Ajax

by Sophocles, Bryan Doerries (Translator)

The great warrior Achilles has been killed in battle. As the man who now can be considered the greatest Greek warrior, Ajax feels he should be given Achilles’ armor, but the two kings, Agamemnon and Menelaus, award it instead to Odysseus. Ajax becomes furious about this and decides to kill them. However, Athena steps in and deludes Ajax into instead killing the spoil of the Greek army, which includes cattle as well as the herdsman.

Genres: Plays, Classics, Mythology, Drama, Fiction, Theatre, Ancient

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 441

About the author

Sophocles (497/496 BC-406/405 BC), (Greek: Σοφοκλής ; German: Sophokles , Russian: Софокл , French: Sophocle ) was an ancient Greek tragedian, known as one of three from whom at least one play has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those of Aeschylus; and earlier than, or contemporary with, those of Euripides. Sophocles wrote over 120 plays, but only seven have survived in a complete form: Ajax, Antigone, Women of Trachis, Oedipus Rex, Electra, Philoctetes, and Oedipus at Colonus. For almost fifty years, Sophocles was the most celebrated playwright in the dramatic competitions of the city-state of Athens which took place during the religious festivals of the Lenaea and the Dionysia. He competed in thirty competitions, won twenty-four, and was never judged lower than second place. Aeschylus won thirteen competitions, and was sometimes defeated by Sophocles; Euripides won four.
The most famous tragedies of Sophocles feature Oedipus and Antigone: they are generally known as the Theban plays, though each was part of a different tetralogy (the other members of which are now lost). Sophocles influenced the development of drama, most importantly by adding a third actor (attributed to Sophocles by Aristotle; to Aeschylus by Themistius), thereby reducing the importance of the chorus in the presentation of the plot. He also developed his characters to a greater extent than earlier playwrights.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

“To mock foes, is that not the sweetest mockery?”

Athena’s cruel words leave Odysseus hesitant in the opening scene of Ajax, one of Sophocles’ most intense and dramatic plays. The powerful Goddess has made the Greek hero Ajax lose his mind and fight herds of cattle instead of men in his delusion. To make his shame perfect, she wants Odysseus to see his disgrace. When Odysseus refuses, she mocks him, asking provocatively if he is afraid of a madman. And the clever Odysseus answers, without hesitation this time:

“Had he been sane, no fear had made me shrink.”

That is a striking thought, and essentially true. A Greek hero, however powerful and angry, however dangerous to fight, is a known entity to Odysseus as long as the enemy is sane, and uses the same rules to judge a situation as he would himself. A hero with the same physical power, but deprived of vital mental capacities, is a scarily uncertain threat that can not be faced with regular methods.

Athena wants to show off her power to punish humans, so she forces Odysseus to watch Ajax in all his boastful delusion. He is left reflective:

“I know none nobler; and I pity him
In his misery, albeit he is my foe,
Since he is yoked fast to an evil doom.
My own lot I regard no less than his.
For I see well, nought else are we but mere
Phantoms, all we that live, mere fleeting shadows.”

Ajax’ misery is not over yet, however. The worst possible conclusion has yet to come: he will see his own madness and despair of life. For as long as he stays in his delusion, others might pity him, but he is triumphant. Only with the sane eyes of his society, he will know his own downfall. The effect is terrifying:

“Nobly to live, or else nobly to die
Befits proud birth. There is no more to say.”

The following scenes in “Ajax” have always fascinated me, as they juxtapose different values and ideals in society. Ajax argues for the necessity to live and die like a hero, following the credo of "Dulce Et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori", and his wife Tecmessa counterbalances the heroic ideal with the duties of a father and husband, the long-term effects of his commitment to a family and his responsibilities on earth. The arguments are not put forward in a dialogue, as the two concepts are not compatible, and despite Tecmessa’s eloquent soliloquy for family and future, Ajax opts for the heroic exit, and opens up for a new discussion in Greek style: does he deserve a proper burial?

“Ajax” leaves me with a chilling feeling, a bitter taste of knowing that human beings are fragile, delusional, obsessed with matters of superficial honour and fame, and that they are willing to sacrifice everything they have built up for themselves to make a mark on history, to stand out in the crowd.

What for? Why carry the heroic ideals from generation to generation, from culture to culture, never stopping to think of the future that will come if we do not end the eternal circle of violence based on pride and delusion?

After the first world war, a generation of poets challenged the ancient idea of military glory, but The Poems Of Wilfred Owen have not been able to convince the majority of humanity of the vanity and waste of nationalism, patriotism, militarism and exclusive club or tribe behaviour.

Carol Ann Duffy once wrote a Wilfred Owen poem backwards, and made the soldiers reject the heroic ideal and go home: Last Post What a powerful message for everyday life with its pleasure in small things! But it does not look like we have lost the tribal honour codes in the world despite the voices raised against them ever since Sophocles made Tecmessa speak up for responsibility and life. The Ajaxes of this world are still more concerned with their own reputation and fame than with real solutions for the future!

And women and children are still more often than not the victims of this mindset.

[Luís · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ajax, gone mad, attacks the Argive herds at night, believing they are attacking the men. Discovering the deception and its dishonor, he commits suicide by impaling himself with a sword planted on the ground.
While Tecmesse, his wife, laments that Teucer intends to bury his brother with his honors. In the name of Agamemnon, Menelaus opposes this and comes to tell him not to bury him. But Teucer is so keen on this burial that Agamemnon himself comes to tell him to keep a low profile since he is only an enslaved person. Finally, Ulysses comes to calm the discussion and, even as Ajax's mortal enemy, wishes to do the honors to the brave warrior, helping his brother at the funeral.
It is a concise piece that features only a few dialogues between Athena and Ulysses, as seen in the Odyssey. The coryphée and the choir also intervene to translate the thoughts or pass judgment. Then, it is the lamentations of Tecmesse or Teucer. The madness monologues of Ajax and the disputes concerning his funeral between his avowed enemies, but who, in death, regain a common honor (Ulysses).

