Ajax (Sophocles)
Short summary
Ancient Greece, during the Trojan War. The Greek warrior Ajax believed he deserved the armor of the fallen Achilles, but the prize was awarded to Odysseus through intrigue. Enraged, Ajax vowed vengeance on both Odysseus and the Greek commanders who made the decision.
The goddess Athena, whom Ajax had offended with his arrogance, sent him a delusion. In his madness, he mistook the Greek army's sheep and cattle for his enemies and slaughtered them. When the madness passed, Ajax discovered what he had done and was overwhelmed with shame.
His captive wife Tecmessa and the Chorus of his sailors tried to dissuade him from despair, but Ajax was determined that only death could erase his dishonor. He called for his young son Eurysaces, gave him final instructions, and entrusted him to his brother Teucer's care.
Ajax then took his sword and went to the shore, declaring he would purify himself. A messenger arrived with news from the seer Calchas: if Ajax could be kept within camp for that one day, all would be well. But it was too late. Ajax had already gone to a secluded spot and planted his sword in the ground. He invoked the gods, crying:
O Death, Death, Death, draw nigh and look on me—
Yet there below I shall have time enow
To converse face to face with Death...O light! O sacred soil of mine own land
Then he fell upon his sword and died. Tecmessa discovered his body, and Teucer arrived to find his brother dead. The Greek commanders Menelaus and Agamemnon initially forbade Ajax's burial, but Odysseus intervened, arguing that even an enemy deserved honor in death. Ajax was finally laid to rest with full funeral rites.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Athena reveals Ajaxs madness to Odysseus
Early one morning on the Trojan shore, outside the tent of Ajax, Odysseus tracked fresh footprints in the sand, searching for evidence of a monstrous crime committed during the night. The goddess Athena appeared above him, invisible to his eyes but audible to his ears, and confirmed that Ajax was indeed the guilty party he sought.
The goddess explained that Ajax, enraged over losing Achilles' arms to Odysseus, had planned a night attack against the Greek commanders. Athena intervened by sending him a powerful delusion, turning his wrath upon the army's livestock instead. Ajax slaughtered cattle and sheep, believing them to be his enemies, and dragged the surviving animals back to his tent as captives.
Despite Odysseus's reluctance, Athena summoned Ajax from his tent to display his madness. Ajax emerged, believing he had successfully killed the Greek leaders and captured Odysseus alive for torture. He boasted of his triumph, unaware that he spoke to the very man he thought imprisoned. After Ajax returned inside, Athena warned Odysseus against pride.
Warned by these sights, Odysseus, see that thou
Utter no boastful word against the gods,
Nor swell with pride...A day can prostrate and a day upraise
All that is mortal
Ajaxs shame and Tecmessas plea for his life
The Chorus of Salaminian sailors arrived, troubled by rumors that their leader Ajax had slaughtered the Greek army's livestock in a fit of madness. They feared the consequences of such an act and worried about the accusations spreading through the camp. Tecmessa emerged from the tent to confirm their worst fears, describing how Ajax had returned home driving cattle as if they were human captives.
She recounted how Ajax had gone forth at night despite her protests, then returned with livestock he proceeded to torture and kill inside the tent. He held wild conversations with phantoms, mocking the Atridae and Odysseus, boasting of his vengeance. When the madness finally passed and Ajax regained his senses, he was devastated by what he had done. He sat among the slaughtered animals, tearing at his hair and lamenting his disgrace.
From within the tent, Ajax's anguished cries rang out. He called for his son and his half-brother Teucer, lamenting his fate. The Chorus urged Tecmessa to open the tent doors, hoping their presence might calm him. When revealed, Ajax sat surrounded by the carnage of his night's work, overwhelmed by shame and grief. He cursed his enemies and mourned that he had become a laughingstock, having attacked harmless beasts instead of his true foes.
Ajax contemplated his options, all of them bleak. He could not return home to face his father Telamon without the honor he had promised to win. He could not remain with the Greek army that now despised him. He could not even die gloriously in battle against the Trojans, for that would only please his enemies, the Atridae. Death seemed the only honorable course remaining.
Tecmessa pleaded desperately with Ajax to reconsider. She reminded him of his aged parents waiting for his return, of his young son who would be orphaned, and of her own fate as a captive who would be enslaved again if he died. She had lost her homeland and family through his conquest, and now depended entirely upon him. Her impassioned plea moved the Chorus, but Ajax remained unmoved, insisting she obey his commands without question.
