gripped the Achaean armies.
As when some lion overpowers a tireless wild boar
up on a mountain summit, battling in all their fury
over a little spring of water, both beasts craving
to slake their thirst, but the lion beats him down
with sheer brute force as the boar fights for breath –
so now with a close thrust Hector the son of Priam
tore the life from the fighting son of Menoetius,
from Patroclus who had killed so many men in war.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 16, lines 958-966. The Achaean armies are horrified as Hector delivers the fatal blow to Patroclus, spearing him deep in the bowels and out through his back. The image of a lion overpowering a wild boat on a mountain summit is used to describe the slaying in an epic simile.

Hector! Now is your time to glory to the skies…
Now the victory is yours.
A gift of the Son of Cronus, Zeus – Apollo too –
they brought me down with all their deathless ease,
they are the ones who tore the armor off my back.
Even if twenty Hectors had charges against me
they’d all have died here, laid low by my spear.
No, deadly fate in league with Apollo killed me,
From the ranks of men, Euphorbus. You came third,
and all you could do was finish off my life.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 16, lines 986-995. When Hector fatally stabs Patroclus with his spear, Patroclus calls into question the Trojan’s pride as a successful warrior in battle. He reminds Hector that he is only his third slayer, after being knocked down by Apollo and then wounded by Euphorbus. All Hector could do was finish off his life, he says. Hector’s victory and glory is a gift of Zeus and Apollo, he tells him.

Poor soldier. Never a thought of death weighs down
your spirit now, yet death is right beside you…
You don the deathless arms of a great fighter –
and all other fighters tremble before him, true,
but you, you killed his comrade, gentle, strong,
…never again will you return from battle, Hector.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 17, lines 230-234, 238. Zeus wags his head in pity and mutters this to himself, as he sees Hector donning Achilles’s armor which he steals from the body of Patroclus. Anyone can don a hero’s armor, but that doesn’t bestow him with the qualities of that hero, as Hector will learn to his cost. Zeus, who gives Hector great power for the moment, knows that the armor is not rightfully his and foretells Hector’s doom.
Close