Ajax Analysis and Related Papers

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Abstract

This analysis delves into the play "Ajax" by Sophocles, highlighting his skill in manipulating simple narratives and character contrasts, particularly between Ajax and Achilles. The study also examines early poetic interpretations of Ajax's legends and Sophocles' dramatic portrayal, emphasizing themes of heroism, downfall, and divine influence within the broader context of Greek mythology.

Related papers

Ajax

Brill's Companion to the Reception of Sophocles, 2017

Sophocles' Ajax is a tragedy of contrasts and contradictions.1 The playwright creates ambiguous characters, whose virtues and vices may be interpreted and reprised in reception with a striking variety of echoes. Such ambiguities characterize the hero himself and his central act-a most impressive suicide-which literally splits the drama in two parts, very different from one another.2 Also, a wide range of problems is displayed since the opening scene (which I define a 'metatheatrical prologue').3 In the prologue, the goddess plays the role of a director, onstage: she gives directions and instructions to her protégé Odysseus, and to each of us, spectators of an awkward, repulsive, macabre show. If we remember that the Greek word 'theater' comes from the verb "theaomai"('I watch') this scene may be elected as a symbol of the ambivalent effect of Greek tragedy: a mix of fear, horror and pleasure, based on the power of vision.4 Athena's words open the drama, and literally

Supplication and Hero Cult in Sophocles' Ajax

Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies, 2011

J EBB' in his edition of Ajax, suggested the hero's cult in Attica as a clue to the play's dramatic unity.1 On this view, the death of Ajax is not the climax of the tragedy; the securing of funeral rites is essential for his consecration as a hero, and thus would be, for an Athenian audience, the natural goal of the action. This is an attractive proposition, since we know that Sophocles' fellow-citizens saw in Ajax more than the bluff warrior of the Trojan saga; Ajax was a sacred hero with particularly strong local associations. He had a shrine on Salamis, and games were held there annually in his honor. He was the eponymous hero of one of the ten Attic tribes, and received cult honors in Athens itself. After the battle of Salamis he was rewarded for his help with the dedication of a captured warship.2 Unfortunately, however, there is not a word of any of this in Sophocles' play; jebb's theory lies open to the objection raised most pointedly by Perrotta: "della consacrazione ad eroe, del culto dell' eroe Aiace, nella tragedia non si parla affatto."3 There is, however, at least one reflection of the hero's cult in Ajax that has not received sufficient attention: the brief but moving scene in which Teucer places Eurysaces as a suppliant at his father's corpse. Here, in a ceremony at once intimate and awesome, those who love Ajax enact, at least symbolically, his consecration as a hero. When Teucer appears and learns with certainty of his brother's death, his first act is to send Tecmessa to get Eurysaces, fearing that the child might fall into the hands of his father's foes (985-87). Teucer then faces Menelaus, who comes to denounce the dead man and forbid his burial, and engages him in a heated exchange. Thus, when 1 Introduction, pp. xxx-xxxii.

Ajax and Achilles Playing a Board Game: Revisited from the Literary Tradition

The Classical Quarterly, 2011

According to the detailed surveys carried out by a large number of archaeologists and scholars, there are more than 150 vases depicting the well-known image of Ajax and Achilles playing a board game. 1 These vases have been dated to the sixth and fifth centuries B.C.E. Interestingly enough, in some cases the two warriors are explicitly identified as Ajax and Achilles on the basis of inscriptions. 2 Sometimes even the number of their throws on the game board is also labelled. 3 Furthermore, many of the pieces of pottery adorned with this motif show formulaically 4 the presence of the goddess Athena. This goddess is depicted facing the viewer and standing between the players, holding her spear in one hand while making a gesture as if speaking with the other one, and looking rather sternly at Achilles. 5 However, the meaning both of her gesture in particular and that of the picture in general still * I wish to express my gratitude to Fátima Silva and Oliver Taplin, who read an earlier draft of this article and encouraged me with illuminating support and critical advice. Javier Campos was a source of inspiration for many of the ideas expressed here. I am particularly grateful to an anonymous referee, whose observations and comments have led to substantial improvements in the final version. Finally, my special thanks to John Wilkins for his accurate revision. Any remaining inaccuracies are my sole responsibility. 1 H. Mommsen, 'Achill und Aias pflichtvergessen?', in H.A. Cahn and E. Simon (edd.

