Ajax
Also known as: Aias, Ajax the Great
After Achilles’ arms go to Odysseus, Ajax is driven mad by Athena and slaughters livestock, thinking they are his enemies. Shamed upon recovery, he deceives his companions with a speech of reconciliation, then kills himself. Teucer defends his burial against Menelaus and Agamemnon until Odysseus intervenes to grant honors.
Description
Sophocles’ *Ajax* dramatizes the ruin of a hero whose identity is bound to honor and martial excellence. In the wake of the judgment over Achilles’ arms, Ajax’s rage is diverted by Athena into a frenzy against the Achaean herds. When the delusion lifts, shame replaces wrath. Tecmessa and the Chorus plead for his life; Ajax feigns submission, entrusts his son Eurysaces with his shield, and then falls upon his sword. The second half stages a political and ethical contest over the corpse: Menelaus and Agamemnon cite discipline and expediency to forbid burial, while Teucer insists upon heroic and divine law. The play interrogates the limits of heroic ethos within communal order, setting divine manipulation and human dignity in tension. Odysseus, once Ajax’s rival, ultimately argues for compassion and proper rites, reframing victory as moral restraint. The choral odes and laments deepen themes of fortune’s instability, reputation, and the obligations owed to the dead.
Historiography
The text is preserved through the medieval manuscript tradition for Sophocles, supplemented by ancient scholia. Ancient critics, including Aristotle, cite the play, and its authenticity has not been seriously disputed. Modern scholarship debates its production date and the structural balance between the suicide and burial dispute. The play’s reception has emphasized its ethical politics and the evolution of heroic values in fifth-century Athens.
Date Notes
Commonly dated c. 450–440 BCE; precise production year uncertain.
Major Characters
- Ajax
- Odysseus
- Tecmessa
- Teucer
- Menelaus
- Agamemnon
- Athena
Myths
- Humiliation after the Judgment of Arms
- Madness and Slaughter of the Flock
- Suicide of Ajax
- Contest over Ajax’s Burial
Facts
- The dramatic premise follows the award of Achilles’ arms to Odysseus, a decision that provokes Ajax’s rage.
- Athena’s intervention redirects Ajax’s vengeance into delusion against livestock rather than Greek commanders.
- Ajax commits suicide by falling on a sword won from Hector, linking his death to his Trojan War rival.
- Tecmessa’s pleas and the presence of Eurysaces frame the play’s central lament and domestic stakes.
- The second half centers on a political dispute over burial between Teucer and the Atreidae.
- Odysseus, initially Ajax’s rival, argues for humane burial, tempering enmity with respect.
- The play explores the tension between heroic honor codes and the needs of communal order.
- Scholia and later critics note the play’s unusual bipartite structure: suicide followed by burial debate.
- Ajax is consistently portrayed as steadfast but inflexible, contrasted with Odysseus’ pragmatic intelligence.
- The action is set in front of Ajax’s hut near the Greek camp at Troy.