What did Hector call his son in the Iliad?

Hector called his son Scamandrius in the Iliad. The name refers to the Scamander River, which flowed past Troy and was a major landmark in the poem’s landscape.

The child is better known by the name Astyanax, meaning roughly “lord of the city” or “king of the city.” That was the name used by the people of Troy, who regarded him as the son of their great defender and a possible future ruler. Homer distinguishes the private or birth name Scamandrius from the public nickname Astyanax.

The most memorable scene involving the child appears in Book 6. Andromache brings him to Hector before Hector returns to battle, but the infant becomes frightened by his father’s helmet and its horsehair crest. Hector removes the helmet, takes the child in his arms, and prays that he will grow up strong and bring honor to Troy.

Readers often answer Astyanax because it is the name used in most later retellings. But the question asks what Hector called him in the Iliad, making Scamandrius the precise answer.