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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