Ajax

Like his cousin Achilles, whose name in Greek means ‘grief of the people,’ Ajax’s name carries a meaning relevant to his narrative. In Greek, Ajax is called ‘Aias,’ which resembles an expression of grief: ‘aiai.’ The translators capture this meaning in Line 432, when Ajax, in the depth of despair, reflects on his name: “AIAS! AJAX! AGONY! | Ajax means agony, so much agony!” (58). Ajax’s ultimate suicide is brought on a by a combination of misfortunes both self- and divinely inflicted.

Both Achilles and Ajax veer toward inflexibility and believe themselves to be equal to gods, which earns their enmity. Like Achilles, a divine force features prominently in Ajax’s eventual death. Paris strikes Achilles, but it is Apollo who guides the arrow that pierces him. Ajax kills himself, but it is Athena’s intervention on behalf of Odysseus that drives Ajax’s grief and rage. Grief and rage over confiscated prizes drive both heroes’ destructive acts. Achilles removes himself from battle after Agamemnon takes Briseis, Achilles’s war prize, and Ajax descends into rage after Athena and the Greeks deny him the arms of Achilles.

In the play, the messenger recounts the advice Ajax’s father gave him before he left for Troy to seek the help of the gods.