Hector. In Greek mythology and Roman mythology, Hector was a Trojan prince and the greatest fighter for Troy in the Trojan War. He acted as leader of the Trojans and their allies in the defence of Troy, killing 31,000 Greek fighters, offers Hyginus. Héktor, or Éktor as found in Aeolic poetry, is also an epithet of Zeus in his capacity as ohe who holds. Hector's name could thus be taken to mean holding fast. As the first-born son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, who was a descendant of Dardanus and Tros, the founder of Troy, he was a prince of the royal house and the heir apparent to his father's throne. He was married to Andromache, with whom he had an infant son, Scamandrius. During the European Middle Ages, Hector figures as one of the Nine Worthies noted by Jacques de Longuyon, known not only for his courage but also for his noble and courtly nature. Indeed, Homer places Hector as peace-loving, thoughtful as well as bold, a good son, husband and father, and without darker motives. James Redfield describes Hector as a martyr to loyalties, a witness to the things of this world, a hero ready to die for the precious imperfections of ordinary life. According to the Iliad, Hector did not approve of war between the Greeks and the Trojans. For ten years, the Achaeans besieged Troy and their allies in the east. Hector commanded the Trojan army, with a number of subordinates including Polydamas, and his brothers Deiphobus, Helenus and Paris. By all accounts, Hector was the best warrior the Trojans and their allies could field, and his fighting prowess was admired by Greeks and his own people alike. Diomedes and Odysseus, when faced with his attack, described him as what Robert Fagles translated as an incredible dynamite and a maniac. In the Iliad, Hector's exploits in the war prior to the events of the book are recapitulated. He had fought the Greek champion Protesilaus in single combat at the start of the war and killed him. A prophecy had stated that the first Greek to land on Trojan soil would die. Thus, Protesilaus, Ajax, and Odysseus would not land. Finally, Odysseus threw his shield out and landed on that, and Protesilaus jumped next from his own ship. In the ensuing fight, Hector killed him, fulfilling the prophecy. As described by Homer in the Iliad at the advice of Hector's brother Helenus and being told by him that he was not destined to die yet, Hector managed to get both armies seated and challenged any one of the Greek warriors to single combat. The Argives were initially reluctant to accept the challenge. However, after Nestor's chiding, nine Greek heroes stepped up to the challenge and drew by lot to see who was to face Hector. Ajax won and fought Hector for an entire day. With neither able to achieve victory as the day was about to end, they expressed admiration for each other's courage, skill, and strength. Hector gave Ajax his sword, which Ajax later used to kill himself. Ajax gave Hector his girdle that Achilles later attached to his chariot to drag Hector's corpse around the walls of Troy. The Greeks and the Trojans made a truce to bury the dead. In the early dawn the next day, the Greeks took advantage of the truce to build a wall and ditch around the ships while Zeus watched in the distance. Another mention of Hector's exploits in the early years of war was given in the Iliad in book IX. During the embassy to Achilles, Odysseus, Phoenix and Ajax all try to persuade Achilles to rejoin the fight. In his response, Achilles points out that while Hector was terrorizing the Greek forces now, and that while he himself had fought in their front lines, Hector had no wish to take his force far beyond the walls and out from the Skiaian Gate and nearby oak tree. He then claims, There he stood up to me alone one day, and he barely escaped my onslaught. Another duel that took place, although Hector received help from Aeneas and Deiphobus, was when Hector rushed to try to save his brother Troilus from Achilles' hands. But he came too late and Troilus had already perished. All Hector could do was to take the lifeless body of Troilus while Achilles escaped after he fought his way through from the Trojans reinforcement. In the tenth year of the war, observing Paris avoiding combat with Menelaus, Hector upbraids him with having brought trouble on his whole country and now refusing to fight. Paris therefore proposes single combat between himself and Menelaus, with Helen to go to the victor, ending the war.