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Ajax

 

Ajax, Greek tragedy by Sophocles, of uncertain date, perhaps his earliest and written before 441 BC.

Ajax son of Telamon (see (1) above), bitterly resentful that Achilles' arms had been awarded to Odysseus, planned a night attack on the Greek leaders but, having been driven mad by the goddess Athena, killed cattle and sheep instead. When the play opens he is still mad and gloating over his supposed captives, but he recovers and is stricken with shame, while his concubine Tecmessa and the chorus of Salaminian sailors try to soothe him. He calls for his son Eurysaces, gives him his shield, and in his grief resolves upon suicide. After an interval Ajax speaks more calmly before going away to purify himself and to bury his sword. The chorus and Tecmessa are reassured, only to learn from his half-brother Teucer that the seer Calchas has declared calamity can be averted only if Ajax, who has angered the gods by his arrogance, is kept within his tent for that day. But it is too late; Ajax is found having fallen upon his sword. Menelaus forbids his burial, as an enemy to the Greeks; Agamemnon confirms the edict but is persuaded by Odysseus to relent, and Ajax is carried to his grave.

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Ajax
Ajax suicide.jpg
Ajax preparing for suicide
Written by Sophocles
Chorus Sailors from Salamis
Characters Athena
Odysseus
Ajax
Tecmessa
Messenger
Teucer
Menelaus
Agamemnon
Mute Attendants
Hats
Servants
Soldiers
Eurysaces

Ajax (Greek: Αίας, Aias) is a play by Sophocles. The date of its first performance is unknown, but most scholars regard it as an early work, about 450 BCE to 430 BCE (J. Moore, 2). It chronicles the fate of the warrior Ajax after the events of the Iliad but before the end of the Trojan War.

Contents

Plot

At the onset of the play, Ajax is enraged because Achilles' armor was awarded to Odysseus, rather than him. He vows to kill the Greek leaders who disgraced him. Before he can enact his revenge, though, he is tricked by the goddess Athena into believing that the sheep and cattle that were taken by the Achaeans as spoil are the Greek leaders. He slaughters some of them, and takes the others back to his home to torture, including a ram which he believes to be his main rival, Odysseus.

After coming to his senses, he pities himself over his disgrace. His wife Tecmessa pleads for him not to leave her and her child unprotected. He pretends that he is moved by her speech, and says that he is going out to purify himself and bury the sword given to him by Hector. After he has gone, a messenger arrives to say that the seer Calchas has warned that if Ajax leaves his house that day, he will die. His wife and soldiers try to track him down, but are too late. Ajax had indeed buried the sword, but has left the blade sticking out of the ground and has impaled himself upon it. Sophocles lets us hear the speech Ajax gives immediately before his suicide (which, unlike most Greek tragedies, is called for to take place onstage), in which he calls for vengeance against the sons of Atreus (Menelaus and Agamemnon) and the whole Greek army.

The last part of the play revolves around the dispute over what to do with Ajax's body. Ajax's half brother Teucer intends on burying him despite the demands of Menelaus and Agamemnon that the corpse is not to be buried. Odysseus, although previously Ajax's enemy, steps in and persuades them to allow Ajax a proper funeral by pointing out that even one's enemies deserve respect in death, if they were noble. The play ends with Teucer making arrangements for the burial (which is to take place without Odysseus, out of respect for Ajax).

Themes

An argument over whether to deny the burial of a disgraced man is the subject of Antigone, another early play by Sophocles.

Translations

Adaptations

  • Robert Auletta, 1986 - prose
  • Paul Roche, 2001 - prose
  • John Tipton, 2008 - metrical form of one English word for every metrical foot in the Greek, which Tipton calls "a counted line." ISBN 9780978746759. The Nation review accessed 2008-08-31.

 
 
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Classical Literature Companion. The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature. Copyright © 1993, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
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