(Western Civilization: A Brief History, Perry, 43). As seen by the interaction of characters in the Iliad, Greeks are intensively competitive, and there is no room left for the emotional distress of Hektor’s family during battle. This aggression, or the deeply rooted “passionate desire to assert himself,” is needed to obtain aret, and is seen when Hektor tells that his spirit will not let him quit and in how Hektor fights to honor his father (Perry, 43). The aret that defines a hero is evident in how Hektor places an importance on the honor his family will experience because of his brave actions in the war. Hektor wants his wife to be proud of his warrior life when he says that Andromache will be known as “the wife of Hektor, who was ever the bravest fighter of the Trojans” (The Iliad of Homer 6.460 trans. Lattimore). When Hektor bids farewell to his young son, Astyanax, clothed in his shining war gear with gleaming helmet, Astyanax cries with fright at the sight of his father. A moment later, a rare depiction of Hektor as a “beloved father” is shown as he plays with his son (6.470). Hektor then prays to the gods for his son in line 476, and does not address the emotional well being of Astyanax, but instead, prays for his son’s future to hold a greater glory than his own and for him to “rule strongly over Ilion” (6.478). Hektor wants him to have the aret that he has acquired, and shows how significant this attribute will be for his son’s survival as a warrior and ruler when he talks of Astyanax “bring[ing] home the blooded spoils, and delight[ing] the heart of his mother” (6.481). This scene emphasizes how Hektor’s affection for his son is carried out through his aret as he prays for an optimistic future for his child. The Greek humanism, or the “concern with man and his achievements,” mentioned in Western Civilization: a Brief History show...
