The Iliad Book VI: Key Characters, Events, and Foreshadowing

Who did Menelaus capture during the fighting between the Trojans and Achaeans?

Adrestus

What does Adrestus offer Menelaus to avoid being killed?

A full ransom

Who intervenes to change Menelaus's mind about killing Adrestus?

Agamemnon

Who is Helenus in The Iliad?

A prophet, a Trojan prince, the son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, and the brother of Hector and Paris

How is Helenus described?

As the wisest of augurs

What does Helenus instruct Hector to do?

Rally the Trojans in front of the gates and gather the women at the temple for prayer

What does Hector instruct his mother to do?

Gather women at the temple, lay the fairest robe, sacrifice twelve yearling heifers, and ask Athena to take pity on the town

What does Hector hope to achieve by his mother's actions?

To keep Diomedes from Troy

Who does Hector plan to visit after speaking with his mother?

Paris

What does Hector wish would happen to Paris?

He wishes for Paris's death

What does Hector say would make his heart forget its heaviness?

To see Paris

What fatalistic statement is made at the end of Hector's mother's prayer?

I hur she prayed, but Pallas Minerva granted not her prayer

Why does Hector go to see Paris?

To shame him

What inconsistency does Hector point out about Paris's behavior?

Hector points out that Paris is brave with words but not in action.

What urgent line does Hector use to rebuke Paris?

'You to ill to conquer; the people perish fighting round this our town'

Who does Hector say he will see before rejoining the battle?

His wife Andromache

What fatalistic foreshadowing does Hector say to Helen as he departs?

'I know not whether I shall ever again return to them, or whether the gods will cause me to fall by the hands of the Achaeans.'

Who comes running to meet Hector as he makes his way to the city gates?

Hector's wife Andromache and his son Astyanax

What does Andromache say will happen to Hector?

She says that the Achaeans will kill him

What happened to Andromache's family?

Her father was slain by Achilles, her seven brothers were killed by Achilles, and her mother was captured by Achilles

What does Andromache want Hector to do?

Stay within the walls and stop fighting

Why does Hector feel he cannot stay from battle?

He fears appearing as a coward and sees the city of Troy as his responsibility

What does Hector fear will happen to his wife if he is killed?

He fears she may be taken away by an Achaean soldier and treated brutally