Ajaxs farewell to his son Eurysaces
Ajax called for his infant son to be brought before him. Tecmessa had hidden the child away during Ajax's madness, fearing he might harm him. Now servants led the boy forward. Ajax lifted him up, untroubled that the child would see his father's bloodstained hands and the carnage surrounding them. He declared that a true son of his must be hardened early to the harsh realities of a warrior's life.
Ajax blessed his son, praying he would prove happier but equally brave. He instructed that the boy be raised by his half-brother Teucer and returned to Ajax's parents in Salamis to comfort their old age. He gave Eurysaces his famous sevenfold shield, from which the child took his name, and commanded that his other arms be buried with him. Ajax charged Teucer with protecting the boy from their enemies, particularly warning against allowing the Greek commanders to claim his weapons as spoils.
After this tender farewell, Ajax ordered everyone back inside the tent and commanded the doors be closed. Tecmessa tried once more to dissuade him, pleading by their son and by the gods, but Ajax coldly dismissed her concerns. He declared he owed the gods nothing and would not be swayed by a woman's tears. The Chorus trembled at his ominous words and urgent manner, sensing terrible purpose in his actions.
Ajaxs deceptive speech and departure to his death
After some time, Ajax emerged from his tent carrying his sword. His demeanor had changed dramatically. He spoke philosophically about the nature of time and change, how even the strongest wills must bend, how winter yields to summer and night to day. He declared he had learned wisdom and would now yield to the gods and respect the authority of the Atridae, even though they were his enemies.
Time in its slow, illimitable course
Brings all to light and buries all again...the dreadest oath
Is broken and the stubbornest will is bent.
E'en I...now have lost the edge
Ajax announced he would go to the seashore to purify himself and bury his cursed sword, the gift from his enemy Hector, which had brought him nothing but misfortune. He told Tecmessa to pray that his heart's desires be fulfilled, and instructed his comrades to give his regards to Teucer when he returned, asking his brother to care for him and show goodwill to all. With these seemingly hopeful words, Ajax departed.
The Chorus erupted in joy, believing Ajax had recovered his senses and reconciled with the gods. They sang hymns of celebration, calling upon Pan and Apollo to join their dancing. They praised the passage of time that had softened Ajax's stubborn heart and brought him back to piety. Their relief was profound, thinking the crisis had passed and their beloved leader was saved.
False hope and the seers warning
A Messenger arrived with urgent news. Teucer had returned from a military expedition and was immediately surrounded by hostile Greeks who blamed him for his brother's actions. They threatened to stone him to death as the kinsman of a madman who had plotted against the army. The situation nearly erupted into violence before the elders intervened.
The Messenger revealed that the seer Calchas had pulled Teucer aside with a dire prophecy. Athena's wrath against Ajax would last only this one day. If Ajax could be kept safely within his tent until nightfall, he might yet be saved. The goddess punished him for his arrogance, particularly for twice rejecting divine aid with blasphemous boasts. Teucer had immediately sent the Messenger to ensure Ajax remained confined.
Horror struck the Chorus and Tecmessa when they learned Ajax had already left. The Messenger's arrival came too late. Tecmessa immediately organized search parties to scour the coastline and woods, desperately hoping to find Ajax before he could harm himself. The Chorus split into groups, some heading east and others west, all frantically searching for their missing leader.
Discovery of Ajaxs suicide
Meanwhile, Ajax had found a secluded spot on the shore. He planted his sword firmly in the ground, blade upward, and tested its edge. He reflected that it was Hector's gift, given in friendship after their famous duel, yet it had become the instrument of his death. He prayed to Zeus to send word to Teucer so his brother could retrieve his body before enemies found it. He called upon Hermes to grant him a swift, painless death, and upon the Furies to witness his destruction by the Atridae and to punish them in turn.
The slayer standeth where his stroke is sure...The gift of Hector erst my foeman-friend...Now fixed in foemen's land, the land of Troy...Here have I planted it...A friend to help me to a speedy death.
Ajax bid farewell to the sunlight, to his homeland Salamis, to Athens and its people, to the Trojan landscape that had been his home for so long. He declared these were his last words to the living world. Henceforth he would speak only with the dead in Hades. With that, he fell upon his sword.
The Chorus searched desperately, calling out to each other as they combed the coastline. They heard a terrible cry and discovered Tecmessa standing over Ajax's body, transfixed by his own sword. She had found him first and covered his corpse with her robe, unable to bear the sight of the blood spurting from his self-inflicted wound. The Chorus gathered around, lamenting their loss and the fulfillment of their worst fears.
