The Iliad is a book by Homer. It paints the narrative of a war between the Trojans and the Acheans (Greeks). It’s considered fiction, but some historians, like Heinrich Schliemann, believe there was a Trojan War. In The Illiad, Book 6, the Trojans rallied against the murderous Acheans. The topic of this essay is a character name Hector, and why he fought.
In a rage, the Achean warrior Achilles seeks revenge on all of the Trojans for killing his friend, Patrochus, in battle. Hector, a Trojan, is preparing for war. He doesn’t know if he’ll survive. As Hector stands parting with his wife, she begs him to stay. She makes the case that their child needs a living father. If he dies, her son won’t have a father, and she’ll have overwhelming grief. Moreover, she argues that his courage will be the death of him. It seems like a convincing argument, but Hector remained unscathed by his wife’s pleas. He said that the Acheans would eventually trample the Trojans and King Priam. But that didn’t make him sad. It didn’t move him that his neighbors would die. Instead, one thought stirred him to fight: Fear that the Acheans might rob his wife of freedom and enslave her. To Hector, it was better to die than see his wife so vulnerable. In his words: “May I lie dead under the barrow that is heaped over my body ere I hear your cry as they carry you into bondage.”
For that reason, Hector fought. That section is sad. The entire exchange between him and his wife is moving. He revealed that he was fighting for her liberty. Hector was courageous and shared a belief that many people hold to. Simply put, death is better than slavery.
Asher Sisneros 