Hektor's second error is his refusal to withdraw his troops back to the city, as Poulydamas advises. Hektor is fired with victory and with Zeus' promise of aid. As soon as his troops reach the ships, Hektor's re-enforcement from Zeus is at an end. Hektor's gravest error, of course, occurs when he refuses to take refuge within the Trojan walls.
Homer shows us a portrait of Hektor as a leader concerned for Troy and its people and as a man who believes strongly in the cultural code of his community. Within Troy itself, Hektor reacts to social conditions in accordance with a heroic sense of order. Leaving the city, he becomes blinded by his military successes, by his own strength, and by the delusion that Zeus totally supports the Trojan cause. On the battlefield, Hektor is less responsive to individuals than he was within the walls of Troy; he does not seem to be the same Hektor portrayed earlier in the epic. The process of isolation has begun, and it ends with Hektor's complete isolation, outside of the walls of Troy, battling with Achilles until one of them is dead.
When Hektor kills Patroklos, his self-delusion is in full stride. Unknown to Hektor, Apollo, as Asios, goads Hektor into fighting Patroklos, saying, "You might be able to kill him. Apollo might give you such glory." Thus, Hektor becomes the instrument of both Zeus and Apollo, for as Patroklos tells Hektor, Zeus and Apollo conquered him, not Hektor. Hektor is only Patroklos' third slayer.
