Ajax

Ajax assumes its audience is familiar with Trojan war mythology, incorporating allusions to items and events beyond the boundaries of the play itself. Ajax’s sword, which he falls on to end his life, is an important example of this. He notes that he received the sword from Hector, his “bitterest enemy” (63). This event is narrated in Homer’s Iliad, after Ajax fights Hector in one-on-one combat. The two warriors are so evenly matched that their contest is called a draw, and they exchange gifts. Hector receives Ajax’s belt, which becomes one of the vehicles by which Achilles later drags and defiles his corpse after Hector’s death. Ajax receives the sword that he uses to end his life. Another “enemy’s gift” will bring about the sack of Troy: the Trojan horse that the departing army leaves behind.

During his conciliatory speech at Lines 646-692, Ajax recites a proverb, “An enemy’s gift is no gift and brings no good” and claims that he will “bury this hateful weapon in a secluded place” (64). Shortly after, the place he buries the sword in is his own body. The sword symbolizes the destructive force of enemies that will manifest in any encounter with them.