[David Sarkies · Rating 5 out of 5]

Psychosis and the Trojan War
20 March 2012

On the 9th of March 2012 an American patrol was travelling through Afghanistan when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb. Of the occupants two were severely injured (I believe they lost limbs). Two days later, on the 11th March 2012, one of the soldiers that had escaped injury took up an assault rifle, left the camp, and proceeded to slaughter 16 Afghani civilians from two villages. This event hit the media like a storm, and as of the writing of this commentary, the soldier is up on charges and has made the statement that he cannot remember anything of the incident itself. The question that you may be asking is, what has this got to do with a play written 2500 years ago? My answer is quite a lot actually. In fact this recent incident in Afghanistan is almost identical to the plot of the Ajax (with the exception that the soldier did not kill himself whereas Ajax did).

When I first picked up this book last night I was thinking that I would just read this play, which I quite like, and comment on it like I have been doing with the other Greek plays that I have read recently. However, my mind had already been triggered by some books that I have ordered from the US that discuss mental illnesses, particularly PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) that appeared in Ancient Greek literature. A friend of mine at work has read one of them and speaks very highly of the scholarship that is involved in it. Another book that I have picked up deals with PTSD as it appears in Heracles by Euripides. However, I have noticed that there seems to be a lack of literature relating to a similar condition arising in the Ajax.

The story of Ajax is that Ajax is a commander in the Trojan War and after Paris killed Achilles, there was a competition over who would get armour - Odysseus won. However it turns out that Odysseus (surprise, surprise) cheated and that Ajax should have got the armour instead. Ajax then descends into a fit of madness and begins to slaughter the Greeks' cattle, believing them to be the Greeks themselves. Upon discovering the truth, he descends into depression and finishes off by killing himself. There is more to the play than that, particularly when Odysseus then steps up afterwards and defends Ajax's honour against Menelaus and Agamemnon.

The events of the play show elements of psychosis and major depressive disorder leading to suicidal ideation (you can tell I work in personal injury). The depressive elements are very clear, particularly when it is Ajax's honour that has been destroyed. As the saying goes, it takes a lifetime to build a reputation and a moment to destroy it. Ajax's fit of madness destroyed his reputation in minutes. However we note that with the exception of Odysseus, there is absolutely no sympathy for Ajax from any of the other commanders. As far as they are concerned he has betrayed them and his people. Ajax sees himself having no friends: the Trojans hate him and the Greeks hate him, and despite his mother and brother loving him, his guilt pervades him to the point that he has no choice but to fall onto his sword.

Now, as I read through the English translation (with the Greek being on the opposite page) I noticed Ajax's illness being mentioned numerous times. I flicked my eyes over to the Greek, located the word, and indeed the word is Greek for illness. The play clearly demonstrates a recognition of mental illness being a legitimate sickness, and this was 2500 years before Freud. Further, as we look into other Greek literature, particularly Plato, we discover that there were systems in place that were designed to assist people suffering from mental illness: this being called the Therapy of the Soul. It appears that not only did the Greeks recognise mental illness, but also recognised the need and a system in an attempt to cure it.

However, if we consider this play and Heracles we notice that the Greeks seemed to believe that the origin of mental illness was divine. This is not necessarily limited to the Greeks though since we see episodes of psychosis in the Bible and a recognition that demonic forces can be behind it. The main incident that I refer to is the story of Legion, where a man was banished to the wastelands because he was possessed by a legion of demons, and Jesus comes along, cures him, and casts the demons into a herd of pigs. In Greek tragedy, mental illness comes about from the gods fogging the mind of the victim. Athena fogs Ajax's mind in an attempt to prevent him from killing Odysseus, and Madness descends upon Herakles since he had completed his tasks, and the prohibition from harming him had been lifted.

This is why I love to study the ancients. It is not because of my love of antiquity, but because it is clear that they were much more intelligent and switched on than we give them credit for. In Shakespeare's time, while there was a recognition of mental illness (King Lear suffers from a Major Depressive Disorder while Hamlet shows elements of psychosis, despite the fact that he is faking it). However, it is accepted and unchangeable. We see no attempt by Shakespeare to attempt to address it though there are elements looking at their underlying causes. However we cannot forget that, with the exception of King Lear, the other madnesses that come to mind (Titus Andronicus and Hamlet) the madness is faked.

I recently saw a performance of this play where it was set in modern day Iraq. My thoughts on this production can be found on my blog.

[persephone ☾ · Rating 3 out of 5]

starting the year with a greek tragedy, let's hope my life won't mimic fiction this time 🙃

[S. ≽^•⩊•^≼ I'm not here yet · Rating 3 out of 5]

هیچکس جز مردم جبان و ترسو آرزومند عمری دراز نیست که سراسر آن برنج و فرومایگی گذرد. چه فایده آدمی بیکار نشیند و بشامرش ایام وقت بگذراند و در مسیر نیستی گام گذارد؟ یا چه فایده که انسان با آتش نیم مرده آمال و آرزوها خویشتن را گرم کند؟...
یا باید با افتخار زیست یا بسر بلندی هلاک شد‌‌‌...


I start the alphabet challenge on 1 October to finish by the end of the year, hope so...

Ajax
the Banshees of inisherin
Catfish rolling
the Dogs of Athens
Elder Race
the Fire Next Time
A Game of Gods (Hades Saga, #3) /or Geneva...

[Paul Haspel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ajax of Aegina, a pre-eminent Greek hero of the Trojan War, lives on in contemporary culture, in everything from a dishwashing liquid to a computer-programming language to a professional soccer team (for Amsterdam). A recent re-viewing of the film Troy made me want to go back to Sophocles’ original play Ajax; and re-reading Sophocles’ play from the year 441 B.C. reminded me how different Sophocles’ Ajax is from the depiction of Ajax in Wolfgang Petersen’s epic film from 2004.

