Page 9 - GALIET THE WALL, THE SPEAR, THE ROSE AND THE QUEST FOR THE 4 CARDINAL CORNERS: Hektor of Troy IV

The distinctive approach by Schein, Mueller and Pope in treating Hektor’s character is manifold. Schein, in “Hektor and Troy,”1 focuses on Hektor’s human and social struggle between his private and public spheres of responsibility and duty (aidos) as husband, father, son and protector of Troy. Schein views Hektor as torn between loyalties to family and to community whose “heroic identity,” “ignorance” and “tragic limitations” bring forth his death and the fall of Troy. By contrast, M. Mueller in “The Plot of the Iliad”2 dwells upon Hektor as warrior, whose self-awareness of his past errors, his intransigence in face of changed events, particularly after the death of Patroklos, and his choice to remain outside the wall as the cause of his death and of Troy’s demise. Pope in his “Observations on the Twenty-Second Book”3 highlights Hektor’s precarious circumstances and the importance of the preservation of Hektor’s life to safeguard Troy. However, their individual criticisms and observations of Hektor share a common ground: Hektor’s and Achilles’ actions are intertwined. This essay will examine Schein’s, Mueller’s and Pope’s distinctive approaches towards
1 Schein, S. “Hektor and Troy,” Ch. 6 in The Mortal Hero, Berkeley 1984: 168-95.
2 Muller, M. “The Plot of the Iliad” [excerpt], Ch. 2 in the Iliad, London 1984: 60-75.
3 Pope, A. “Observations on the Twenty-Second Book” [excerpt], in the Iliad (1715-20), [Penguin ed.] London 1996: 1030-43.
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