CHARACTER NOTES ON THE ILIAD Hector: Hector, although a great and brave warrior like Achilles, is very unlike

e him as a character. He is very much a team player and when his wife, Andromache begs him not to fight in the front line, he says he cannot do that. He has been brought up to fight bravely and will always be where his men need him. He is extremely brave and says that only fate will decide when he is going to die, whether he is brave or cowardly, so he might as well be brave. On his own, in front of the walls as Achilles approaches, he knows he could save himself and run inside, but he would prefer to stay outside and risk death. He knows he has made a mistake by failing to call a retreat early enough and he cannot stand the thought that others will mock him for saving his own life. He would rather death than dishonour. When his fate is inevitable, he rushes towards Achilles with his sword so he can die gloriously. Hector is also a very likeable human. He dearly loves his wife and son. He says the thing he dreads most is hearing Andromaches cries as she is dragged off to slavery. He takes off his helmet so his son will not be scared and he prays that Astyanax will be an even better warrior than he is himself. They are a very close family. He is very irritated with Paris who does not have the same sense of duty and responsibility as he does. He and Helen get on very well and are close. She laments his death bitterly. He does show moments of weakness too, when he runs from Achilles and panics, he begs for a proper burial but Achilles is so full of bitter vengeance that he treats Hector shamefully. A measure of how great Hector is is the devotion of the other Trojans to him. His wife adores him, he is everything to her, he is his parents favourite and the whole city relies on him. Also important is the fact that both Zeus and Apollo like Hector a lot, he has always worshipped the gods properly and Apollo especially helps him out and urges the gods to let his body (protected by his aegis), go back to his family for burial. His parents point out at the end that it is a measure of how much the gods respected him that his body was kept perfect even when ill-treated by Achilles. Patroclus: Patroclus is Achilles squire and closest friend. He is second in command of the Myrmidons. Although they are close, he is very different to Achilles. He approaches him at the start of Book 16, terribly upset and angry. The Trojans are setting fire to the Greek ships and many of the best Greeks are injured. He cannot believe that Achilles is so cold-hearted as to stand by and not fight. He even accuses his friend of knowing about some prophecy which is scaring him off

fighting. He says he is as cold as the sea, with no proper human feeling. He persuades Achilles to let him wear his armour and lead the Myrmidons into the fight. He fights incredibly bravely and is a brilliant warrior. He even kills Sarpedon, son of Zeus in a duel. But fatally, he is rash and does not heed Achilles advice, he follows up his victory to the walls of Troy from which he is pushed down and warned off by Apollo. As he moves away, he meets his death at the hands of Apollo, Euphorbus and finally Hector. Achilles is so devastated at his death that he re-enters the fight in total determination to get Hector for killing his friend. Priam: Priam is the ancient and noble King of Troy. His wife is Hecabe. When his son, Hector is outside the walls facing Achilles, he begs him to come in. He is shattered when Hector is killed and immediately wants to rush out to try to get his body back from Achilles, but is prevented by the Trojans. He wishes he were dead. He is impatient with his other sons, whom he calls heroes of the dancefloor as he was so devoted to Hector. Most of what we learn about Priam is in the final book, 24 of the Iliad. Here, he is approached by Iris, messenger of the gods who tells him that he must bring a huge ransom to soften Achilles heart and go to the Greek camp with only one herald to get Hectors body back. Hecabe thinks he has gone mad, but he says that nothing will stop him. He would rather die trying to get Hectors body back. So he is extremely brave and fearless. Hecabe persuades him to make a libation to Zeus who sends a golden eagle as a sign of his favour. He sets off with Idaeus and a fabulous ransom. On the way they meet Hermes, disguised as a young Myrmidon who gets them safely into the hut of Achilles. Here, Priam does an extraordinary thing, he kneels down and kisses the hand of Achilles who has killed his son, and pleads for his body back. He reminds Achilles of his own father and both men weep. Achilles feels sorry for Priam and greatly admires his bravery. Both men sit and talk for the evening and each can see how great the other is, even though they are enemies. At one point, when Priam wants to leave in a hurry, Achilles almost loses his temper, but in the end they get on well and there is mutual respect. Achilles grants Priam 11 days truce for the funeral and they shake hands. Priam can now eat, drink and sleep now that he has his sons body to bring home.