SUMMARY OF THE ILIAD BOOK 6 HECTOR AND ANDROMACHE PAGE 1
At the start of Book 6 the Trojans are doing very badly. The
Greeks are driving them right back into the city. Many of the
Trojans are losing their lives. One Trojan nobleman, Adrestus,
falls from his chariot when the shaft is broken by a tree in
his attempt to retreat. Red-haired Menelaus stands over him ,
ready to kill him. But Adrestus throws his arms around his
knees and begs for mercy. He says that his father is very
wealthy and will pay a huge ransom to get him back alive.
Menelaus is just about to agree to this when his brother
Agamemnon arrives. Agamemnon is annoyed and cannot understand
the attitude of Menelaus. He points out that the Trojans were
not so kind to him in the past and says that every Trojan, down
to the smallest baby must be killed so that none may be left
"to shed a tear". As he says this, he sinks his spear in
Adrestus's side and kills him.
Meanwhile, Helenus, the Trojan seer, finds Aeneas and Hector
and gives them instructions. He tells them to rally the Trojans
to take a stand instead of retreating before Diomedes, the
Panic-maker, and then Hector is to go in to the city and speak
to Hecuba, his mother. He is to tell her to go, with the other
Trojan women, up to the shrine of Athene with an offering of 12
year-old heifers and her very best robe so that Athene may look
kindly on the Trojans. Hector first shouts out to his men
making them braver and urging them to be courageous. They
respond to this so well that the Greeks think a god must have
come down to help the enemy.
Meanwhile there is a meeting on the battlefield. Diomedes, the
"panic-maker" is astonished to see a man he does not know
facing up to him in battle. He asks him who he is. At first he
recieves the answer that it does not matter, that men are like
leaves on the trees, one lot dies and another comes along to
replace them. But then he says that he is Glaucus, from Lycia,
the grandson of the "incomparable Bellerophon". He goes on to
tell the story of Bellerophon. (See separate handout).
Diomedes is thrilled to hear this story and says that
Bellerophon was a friend of his grandfather and stayed with him
for 20 days. At the end of his stay the two men exchanged
gifts. Bellerophon got a purple belt and gave a gold twohandled cup. The two men agree not to fight each other in
battle and they exchange armour. But Homer wonders if some god
robbed Glaucus of his wits as he gives away gold armour worth
100 oxen for bronze armour worth only 9 oxen.
Meanwhile Hector goes into Troy and tells the Trojan women of
who has died or been injured. He finds his mother Hecuba who
asks him to make a libation to the gods and to have a drink of
wine himself. But Hector refuses saying that he cannot pray to
the gods spattered with mud and blood and that he does not want
to be made feeble by drink before battle. He tells Hecuba that
she must go to the citadel with the other women and offer
Athene her best robe and 12 year-old heifers in the hope that
she will take care of the Trojans. The women do this but Athene
turns her head away, she does not favour them.
SUMMARY OF THE ILIAD BOOK 6 HECTOR AND ANDROMACHE PAGE 2
Now Hector goes into Paris's house to try to find him. He is
with Helen in their bedroom polishing his armour. Hector is
very angry with him for sulking inside (he had lost a duel with
Menelaus earlier and was only saved by the intervention of
Aphrodite). Hector thinks that Paris is a disgrace and should
be out there fighting with the others seeing as he started the
war.
Paris claims that he is not sulking but he does admit that he
is wrong to be inside. He says that he will get ready and join
Hector right away. He also says that Helen has been urging him
to go out and fight. Hector is still annoyed. Helen speaks to
Hector kindly and asks him to sit down and rest. He is nice to
her but says he must rejoin the battle. He urges her to get
Paris to hurry up. Helen now laments the fact that she was ever
born to cause so much death and destruction and wishes that the
storm fiend had swept her away at birth, or failing that she
wishes that she was not with Paris whom she describes as
"inconstant" and unreliable, uncaring of the opinion of others.
She says that as a couple they are "ill-starred" and predicts
that people yet unborn will tell their story in the future.
Hector then goes to his own house to find his wife, Andromache.
She is not there, she has gone to the walls of Troy to see
whether Hector is safe, with her baby son, Astyanax and his
nurse. He follows her there. He finds her weeping for worry
about him and she begs him not to go out to battle but to stay
and fight at the weak point in the wall. She reminds him that
all her family was killed by Achilles and that he is now
father, mother and brother to her.
Hctor loves her dearly but says that he cannot possibly stay
inside the walls, he would be ashamed to be seen by the Trojans
if he behaved in a cowardly fashion. Besides, it would go
against the grain as he was always brought up to fight bravely
in the front line of battle. He says that he fears that Troy
will one day fall and that the thing he dreads most is the day
she will be dragged off to slavery in Greece to be treated
harshly and jeered at. He wishes to be dead and buried before
he hears her cries.
He then reaches out to hold Astyanax who shrinks back, afraid
of his father's helmet. They all laugh through their tears and
Hector takes off his helmet. He holds the baby in his arms and
prays that one day he will be a greater warrior than his father
and that he will bring home the blood-stained armour of the
enemy and make his mother happy. He tells Andromache to go back
to her work and not to worry about him. He says that no man,
coward or hero can avoid his fate.
As he leaves the city Paris catches up with him and apologises
for not going out to battle sooner. He is described as a
magnificent stallion who has broken out of his stable and is
galloping confidently across the fields to the river.Hector
says that he thinks Paris is a great fighter but too quick to
give up and that this often embarrasses him in front of others.