Quote 1
(Hektor:)
Poor Andromache! Why does your heart sorrow so much for me?
No man is going to hurl me to Hades, unless it is fated,
but as for fate, I think no man has yet escaped it
once it has taken its first form, neither brave man nor coward. (6.486-489)
Okay, so we know Hektor is trying to cheer up his wife here, but if you were Andromache would you fall for that? So what if Hektor will only die when he's fated to die? Doesn't it still make sense for his wife to be sad whenever he dies? On another point, when Hektor says that the brave man can't escape his fate any more than the coward, what do you think would make someone want to be one instead of the other?
Quote 2
(Hektor:)
If it is true that brilliant Achilleus is risen beside their
ships, then the worse for him if he tries it, since I for my part
will not run from him out of the sorrowful battle, but rather
stand fast, to see if he wins the great glory, or if I can win it. (18.305-308)
Have you ever gotten yourself into a difficult situation just because you were afraid to admit you couldn't handle it? Sure you have. You should understand what Hektor's going through at this point.
Quote 3
(Hektor:)
Ah me! If I go now inside the wall and the gateway,
Poulydamas will be first to put a reproach upon me,
since he tried to make me lead the Trojans inside the city
on that accursed night when brilliant Achilleus rose up,
and I would not obey him, but that would have been far better.
Now, since by my own recklessness I have ruined my people,
I feel shame before the Trojans and the Trojan women with trailing
robes, that someone who is less of a man than I will say of me:
"Hektor believed in his own strength and ruined his people." (22.99-107)
This is a classic example of pride's double jeopardy. Because he was too full of himself to listen to Poulydamas's advice back in Book 18, Hektor now finds himself in a bad situation. But, for the same reason, he can't get out of that situation because he's afraid of Poulydamas saying "I told you so."
Quote 4
(Hektor:)
But now my death is upon me.
Let me at least not die without a struggle, inglorious,
but do some big thing first, that men to come shall know of it. (22.303-305)
Even when he feels death hanging over him, Hektor's sense of pride dictates his actions. Knowing that he did not die a shameful death is his final consolation.
Quote 5
(Hektor:)
Oh if I only
could be as this in all my days immortal and ageless
and be held in honour as Athene and Apollo are honoured
as surely as this oncoming day brings evil to the Argives. (8.538-541)
It is a curious fact about the Iliad that, for all its focus on the theme of death, it rarely shows characters longing for immortality. This is one of the few times when this happens, and it is interesting that Hektor says it out of excitement – wanting the moment to last forever – instead of despair at a moment passing.
(Hektor:)
Come then, let us give each other glorious presents,
so that any of the Achaians or Trojans may say of us:
"These two fought each other in heart-consuming hate, then
joined with each other in close friendship, before they were parted."' (7.299-302)
These words spoken by Hektor to Aias are another example of the fine line between friends and enemies. Can you think of any other examples – either elsewhere in the Iliad or in your own life – of opponents gaining grudging respect for each other?
(Hektor:)
Zeus, and you other immortals, grant that this boy, who is my son,
may be as I am, pre-eminent among the Trojans,
great in strength, as am I, and rule strongly over Ilion;
and some day let them say of him: "He is better by far than his father",
as he comes in from the fighting; and let him kill his enemy
and bring home the blooded spoils, and delight the heart of his mother. (6.476-481)
These lines show that Hektor is not merely a great warrior; he also deeply loves his wife and child. Can you think of any other instance in the entire Iliad in which a character wishes somebody else were better than him or herself? We can't either. By expressing this thought, Hektor expresses something special about the love of parents for children – as well as the strength of his own love.
Quote 8
(Hektor:)
He who among you
finds by spear thrown or spear thrust his death and destiny,
let him die. He has no dishonour when he dies defending
his country, for then his wife shall be saved and his children afterwards,
and his house and property shall not be damaged, if the Achaians
must go away with their ships to the beloved land of their fathers. (15.486-488, 494-499)
In these words, Hektor reminds the Trojans of everything at stake in their battle against the Achaians. From what we know of the fall of Troy from other literary works, such as the Odyssey and the Aeneid – not to mention the predictions of Andromache, quoted at the end of this section – Hektor's fears sound more than justified.