Sophocles is remembered as one of the “Big Three” playwrights of classical Athenian drama, along with his predecessor Aeschylus and his younger challenger Euripides. Where Aeschylus tended, in his plays, to show two characters speaking, with a chorus providing commentary that reflected the likely response of the audience to the events unfolding on stage, Sophocles often showed interaction among three characters, rather than between only two – an innovation that opened up Greek drama by focusing audience attention on the characters rather than the chorus.

In the movie Troy, Ajax is played by Tyler Mane, a Canadian actor and former professional wrestler whose imposing size and build contribute to his portrayal of Ajax as a particularly intimidating Greek warrior. The Ajax of Troy dies heroically in single combat with the Trojan champion Hector, succumbing only after suffering many wounds. In Homer’s Iliad, by contrast, Ajax and Hector both survive their ordeal of single combat, and even give each other gifts! The death of Ajax in the original Greek mythology, as dramatized in Sophocles’ play, is not nearly as heroic as what German filmmaker Wolfgang Petersen presents on screen in Troy – but one could argue that it is much more interesting.

Sophocles’ Ajax begins with a dialogue that makes clear that Ajax’s career as one of Greece’s greatest warrior heroes has reached a decidedly non-heroic culmination. The downfall of Ajax began, it turns out, with the death of Achilles. To possess the armour of Achilles would have been a feather in the Corinthian helmet of any of the leading Greeks. Both Ajax of Aegina and Odysseus of Ithaca wanted the armour, and each was allowed to present his case. Ajax reminded his hearers that he was “Ajax the Great,” the greatest Greek soldier after Achilles, and stated that he deserved the armour for that reason alone. The clever Odysseus, by contrast, emphasized his strategic and tactical contributions to the Greek campaign against Troy. The judges – brothers Agamemnon and Menelaus, sons of the house of Atreus and leaders of the Greek forces – awarded the armour to Odysseus.

An enraged Ajax resolved to beat and murder Odysseus, Agamemnon, and Menelaus; but Athena, goddess of wisdom, harboured a grudge against Ajax because he impiously refused to seek the help of the gods in fighting the Trojans. Therefore, Athena induced in Ajax a temporary fit of madness, and Ajax killed the cattle and sheep that the Greeks had taken from the Trojans as spoils of war. In a moment, Ajax’s credibility and reputation are gone – lost to him forever. From now on, he knows, he’ll be remembered as the man who made war against livestock.

Those whom the gods want to punish, they hurt. Those whom the gods really want to punish, they humiliate.

Sophocles seems to be fond of what we nowadays might call the “big reveal” – when we get to see that Oedipus has blinded himself, or that Antigone has hanged herself. Similarly, in the play Ajax a set of doors is opened to show Ajax sitting among the animals that he has slain, in a manner that reveals the depth of Ajax’s degradation.

Ajax laments his disgrace: “Behold now the bold, the man stout of heart,/Who ne’er shrank in fight against foes -- behold/How I have spent my rage on beasts that feared no harm./Ah, me, the mockery! To what shame am I brought low!” He imagines “Odysseus the wise” exulting in Ajax’s fall and shame, calling Odysseus an “all-spying knave” and apostrophizing his one-time rival: “Villain, of all the camp the most foul and vile!/Huge laughter doubtless shakes thee now for sheer delight.”

Ajax still wishes that he could kill Odysseus – and Agamemnon and Menelaus, too, for good measure – but he knows that his opportunity to do so is gone forever. All that is left for him to do is to pray to Erebus, the personified darkness of the Underworld: “Receive, receive me your habitant./Receive me now no more worthy to seek help of the gods”.

A messenger subsequently describes Ajax’s hubris, along with the way in which he practically dared the goddess Athena to turn her wrath upon him.

[H]is father spoke to him
Wisely: “My son, seek victory by the spear;
But seek it always with the help of heaven.”
Then boastfully and witlessly he answered:
“Father, with heaven’s help a mere man of nought
Might win victory: but I, albeit without
Their aid, trust to win a victor’s glory.”
Such was his proud taunt.”

Athena, the messenger tells us, actually tried to give Ajax a second chance to demonstrate his fidelity to the Olympian gods, but Ajax persisted in his fatal pride:

Then a second time
Answering divine Athena, when she urged him
To turn a slaughterous hand upon his foes,
He gave voice to this dire, blasphemous boast:
“Goddess, stand thou beside the other Greeks.
Where I am stationed, no foe shall break through.”
By such words and such thoughts, too great for man,
Did he provoke Athena’s pitiless wrath.

Ajax, alone at the sea-side, subsequently meditates on his upcoming death. Placing the sword of Hector – “the gift of Hector, of all friends/Most unloved, and most hateful to my sight” – blade upright in the sand, he prepares to cast himself upon its razor-sharp point. Ajax acknowledges at last the power of the gods, and asks that Hermes, the messenger god who guides souls from life into death, guide him swiftly to the underworld. Anticipating, in a way, later developments of the play, he asks that Zeus grant him a quick death and provide for some messenger to notify Ajax’s half-brother Teucer of Ajax’s death – “Lest ere he come some enemy should espy me/And cast me forth to dogs and birds a prey.”

And, in a curse that would have resonated for this play’s original audience at the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens, Ajax calls upon the Fates to avenge him upon the House of Atreus –

…that they mark
How by the Atreidae I have been destroyed:
And these vile men by a vile doom utterly
May they cut me off, even as they see me here.
Come, O ye swift avenging Erinyes,
Spare not, touch with affliction the whole host.

And with that curse – one that looks ahead to the subsequent travails of the descendants of Atreus – Ajax takes his own life.

