In an encounter a quarter of the way through Homer’s Iliad, The Trojan hero Hector’s wife, Andromache, begs him to direct the Trojan defence from the wall, rather than return to the battle. But Hector’s duty as Troy’s defender and the warrior’s code will not allow him to do so, although he foresees his own death and the fall of the city as clearly as Andromache foresees that she will soon be a widow and her son an orphan. We learn, too, that Andromache’s life has already been ravaged by Achilles, Hector’s future killer.
Hear Homer’s Greek and follow in English here.