In Troy, Hektor instructs his mother, Hekuba, about the rites to be held in Athena's temple, and then he goes to find Paris, who has been absent from the battlefield. He discovers his brother at home with Helen and her handmaidens, and he sternly rebukes him for his irresponsibility. Paris admits that he has been disgracing himself, and he prepares himself to join the fight. Hektor, meanwhile, goes to visit his own wife and baby son.
He finds Andromache and the baby Astyanax on the walls overlooking the battlefield. Andromache pleads with Hektor not to endanger himself any longer. Achilles has killed her father and all her brothers, and now Hektor is her whole family; she begs him to have pity on her and their infant child.
Hektor admits his concern for Andromache, but he says that he must consider his reputation and his duty. In his heart, he says, he knows that Troy will fall someday, but he is, after all, foremost a soldier and a prince, and he has many responsibilities. He adds that he often worries about the fate of his dear wife and son after he is dead and his city has been captured, but that a mortal cannot change the will of the gods. After saying this, Hektor kisses Andromache and Astyanax and leaves. Paris joins him at the city gate, and they both return to the battlefield.