The play then turns to the question of what will be done with Ajax’s dead body. Menelaus, who knows that he would have been one of the prime targets of Ajax’s wrath, sees Ajax as a traitor to the Greek cause, and commands that the body of Ajax should be left unburied: “[T]here lives no man so powerful/That he shall lay this corpse beneath a tomb;/But cast forth somewhere upon the yellow sands/It shall become food for the sea-shore birds.” Like Creon in Sophocles’ Antigone, who ordered, after the Theban civil war, that the body of the rebel leader Polyneices should be left unburied, Menelaus is guilty of a terrible profanation against the Olympian gods.

It is left to Teucer to defy Menelaus’ impious decree. Teucer reminds Menelaus that Ajax was a leader with the same status as Menelaus, and that Menelaus has no right to regard Ajax as a lawless vassal: “It was not for the sake of your lost wife [Helen]/He came to Troy, like your toil-broken serfs,/But for the sake of oaths that he had sworn,/Not for yours.” While the Chorus, reflecting the audience’s likely sensibilities, expresses tentative disapproval of Teucer’s criticism of Menelaus – “Harsh words rankle, be they ne’er so just” – Teucer controverts Menelaus’ arguments:

MENELAUS: Is it right that my assassin should be honoured?

TEUCER: “Assassin”? How strange, if, though slain, you live!

MENELAUS: Heaven saved me: I was slain in his intent.

TEUCER: Do not dishonour then the gods who saved you.

MENELAUS: What, I rebel against the laws of heaven?

TEUCER: Yes, if you come to rob the dead of burial.

Agamemnon, who shares Menelaus’ wish to leave the body of Ajax unburied, seeks to silence Teucer; but Teucer’s words receive reinforcement from, of all people, Odysseus. He may have been Ajax’s worst enemy in life, but Odysseus pleads on Ajax’s behalf, calling him a noble foe worthy of a hero’s burial. Menelaus and Agamemnon relent – albeit with a notable lack of grace – and Teucer calls upon his attendants to help with the burial of Ajax, while the Chorus gets the last word, reminding the playgoer or reader of Sophocles’ time, or ours, that “before he sees, no man/May divine what destiny awaits him.”

I originally read Ajax as part of a Penguin Classics collection of Sophocles’ plays, and was glad to have the chance to read this particular play on its own. It is a compelling drama that provides valuable insights into the mindset of classical Greece – even if Ajax himself might have much preferred the heroic death that he is vouchsafed in the movie Troy.

[Lilian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ajax: RARRRR!!! *kills lots of sheep*
Ajax: ...
Ajax: *feels much shame* i should kill myself
Tecmessa: don't do it hoe
Teucer: don't do it bro
Ajax: *kills self anyway*
Tecmessa & Teucer: well great. now our lives are f'd.
Menelaus: trololol hope the birds eat ur face
Odysseus: guys maybe we shouldn't be jerks...
Agamemnon: fine whatevs
Ajax: *gets buried*

[Cami✯ (semi-hiatus — school ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

so gorgeously dramatic.

[Anisha Inkspill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ajax’s story left an impression after the first time I heard about it. It was sometime after my early attempts of trying to read Homer’s The Iliad. Ajax is one of the heroes fighting on the Greek side, today like many other heroes in this story, he is pretty much forgotten as the focus is on Achilles and Hector. However, as I continued to read different translations of The Iliad his story stayed with me. For me, this was just another thing that convinced me this epic poem is anti-war.

Ajax has to compete with the smooth orator Odysseus to win Achilles’s armour. Not competent in speech he loses. The situation is ridiculous as the armour should be his, humiliated and feeling unappreciated his maddening rage gets the better of him. To save what honor he has left he commits suicide.

This is not heroic but tragic.

Sophocles takes this event, and according to the play’s intro essay, goes against his time (where Ajax’s fate has created a cult following and worshipped), by showing him in a less heroic light. In Sophocles’s play its Odysseus, the man Ajax has come to hate, who comes across as the hero for his noble act. He pacifies the anger that is stopping Ajax from having a decent burial. From my background reading I have grasped: back in those days, not burying a man properly condemns his soul and if that man is a hero than that’s like really damning him.

As a read, I found this play moving especially the speeches from his wife who begs him to live. As I become familiar with these stories, I knew this would not be an option for him; because for these heroes what runs deep is a code of honour – like Hector who was not stopped by his wife Andromache to re-join the Trojan war – neither will Ajax be. This story maybe old but this is just one aspect that keeps it relevant today. What spoke to me the loudest, after the wonderful heart-wrenching poetry, was how the hero’s code has consequences for the family. I’m thinking of Ajax’s wife, Tekmessa, and hoping after some hardship things will get better for her as they did for Andromache; whose life completely changed with Hector’s death. Hence, to me, being a hero has a downside when you have to put honor above the impact it would have on your family.

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mais uma vez uma leitura imperdível. Novamente, num pequeno texto apenas, com um enredo bastante simples, são tratados aspectos chave da condição humana.

Aqui, é a honra que toma o papel principal, e sobre a qual recai o ónus da tragédia. É uma excelente história.

Não deixem por favor de ler estes clássicos, para poderem entender que privilégio é este o de podermos hoje em dia, ter estes títulos nas mãos.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

"ÁJAX
Sei desde há pouco tempo que um inimigo só deve odiar-se na medida em que poderá de novo ser nosso amigo, e, quanto a quem é amigo, quero servi-lo e ajudá-lo, pensando que ele não se manterá assim para sempre."

