The English verb �to hector� means,
intransitively, �to play the hector or bully, bluster, or domineer,� or, when
it takes a direct object, �to intimidate by bluster or threats, to domineer
over; to bully; to bring or force out of
or into something by threats or
insolence.�
The OED�s earliest usages of these two
verbs are documented to the middle of the 17th Century. In 1661,
Hickeringill wrote that his protagonist �need not ventury life nor limb, nor
Hector it.� Pepys� Diary recorded that
King Charles II boasted �that he would not be hector�d
out of his right and preeminency�s by the King of France.� Accusing the French
monarch of hectoring (or bullying) is similar to Swift�s observation of the bossy
heroine who was appointed head of household �that she might o�er the Servants
hector.�
Hector, as the crown prince of Troy,
the son of Priam and Hecuba, bore the fortunes of Troy upon his head. His fate
and Troy�s were equivalent. In Homer he bears the responsibility well,
commanding the Trojans against the conglomerate Greek expedition. Though his
first preference was to pursue peace through diplomacy, failure on that front
forced his mighty hand. Hector proved a dynamic force for Troy�s men,
withstanding Ajax, working his way singlehandedly to the Greek ships and
torching them, and killing Patroclus. Only Achilles could overcome Hector, and
that when the gods took sides against Troy.
Hector is western literature�s first
fully developed tragic hero. Homer�s Iliad
develops Hector�s character in a moving arc that includes the tear-jerking
farewell scene with Andromache and Astyanax in book 6 and the pathetic reversal
of fortune after Achilles� best friend dies. Troy, of course, does not fall
within the Iliad�s narrative frame;
but Hector�s death is tantamount to the end of Priam�s kingdom.
Homer allows a single man to stand so
boldly against the forces of Agamemnon and the assembled forces of all the
Greeks. The characteristic that defines that man is tied into the verb now used
in the English language in a pejorative sense. One who engages in hectoring plays the role of Hector
within his contemporary circumstances, be they epic or not.
"hector, v.". OED Online. June 2013. Oxford University Press. http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/85355?rskey=gPosvJ&result=2 (accessed July 17, 2013).