Teucers grief and the question of burial
Teucer arrived and was devastated by the sight of his brother's corpse. He mourned not only Ajax's death but also his own dire situation. He had failed to protect his brother, and now faced the wrath of their father Telamon, who would surely blame him for this tragedy. Teucer knew he could never return home, branded as the coward who abandoned Ajax in his hour of need, or worse, suspected of conspiring to inherit Ajax's kingdom.
Teucer reflected bitterly on the ironic connection between Ajax and Hector. Hector had been dragged to death by the belt Ajax gave him, while Ajax died by the sword Hector had given him. He saw the hand of the Furies in these intertwined fates. Teucer ordered the Chorus to help prepare for burial and sent Tecmessa to bring Ajax's son, hoping the child's presence might protect the body from desecration.
Menelaus forbids burial of Ajax
Menelaus arrived and immediately forbade the burial of Ajax. He declared that Ajax had proven himself an enemy of the Greeks by attempting to murder the commanders, and therefore deserved to be cast out unburied, left for scavenging birds. Menelaus argued that Ajax had never obeyed authority while alive, and discipline required that even in death he be punished as an example to others.
Teucer furiously rejected this decree. He pointed out that Ajax had come to Troy of his own free will, not as Menelaus's subordinate, and had fought to honor his own oath, not to rescue Menelaus's wife. Teucer accused Menelaus of orchestrating the corrupt vote that awarded Achilles' arms to Odysseus, which had driven Ajax to madness. He vowed to bury his brother regardless of any prohibition.
The confrontation grew heated, with Menelaus mocking Teucer's status as the son of a captive woman and Teucer responding with contempt for Menelaus's cowardice and corruption. Menelaus threatened violence but ultimately withdrew, warning that he would return with force to prevent the burial. The Chorus urged restraint, fearing the conflict would escalate into bloodshed.
Agamemnons confrontation with Teucer
Agamemnon arrived to enforce his brother's command. He berated Teucer for his insolence, reminding him of his status as a slave's son and dismissing Ajax as merely one warrior among many. Agamemnon insisted that the rule of law required Ajax's punishment, and that allowing Teucer's defiance would undermine all military discipline and order.
Teucer responded by recounting Ajax's heroic deeds, particularly how he had single-handedly saved the Greek ships when Hector nearly burned them. He reminded Agamemnon of Ajax's courage in accepting Hector's challenge to single combat when others drew lots hoping to avoid it. Teucer also attacked Agamemnon's own lineage, pointing out that his grandfather was Phrygian, his father had committed fratricide, and his mother was Cretan and unfaithful.
Teucer declared that he would rather die defending Ajax's right to burial than live as a coward. He warned Agamemnon that any violence against him would be met with equal force. The confrontation reached an impasse, with neither side willing to yield.
Odysseus secures permission for burial
Odysseus arrived and immediately intervened. He urged Agamemnon to permit Ajax's burial, arguing that it would be unjust to dishonor so great a warrior simply because he had been an enemy. Odysseus acknowledged that Ajax had been his deadliest foe, especially after winning Achilles' arms, but insisted that Ajax's valor and worth outweighed their enmity.
With me his worth outweighs his enmity...Once too I knew a man more circumspect,
Or one more prompt for all emergencies?...though he be my foe,
I still must pity him in his distress
Agamemnon initially resisted, but Odysseus persisted, reminding him that true leadership meant heeding wise counsel from friends. He pointed out that stubbornness was no virtue, and that circumstances often required flexibility. Agamemnon finally relented, agreeing to allow the burial as a favor to Odysseus, though he maintained his hatred for Ajax even in death.
Odysseus then offered to help with the funeral rites, but Teucer gently declined, fearing it might displease Ajax's spirit. However, he welcomed any other Greeks who wished to join the mourning and expressed deep gratitude for Odysseus's noble intervention. The Chorus praised Odysseus's wisdom, noting that anyone who denied it after such proof would be a fool. Teucer organized the burial preparations, sending men to dig the grave, prepare lustral waters, and fetch Ajax's armor. He placed young Eurysaces beside his father's body as a suppliant, and called upon all who claimed friendship with Ajax to help tend the dead. The Chorus concluded by reflecting on the unpredictability of fate and the impossibility of foreseeing the future.