Após a morte de Aquiles, Ájax, o rei de Salamina, e Ulisses, o rei de Ítaca, disputam, entre si, o direito às armas do rei dos Mirmidões. Apesar dos grandes feitos em batalha de Ájax, Ulisses vence graças à sua eloquência. Assim, é premiada a inteligência em detrimento da força.
A peça de Sófocles inicia-se após o "julgamento das armas" em que Ájax, revoltado e enlouquecido, decide matar os Atridas e Ulisses, no que é impedido pela intervenção de Atena. Quando o herói recupera a sanidade mental e se dá conta da sua desonra, só lhe resta um caminho...


(The suicide of Ajax the Great)

Um texto belíssimo sobre a fragilidade humana e a perda da razão por dignidade ferida, que origina o ódio e a violência dos humilhados; sobre o amor pela família; e também sobre a justiça e o poder da argumentação — pela primeira vez vi Ulisses como um herói.


"ULISSES
É lícito que um amigo possa falar a verdade e não ficar menos companheiro do que antes?

É a sua valentia que em mim vence o ódio.

AGAMÉMNON
Mas homens destes são instáveis entre os mortais.

ULISSES
Sem dúvida que muitos que agora são amigos serão depois hostis.

AGAMÉMNON
Achas então louvável ter amigos desses?

ULISSES
Não acho louvável ter um espírito irredutível."

[Amirsaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

تراژدی همه‌ی آنانی که به حکومت‌شان خدمات فراوانی کردند، ولی بعدتر به خاطر قرار نگرفتن در حزب سیاسی غالب، مغضوب حاکمیت شدند. حاکمان، گذشته‌ی درخشان آنان را انکار کردند، به خیانت متهم‌شان کردند، و حتی به جنازه‌ی آن‌ها نیز لگد زدند.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

this series, The Greek Tragedy in New Translations, pairs scholars & poets for bangin' translations of plays by aeschylus, euripides, sophocles, etc & the editors' foreword itself got me pretty psyched; these guys seem to be really hardcore about their convictions regarding quality translations, & i'm totally going to check out some others.

that said, in this translation pevear steps down from bein' all scholarly-like & lets herbert golder do that work, & omg does he ever; it's funny because i only picked this out because of pevear, & golder's contributions are what really got me. i don't even want to say anything about the play cuz hg's so sexy & it makes me feel a little dumb, in a way i just might like. mmm.

but ANYWAY, i guess i have to read the iliad now which is WAY LAME cuz i gots stuff to do, world! & i think i like sophocles better than aeschylus, tho i should probably read more before i make these decisions. still a toss-up between sophocles & euripides.

i leave you w/ this magic from the end's epic shit-talking session:


MENELAOS
I saw a man once whose bold talk
had pressed a ship's crew to set sail
in winter. A storm broke, the waves
piled higher and higher, and he
grew quieter and quieter, huddled
in the stern under his cloak. The sailors
stepped on him in the confusion
and he said nothing at all.
So, if a great storm blows up
from a small cloud, it may silence
your big voice in the same way.

TEUKROS
I, too, saw a man once, full
of his own stupidity, who insulted
his neighbors in their grief.
Someone who looked like me,
and was like me in temper, warned him:
"Man, do not outrage the dead.
If you do, it will be your own ruin."
So the fool was told to his face.
I can still see him now: I think
he's none other than you, Menelaos!
Am I talking in riddles?


OH SNAP

[Jesús De la Jara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es la primera tragedia griega que leí.

Es una tragedia muy interesante y creo es una muy especial entre el ciclo Tebano por el que es mayormente reconocido Sófocles. Este autor incansable se dice escribió más de 120 tragedias pero desgraciadamente sólo quedan 7.

Áyax es diferente en muchos aspectos a las demás tragedias, por lo menos la aparición de Atenea ya dice bastante a diferencia de otras obras, y nos hace pensar qué tanta puede haber sido la diversidad de Sófocles en su obra.

Áyax ese gigante guerrero uno de los más valerosos que ha criado la Grecia de Aquiles enfrenta en una batalla por el honor a Odiseo favorito de los dioses, sólo uno triunfará en esta batalla.

[mai ahmd · Rating 4 out of 5]

أحببت جدا شعرية النص فكنت أقرأ وأشاهد
وكأن الشخصيات تتجسد أمامي على مسرح
نص في منتهى الجمال

[Alp Turgut · Rating 3 out of 5]

“İlyada”daki Achilleus’tan sonraki en güçlü kahraman olarak kabul edilen Aias’ın trajik sonunu konu alan Sophocles’in aynı isimli oyunu “Ajax / Aias”, ünlü yazarın ilk oyunlarından olması sebebiyle “Elektra” ve “Kral Oidipus” gibi diğer oyunlarına kıyasla biraz daha zayıf bir tablo çiziyor. Hikayenin ilk yarısında yapılan haksızlık nedeniyle Odysseus, Agamemnon ve Menelaus’tan intikamını almak isteyen Aias, Athena yüzünden kandırılır ve bir grup koyun sürüsünü onlar zannederek vahşice öldürür, bunu farkedince de intihar eder. Hikayenin diğer yarısında ise Aias’ın kardeşi Teucer, Agamemnon ve Menelaus’a rağmen onu gömmek istediği için onlarla sözlü munakaşaya girer ve Odysseus sayesinde amacına ulaşır. Oldukça basit bir hikaye örgüsüne sahip olmasına rağmen dili oldukça akıcı ve Aias karakterini öğrenme açısından çok yararlı. “İlyada” ve Yunan mitolojisi açısından oldukça önemli bir olayı anlatması sebebiyle mutlaka okunması gerekiyor.

07.12.2015
İstanbul, Türkiye

Alp Turgut

http://www.filmdoktoru.com/kitap-labo...

[The Bibliophile Doctor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of Sophocles works revolve around war. The play is again about the warrior named Ajax during a Trojan war.

Ajax or Aias was a Greek mythological hero, the son of King Telamon and Periboea, and the half-brother of Teucer. He was described as fearless, strong, and powerful but also with a very high level of combat intelligence. Ajax commanded his army wielding a huge shield made of seven cowhides with a layer of bronze.