The Will and Last Testament of Ajax

Illinois Classical Studies, 2011

Sophocles depicts Ajax as pronouncing an oral last will, i.e., testament, in lines 565–577, all of whose terms, by the end of the drama, either have been carried out, or soon will be. Parallels from neighboring cultures, from archaic Greece, and from Greek tragedy, show that it is reasonable to read Sophocles as having represented Ajax as pronouncing a will. The lines arrange the disposition of Ajax' property and the care of his dependents, and fulfill the form of a will in other ways. Moreover, the grammar and vocabulary of the passage are consonant with that of known near-contemporary wills, in inscriptions, tragedy, and the orators. Viewing the passage as a will can enrich our response to Sophocles’ depiction of Ajax’ desire for recompense (for being denied the armor of Achilles), as well as his attitude towards his family, his society, and even his future.

Achilles and Ajax on a Calyx-krater by Euphronios

Record of The Art Museum, Princeton University, 2001

All use subject to https://www.carmenthyssenmalaga.org tip of the crest from Achilles's helmet is preserved to the right of Ajax's spears; in a reconstruction drawing, Moore (pp. i6o-6i) presciently proposed that Ajax held the helmet with the same hand with which he grasped the shield on his left arm, an unusual action whose only parallel is Euphronios's version of the subject in Princeton. The precedent by Euphronios suggests that Moore's reconstruction is correct, but it is still possible that Ajax may have held the helmet in his right hand and both shield and spears in his left, as does another warrior on the same vase (p. 173, fig. 5g). Moore reconstructs Ajax's shield as round because a bit of tassle from the interior is preserved next to Achilles's left arm. This may be correct, for although the Boiotian shield, with notched sides, is a well-known attribute of Ajax, the Berlin Painter gave him a round shield on his hydria in New York, where he plays a board game with Achilles (Metropolitan Museum ofArt, 65.II.I2; ARV2, i634.I75bis; Paralipomena, 343; BAdaendi, 195; Moore, "The Berlin Painter and Troy," I80, fig. 7). Moore also describes as round the shield lying on the ground beyond Ajax's legs, identifying it as the shield of Achilles (p. i62). The side notch is clearly visible in her fig. ic, however, and one wonders if instead Ajax has abandoned his own Boiotian shield to take up the shield of Achilles.

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Sophocles, Ajax (Αἴας)

H. M. Roisman ed. The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Greek Tragedy. Vol. 3. (Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2013): 1255-64

