Ajax (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Sophocles
- First Published: 1729
- Type of Work: Drama
- Type of Plot: Tragedy
- Time of Work: The Trojan War
- Setting: Phrygia, before Troy
- Genres: Drama, Tragedy
- Subjects: Parents and children, Suicide, War, Fathers, Gods or goddesses, Greek or Roman times, Trojan War
- Locales: Troy, ancient, Phrygia
Characters Discussed
Ajax (AY-jaks), the son of Telamon and, excepting Achilles, the strongest and bravest of the Greeks who fought to win Troy. After Achilles was killed, his armor was claimed both by Ajax and by Odysseus; on the testimony of Trojan prisoners that Odysseus had been the more formidable foe, the Greeks awarded the coveted armor to him. Enraged and envious, Ajax left his tent by night, stealthily, to kill not only Odysseus but Agamemnon and Menelaus as well. The goddess Athena cast a madness upon him so that, thinking them Greek leaders, he massacred the flocks...
[The entire page is 833 words long]
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