When great warrior Achilles died, his armour was supposed to be passed on to Ajax being the next great warrior in line but Agamemnon and his brother gave it to Odysseus instead.

Enraged Ajax for such a treatment, planned to kill both the Kings in fury but Athena deluded him and he instead killed the cows and spoils of the army.

When he came to his senses, he couldn't bear the pain and humiliation. Distraught by it and Conquered by his own grief, he killed himself.
After his death kings wanted to keep the body as it is as suicide was considered disrespectful and dishonorable. Ajax's brother on the other hand, wanted a proper burial. Odysseus intervened and convinced kings that even Ajax deserved a proper burial.

The story of Ajax shows the changeability of human fortune and human nature. Despite being a hero (with the aid of the goddess Athena) during the rescue of Achilles' body from the Trojans, he eventually turned to treachery in an attempt to obtain Achilles' armour.

The legend has it that from his blood sprang a red flower that bore on its leaves the initial letters of his name, AI, letters that are also expressive of lament. His suicide marked the end of a once heroic life.

[Simone Audi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ájax o mais belo e corajoso guerreiro grego depois de Aquiles, lutou bravamente na guerra de Tróia. Após a morte de Aquiles, Ájax disputa as armas e armadura do herói morto com Odisseu, mas o conselho influenciado pela deusa Atena as entrega a Odisseu.
Enfurecido, Ájax planeja matar Menelau e Agamêmnon mas confudido por Atena acaba matando os animais que faziam parte do espólio de guerra dos gregos no lugar. Ao voltar a consciência acaba se matando com a espada que ganhou do troiano Heitor, dando lugar a uma disputa entre seu meio irmão Teucro e Agamêmnon que não queria permitir seu sepultamento.

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, Aias (the title in my edition) is Ajax - Big Ajax, the hero of the Trojan War. There, I saved you from "who the fuck even is this guy." Ajax plays a big role in The Iliad. At one point he defends the Achaean fleet from the Trojans single-handedly while Achilles is off sulking. But after the war Achilles's armor, which amounts to the Heisman Trophy of the war, is given to wily Odysseus after his speech about it proves more eloquent. Ajax is so pissed off that he goes on a murderous rampage against what turns out to be a flock of sheep. (Fuckin' Athena, always getting up in your head: he thought he was killing Agamemnon and Odysseus.) Humiliated, he kills himself.

The play is about, what happens if the person who deserves the win doesn't get it? What if you feel you clearly earned leadership, but it's stolen by the other guy? Do you go on a murderous rampage? Do you burn it all down?

This review is also here, with a bunch of other Sophocles stuff.

[Yas · Rating 4 out of 5]

نمایشنامه قشنگی بود👌
و دیالوگ‌های قوی هم داشت. کارکترهای شریف، و یا ناسپاس و جفاکار...

|تکه کتاب|

▪︎وی دشمن جان من بود. لیکن من اکنون به سبب این بلایی که بر سر او فرود آمده است سخت به حال او اندوهگینم. آن چه بر او گذشته است، ناگزیر روزی نیز بر من خواهد گذشت؛ زیرا مگر نه ما همه آدمیان، خواب و خیالی بیش نیستیم و همچون شبحی از عدم هستیم؟

▪︎چه فایده که آدمی بیکار نشیند و به شمارش ایام وقت بگذراند و در مسیر نیستی گام گذارد؟ یا چه فایده که انسان با آتش نیم مرده آمال و آرزوها خویشتن را گرم کند؟ نه من که چنین کسی نیستم. یا باید به افتخار زیست یا به سربلندی هلاک شد. این است آن چه همه مردان آزاده‌ی جهان می‌کنند. همین و بس.

▪︎آدمی در هیچ یک از مراحل عمر خود به قدر دوران کودکی و بی‌خبری خوش بخت نیست زیرا هنوز طعم ثمره شادی یا اندوه را نچشیده است.

▪︎ضربه‌های یکنواخت و بی‌انتهای زمان همه چیز را تکان می‌دهد. هیچ چیز پنهانی نیست که زمان آن را آشکارا نکند و هیچ آشکارا نیست که روزی پنهان نشود. در این جهان هیچ چیز محال نیست. سوگندهای موکد روزی نقض می‌شود و تصمیمات آهنین روزی سست می‌گردد. لحظه.ای پیش من چون تیغ پولاد مصمم ایستاده بودم و اینک ملحاح زنی رأی مرا سست کرده است.

▪︎هرگز اندیشه نمی‌کردم که خاطره‌ی مردگان چنین تند از دل‌ها زدوده شود، یا هرگز گمان نمی‌بردم کسی که دیروز مورد قدردانی و تکریم بود و از او به نیکی یاد می‌شد امروز در زمره‌ی خائنین و تباهکاران در آید. ای آژاکس سر بردار و بنگر کسی که به خاطر او می‌جنگیدی و بارها سینه‌ی خود را سپر نیزه و زوبین کردی تا او را از خطر برهانی اینک یک کلمه هم به نیکی از تو نمی‌گوید و چنان تو را از یاد برده است که گویی اصلا در عرصه وجود نبوده‌ای.

▪︎وی خصم من بود لیکن مردی بزرگوار و آزاده بود... چه بسا که دوست امروز خصم فردای ماست.

▪︎چه بسا چیزها که آدمی چون به چشم می‌نگرد معنی آن را در می‌یابد. راستی هم تا کسی چیزی را نبیند چه داند که در پس پرده‌ی غیب چه نهفته است؟

[david · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems that there is seldom an appropriate time to repudiate the goddess Athena.