ATHENA -daughter of Zeus who supports O DYSSEUS ODYSSEUS -SON of Laertes, hero of cunning, who PITIES A JAX and persuades A GAMEMNON to allow his BURIAL AJAX -son of Telamon and Eriboea, the "defensive wall" of the A CHAEANS TECMESSA -daughter of Teleutas of P HRYGIA , CONCUBINE of Ajax, and MOTHER of Ajax ' s son Eurysaces EURYSACES -mute character, son of Ajax and Tecmessa, whose name means "broad shield" (see also S ILENT C HARACTERS ) MESSENGER -reports T EUCER ' s arrival and reception by the Argives as well as Calchas' narratives of Ajax ' s HYBRIS and Athena ' s rage (see also U NNAMED C HARACTERS ) TEUCER -bowman, Ajax ' s paternal halfbrother by Hesione, daughter of Laomedon MENELAUS -son of A TREUS and Aerope and husband of H ELEN who decrees that Ajax ' s corpse must remain unburied AGAMEMNON -son of Atreus and Aerope and friend of Odysseus who yields to his FRIEND ' s advice and permits the burial of Ajax CHORUS -the crew of Ajax ' s ship, rowers and soldiers (see also C HORUSES [LIST] ) Plot P ROLOGUE (1-133): Athena finds Odysseus outside Ajax ' s tent. Odysseus can hear but not see her. The goddess reveals that Ajax slaughtered Argive flocks and their herdsmen mistaking them for Argives because she implanted delusions in his mind. Athena summons Ajax from his tent. He displays his MADNESS , fancying that he has killed Agamemnon and Menelaus, tied up Odysseus, and is torturing him with a whip. Ajax defies Athena ' s command to cease the TORTURE . Odysseus pities Ajax, even though he is an enemy -he sees Ajax ' s vulnerability as his own. Athena warns him that the gods have the power to destroy arrogant mortals (see also G ODS ' R OLE/GODS AND MORTALS ). P ARODOS (134-200): A Chorus of Erechtheid sailors/shield-carriers enters to express FEAR over the RUMORS Odysseus is spreading -that Ajax slaughtered the Danaans' cattle -and urges Ajax to emerge from his tent and defend himself. First E PISODE Part 1 (201-347): Tecmessa reports the events of the night to the Chorus, stressing Ajax ' s "sickness" and the VIOLENCE of the slaughter. When he returned to sanity, Ajax lamented with unaccustomed abandon. Now he sits in the middle of the slaughter, taking no FOOD or drink, and gives signs that he intends to do something terrible. The scene ends with Ajax ' s calling from within for his son and Teucer. Part 2 (348-595): Ajax appears on the EKKYKLēMA surrounded by the slaughter. He yearns for vengeance on Odysseus and the A TREIDAE and for his own death. Tecmessa pleads with him to live for his son ' s and her sake. Ajax calls for his son, whose exposure to the slaughter introduces him to his father ' s "savage ways." Ajax PRAYS that his son be like him, except luckier, and that when he attains manhood he display his mettle to his father ' s enemies (see also F ATE AND C HANCE ). Assuring himself that Teucer will protect Eurysaces from outrage, he bequeaths his shield to him, but insists that the rest of his arms be buried with him (see also W EAPONRY ). First S TASIMON (596-645): The Chorus contrasts its harsh life in T ROY with the happiness of its homeland, S ALAMIS . Ajax ' s madness makes this wretchedness worse. Ajax ' s mother and father will lament when they hear the

Ajax. A Roman Myth (in corso di pubblicazione)

Ajax. A Roman Myth.

This project aims at enhancing our understanding of the many and varied metamorphoses Telamonian Ajax underwent in his passage through Roman literature and culture. The polyvalent presence of both positive and negative traits is a typical feature of great heroic figures: extraordinary deeds inevitably go hand in hand with a nature that is able both to rise to an idealised model and to lead to a dangerous overreaching of human limits. Like Achilles, a great but also terrible hero, and like Ulysses, with his astounding and yet fearsome ingenuity, Ajax too reveals the ambiguity inherent in extra-ordinariness, from his incredible powers of endurance to his violent fury. This versatile nature must have affected Ajax's figure, at Rome and beyond. Like Ulysses (see already Stanford 1954), Herakles (see and Achilles (see Callen King 1987), Ajax too proves capable of weaving a web of different, even opposing significances, thus providing an adaptable mythical archetype to mirror and express ever-changing paradigms. Ajax was assimilated into specifically Roman contexts, while he remained a continually evolving figure, modifiable and modified along with social and moral changes. In the context of Rome's military ethical code, which was dubious of the individualistic, anti-social extremes of personal heroism, Ajax's quality of endurance, on the one hand, and its excessive and (self-) destructive outcomes, on the other, make him a useful figure to embody some of Rome's most controversial issues: from the dangers of merely individual heroics, to the conflict between warlike and intellectual values, to complex reactions toward suicide. Capable of embodying Roman positive as well as negative models, Ajax will provide a mythical model against which to measure national paradigms, while undergoingand therefore helping to understandthe redefinitions of culture and identity that Rome experienced in the course of its history. OUTLINE. After a brief introduction, the study is divided into three thematic parts, mirroring the three major themes of Ajax's myth: the Iliadic battlefield, the rhetorical contest with Ulysses, and its tragic epilogue. Each part is divided into chapters, as follows.

Sopocles' Ajax: A Tragedy of Deception

SMART MOVES JOURNAL IJELLH, 2023

Greek tragedy is a tragedy of fate that brings the downfall of the central figure. Greek playwrights were masters of storytelling and tried to bring purgation of human emotions. Man is indeed responsible for his prosperity and downfall, but no one can deny the ro