Ajax

Sophocles. Sophoclis Fabulae. Pearson, Alfred Chilton, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924.

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Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.

This Greek tragedy depicts the downfall, suicide, and eventual rehabilitation of the noble hero Ajax, who is driven to madness and despair after losing the contest for Achilles' armor during the Trojan War. In his fury, Ajax attempts to murder the Greek commanders, but the goddess Athena intervenes, clouding his mind so that he slaughters herds of livestock instead. Upon regaining his senses, overwhelmed by intense humiliation and despair, Ajax resolves to die, ignoring the desperate pleas of his wife Tecmessa to commit suicide. Following his death, a fierce dispute arises when his half-brother Teucer insists on burying the body, while the commanders Menelaus and Agamemnon forbid it, treating Ajax as a traitor. Ultimately, Odysseus, Ajax's former rival, intervenes to persuade Agamemnon of the injustice of denying burial to a brave warrior, leading to a dignified funeral that restores the hero's honor.