[Nikola Jankovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Homerov Ajant je simpatičan lik. Džin, maltene nepovrediv u borbi, najbolji grčki ratnik posle Ahileja. Bez skrivenih motiva poput nekih drugih. Želi borbu, pobedu, slavu i baca srce na teren da to i postigne. I to bez pomoći bogova: "I nitkov, oče, uz pomoć će bogova znat steći sebi pobjedu, a ja ću se i bez njih, uzdam se, dokopat slave te!" Nezaboravna je scena (u Ilijadi, naravno, nejasno mi je zašto su je promenili u filmu) kad on i Hektor prekidaju duel i izmenjuju darove.

Ali šta je sa Sofoklovim Ajantom? Nekako je izvan svog vremena. Ovo nije više vreme Homera, ovo je vreme kad sama hrabrost i brutalna snaga jednostavno više nisu dovoljni.

Nakon Ahilejeve smrti, samo Odisej i Ajant su imali hrabrosti da spasu njegovo telo. Tako da su i njegovo oružje (iz Hefestove radionice), mogli da zatraže samo njih dvojica. Oružje je pripalo Odiseju, a Ajant smatra da mu je time nanesena nepravda. Tu počinje Sofoklova tragedija. Ajant je uvređen i besan (podseća na sujetnog Ahileja na početku Ilijade) te stiže do šatora grčke vojske. Rešen je da pobije sve Grke: "Pogrdit nikad više neće Ajanta!" Ovaj Ajant je loš čovek.

Atena spasava Grke:
"Ja paklenoj mu na put stanem radosti
I teške tlapnje svalim njemu na oči
I na krda i stoku - plijen, što izmiješan,
Nerazdijeljen pastiri pasli, svratim ga,
Tu bane, silno trgne blago rogato
Unaokolo klat i sjeći. Misli čas
Atrida dva da rukom drži, ubija,
Čas ovog il' da onog vođu napada."

"Razborita čovjeka i bozi vole, a mrze na opaka, kaže kasnije, i jasno je da je Ajant zapečaćen. A i... grčka tragedija. Kako bi i mogla da se nastavi?

Ajant ne može da se prilagodi svetu izvan bojnog polja, u kom određene odluke treba doneti drugačije. Sofokle živi na vrhuncu atinske civilizacije, prošla su vremena kad možeš da ideš i da pobiješ sve ostale zato što ti se njihova odluka ne sviđa.

Nastavljam da čitam tragedije, jednu po jednu, i pravim listu. Šta ću, volim liste. Ai ovu trojicu Grka sve više. Ovo je moj festival grčke tragedije, za jednog gledaoca:

1. Car Edip (Sofokle)
2. Ifigenija u Aulidi (Euripid)
3. Agamemnon (Eshil)
4. Antigona (Sofokle)
5. Eumenide (Eshil)
6. Ajant (Sofokle)
7. Bahantkinje (Euripid)
8. Hipolit (Euripid)
9. Pokajnice (Eshil)
10. Pribjegarke (Eshil)
11. Ifigenija na Tauridi (Euripid)
12. Edip na Kolonu (Sofokle)
13. Sedmorica Protiv Tebe (Eshil)

[javisitu · Rating 3 out of 5]

uf chico ayax q pesao te has puesto así porque literalmente no te han regalado una espada UNA ESPADA el libro es pum monólogos larguísimos pum quitarse la vida joe está bien chiqui superalo luchaste bien pero no tienes esa espada yo que se espabila

[alper]

Oyunu okudum, mitoloji sözlüğünü biraz karıştırdım, önsöze de baktım, geldim. Aynı şekilde tecrübe edilmesini tavsiye ederim.

Aias: İlyada'daki en erdemli yiğit. Hektor'u alt eder. (bu kitaba göre yenişememişler, Azra Hanım?) Troya'nın sayısız yiğidini tepeler, öldürür; saldırıda da savunmada da hep başta gelir. Savaşın en çetin anlarında aslan gibi dövüşür.

Odysseus: İlyada ve Odysseia demem yeterli olmalı. Antik Yunan'dan günümüze kalmış en ünlü kahraman. Üç önemli sıfatı: Akıl, çare bulma ve sabır. Hepsinin başında çok anlamında "poly" var. Sayısız savaş, sayısız macera, sayısız zafer…

Şimdiiii, Sophokles üstadım, bu ikisinin çatışması gibi güzel bir konu var elimizde. İki "winner" diyebileceğimiz kahraman. Güzel bir çıkış noktası. Avuçlar kaşınıyor bak. Kibir üzerinden ders vereceğim diye harcamışsın oyunu. Keşke Odysseus'u biraz daha işin içine katsaymışsın. Didaktik öğeler kurgunun, oyunun önüne geçmiş, biraz zayıf buldum. Maharetlerini bilmesek yetineceğiz ama. :))

Aias'a da bir çift lafım var:

Aias,
Ah be adamım, bu ne hırs, bu ne özgüven! Oldu mu hiç? Hikayede Tanrıça Athena eliyle verilen bir ders var fakat onun dokunuşuna da gerek yok. Karşındaki Odysseus seni suya götürür susuz getirir. Sanırım ana fikrimizin kuvveti çattığın kişinin seçimiyle daha da büyüyor.
Aias,
Tamam çok mert bir delikanlısın, çok cesursun, çok iyi bir savaşçısın ama (biraz tekrar olacak gibi kimseyi dinlediğin yok ne yapayım?) kafa tuttuğun kişi de -Athena himayesinde olduğunu da vurgulayalım-Odysseus yahu!! (Bu arada çatışma sebebiniz sorumlusu Odysseus değil ki? Yine de ben ona dalarım diyorsan bir de kıskançlık girer işin içine diyeyim ben sana). Yok tanrılarsız da yaparım, yok kendi işimi kendim görürüm. Tövbe tövbe... Tamam seni sevdik, sen de nevi şahsına münhasır bir karaktersin de yapma, etme! Gözün bu kadar hiçbir şey görmeyecek kadar kibire bulanmasın. Hadsiz, densiz gibi ifadeleri başkası olsa ederdim ama seni sevdim delikanlı. Keşke bu tatsızlığı başka şekilde halletme imkanımız olsaydı.

