A faithful knight of King Uther’s Court, Ector (alias Antor) was chosen by Merlin to be King Arthur's foster father when he took the Royal baby from his parents in order to supervise his upbringing. King Uther gave Ector great rewards in advance, so he would follow all Merlin's instructions: even giving his wife little Arthur to suckle while entrusting his own son, Kay, to a wetnurse.

Fifteen years later, after Uther’s death, young Arthur was acting as page to his foster-brother, at a London tournament when he pulled the prophetic sword from the stone. Sir Kay, tried to claim credit, but Ector saw through his son’s claim and made him swear on the bible how he came by the sword. Arthur was somewhat shocked to discover his true identity from Ector whom he had always considered to be his father. The poor man then seems to have merged into the background, as Arthur’s rise to greatness was accepted across the country. He asked only that Kay be made Seneschal of all Arthur's lands, and the young King readily agreed.

Do not confuse this character with Sir Ector de Maris. In ancient Welsh sources, the name of Arthur’s foster-father is given as Cynyr the Fair-Bearded, an historical Lord of Caer Goch in Pembrokeshire.