Hector is the older son of Priam, the most noble and magnanimous of all the Trojan chieftains. Eventually, Hector is killed by Achilles after a decade of withstanding the forces of war. We shall see that Hector’s dilemma in fighting is that his very nature is associated with the social definition of society. We shall see this interrelationship of individual and communal Hector represents through a study of three aspects of his leadership : his commitment to his family, his commitment to the city, his dilemma over personal versus communal honor.
Hector’s role in Troy is to hold together his family and the city that is ruled by his father’s house. He does so with strength and order. Demonstrating the interaction that exists between the individual and the communal Hector argues that neither one is healthy unless the other is simultaneously. Hector is an intermediary or transit between the individual and the communal. One aspect of this is his commitment to his families and to the families of the men fighting in war. He plays the role of communicator between the two genders. In the war-torn city, we see him fulfill this role “Now as Hector had come to the Skaian gates and the oak tree, / all the wives of the Trojans and their daughters came running about him / to ask after their sons, after their brothers and neighbors, / their husbands” (VI. 237-240).
Hector’s role as intermediary between the individual (family) and the communal creates anxiety and stress for him. He is as indispensable to his family as he is to the city. He must make painful sacrifices because of his commitment to the city through his role as the eldest son of his father’s royal house. Priam reminds him that his orderly nature is crucial for the survival of Troy. This causes Hector to have to make the painful sacrifice of denying his family in order to fulfill his responsibilities to Troy “For I am going first to my
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