Tanrıça Athena, hürmetlerimle efendim. Sizi unuttum sanılmasın. Babanız da afiyettedir inşallah.

Not: Aias, Odysseus, Athena ile ilgili genel bilgiler Mitoloji sözlüğündendir.

<şimdi reklamlar>
Mitoloji okumalarının keyfini katbekat artıran "Mitoloji Sözlüğü"nü de hararetle tavsiye ederim.
< / şimdi reklamlar>

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sophocles wrote a few plays centered around war and Odysseus; this is probably one of the most famous out of them as well as the best-written of them all. Ajax focuses on the title character, who is a revered warrior whom many people may remember from Homer's Iliad. However, this particular story centers mainly around the downfall of the hero, whose warlike nature drives him to almost kill his friends; his guilt is what really gets him in the end.

Ajax himself is not necessarily a bad man, but he is so used to his violent lifestyle that his animalistic side tends to take over. When he nearly kills his friends, the goddess Athena makes him kill sheep and cows instead. When Ajax discovers that he almost committed a terrible crime, he feels guilty to the point that he commits suicide. In this character, the reader can see a true tragedy in that Ajax is not a bad person other than the fact that he lives a warrior's lifestyle.

I also have found that there is a connection to Antigone present in that once Ajax is dead, there is a huge debate about whether his corpse will be left for seabirds and dogs to devour or if he will be given a proper burial. In fact, the majority of this relatively small play centers around this issue.

What I find particularly interesting about this play is that Ajax's eventual suicide is actually presented to the reader directly as an action. Although a lot of people would not consider this to be very important, I think it makes this play different simply because a lot of Greek dramas don't show suicides; rather, they have a spectator of the suicide come on-stage and tell the other characters about the suicide. I'm not sure why this is- maybe the Greek were super-sqeamish about violence in plays. But in a historical context, this difference makes Ajax interesting.

Lastly, I'll finish this review off with a quote that stuck out to me:

MENELAUS: Is it right that this my murderer should have
honour?
TEUCER: Murderer? A marvel truly, if, though slain,
thou livest.

[Huda Aweys · Rating 3 out of 5]

فاكرين فيلم
Troy
:)
أجاكس في الفيلم بيموت :) .. عادي المخرج عاوز كده !، لكن الحقيقة ان أجاكس في الأساطير الإغريقية كان لسه لدوره بقية بيحكيها لنا سوفوكليس في مسرحيته
(Ajax)
و اللي بتبدأ من بعد موت
(أخيل)
من بعد الفيلم يعني
:)
...
و من بعد اقتراع (مشكوك في نزاهته!) بيتم مابين (أوديسيوس) و (أجاكس)على درع أخيل ، و بيفوز بيه أوديسيوس ...
موش هاحرق المسرحية و أكلمكم عن قصتها ، لكن شخصية (أجاكس) هنا كانت ثرية جدا ومادة مغرية لأي ممثل حقيقي
الغضب .. الجنون .. القوة .. الندم .. الصدمة .. الحزن .. معاناة الشعور بالذل و المهانة
***
شخصية (تيوكير) الأخ الغير شقيق لـ أجاكس ،و جهاده الحثيث أمام (أجاممنون) في سبيل دفن جثة أخيه
ذكرتني بمعاناة أنتيجون .. و اللي قرأتها لنفس الكاتب
..
موضوع الدفن في حد ذاته و رمزيته في تكريم المتوفي او كوسيلة لإستقرار روحه و مرورها الى العالم الآخر
موضوع مهم تناولته العديد من أدبيات المجتمعات البدائية عموما ،
و ما زال الى الآن مادة ملهمة في العديد من الأدبيات
***
تناولت المسرحية ايضا اشارات قوية عن عقيدة المجتمع الإغريقي في ذاك الزمان .. عن ارادة الآلهة .. و طاعة الحكام ،
الربة (أثينا) ذاتها كانت واحدة من أبطال المسرحية ..

[Steven R. Kraaijeveld · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet I feel his wretchedness.
My enemy, yes, but caught up
in a terrible doom. My doom, too.
I see that now. All we who live, live
as ghosts of ourselves. Shadows in passing.

Thus speaks Odysseus, with regard to Aias who has – in a blind and savage spell of madness, inspired by Athena – slaughtered his fellow Greek's spoils of war (cattle, sheep, etc.), while thinking that he was actually taking revenge on Menelaus and Agamemnon after they had corruptly awarded the fallen Achilles' armor to Odysseus (instead of to him, to Aias—the superior warrior). The play opens with this event, which has dishonored Aias and drives him to suicide once he becomes aware of what he has done. The action then centers on whether or not Aias should be buried. The play has some excellent dialogue, and the themes of revenge, friendship, and the extent to which animosity may be pursued were especially intriguing.

[Fatih Dönmez · Rating 5 out of 5]

İlyada ve Odysseia'yı okumadan bu esere geçmek sanırım hata oldu. Maalesef tatile çıkarken yanıma almamışım. Yine de notlar ve google araması ile pek sorun yaşamadım ama tavsiyem önce Homeres'u bitirin.

[Λευτέρης Πετρής · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Αλήθεια, πολλά πράγματα όταν τα δουν οι άνθρωποι
μπορούν να τα γνωρίσουν, πριν τα δουν όμως κανείς
δεν μπορεί να μαντέψει τα μελλοντικά, ποια τύχη θα έχει."

(εκδ. ΖΗΤΡΟΣ, μετάφραση Θ. ΜΑΥΡΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ)

[Romi]

La premisa de esta obra resumida en una sola imagen:

O más o menos así.