Ajax
(Sophocles)
One of Sophocles earliest tragedies, Ajax displays both the
intervention of the Gods and how they can both destroy the
human spirit and yet not take away their dignity. Ajax, a
hero of the Greek war, is incensed by the honor of the dead
Achilles? armor going to Odysseus and vows vengeance on the
Greek soldiers. Odysseus appears both scheming and
manipulative in this story while the strong and bold Ajax
has been defeated by the aftermath of the Trojan war?s new
appreciation of intellect over valor. The goddess Athena
saves the Greek soldiers from Ajax wrath by driving Ajax
insane. The mad Ajax has been driven to believe that he is
causing devastation among the Greek soldiers but is in fact
slaughtering sheep and cattle instead. When he comes out of
his madness, Ajax is so ashamed and full of despair that he
leaves his home to kill himself in isolation. Odysseus,
discovering Ajax? nobility too late, entreats the general?s
Agamemnon and Menelaus to give the old hero an honorable
burial and Ajax is honored in death as he was disgraced in
life.
Ajax is also notable because it is one of few classical
Greek tragedies where the action changes location and the
final scenes are not accompanied by the chorus. It also is
a significant display of Deus Ex Machina with the presence
of Athena at the end as well as the presence of the Gods
significant role in the fate of mankind. Ajax, a man of the
old order, could not survive the changes which occur after
the Trojan War, but he remains a hero nonetheless and is
honored in his passing, despite Odysseus? triumph in the
new world after the war as a political man of the state
rather than an aggressive soldier of the war.
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