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Hector has no hesitation in being the commander of the troops that defended the city. But he does not approve of war between the Greeks and the Trojans and most of all, Hector disagrees with his brother Paris, who was at the origin of the conflict.
By abducting Helen, from her husband, Menelaus, Paris threatened the existence of Troy. Hector addresses hard words to his brother:
"Paris, you pretty boy, you woman seducer, why were you ever born? Why weren't you killed before your wedding day?" (Homer, Iliad).
Paris stole Helen from Menelaus, her husband, but he is avoiding a fight. Annoyed by his brothers’ acts, Hector says:
"Can you be the man who carried off a beautiful woman from a distant land and warlike family, to be a curse to your father, to the city, and to the whole people? Are you too cowardly to stand up to the brave man whom you wronged? You would soon find out the kind of fighter he is whose lovely wife you stole." (Homer, Iliad ).
Therefore, Paris accepts to fight and proposes a duel between himself and Menelaus.
The prize for the winner was Helen and the end of the war. The duel brings an inconclusive result and only the divine intervention can give the solution. With the intervention of Aphrodite, Menelaus claims the victory, but Pandarus wounds with an arrow.
The war starts again and Hector’s conclusion to his brother is:
"It is your fault that this city is invaded by the sounds of battle." (Hector 1 to Paris. Homer, Iliad 6.327).
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Hector and Paris -
Hector |
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