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{{Infobox play | name = Ajax
{{Infobox play | name = Ajax
| image = Death of Ajax.jpg
| image = Death of Ajax.jpg
| caption = The suicide of Ajax. Etrurian red-figured calyx-krater, ca. 400–350 BC.
| caption = The suicide of Ajax. Etrurian red-figured calyx-krater, ca. 400–350 BCE.
| writer = [[Sophocles]]
| writer = [[Sophocles]]
| chorus = Sailors from [[Salamis Island|Salamis]]
| chorus = Sailors from [[Salamis Island|Salamis]]
Line 11: Line 11:
| genre = [[Tragedy]]
| genre = [[Tragedy]]
}}
}}
[[Sophocles]]'s '''Ajax''' or '''Aias''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|eɪ|dʒ|æ|k|s}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|aɪ|.|ə|s}}; {{lang-grc|Αἴας}} {{IPA-el|a͜í.aːs|}}, gen. Αἴαντος) is a Greek tragedy written in the 5th century BC. ''Ajax'' may be the earliest of the seven plays by Sophocles that have survived, but it is not at all an immature work.{{Ambiguous|date=August 2016}} It appears to belong to the same period as Sophocles's ''Antigone'', which was produced in 442 or 441 BC, when Sophocles was 55 years old, and had been producing plays for a quarter of a century. It depicts the fate of the warrior [[Ajax (mythology)|Ajax]] after the events of the ''[[Iliad]]'', but before the end of the [[Trojan War]].<ref>Sophocles. ''The Ajax''. Jebb, Richard Claverhouse. “Introduction”. The University Press, 1896. p. liv.</ref><ref>Sophocles. ''Ajax''. Finglass, P. J. ed. “Introduction”. Cambridge University Press, 2011. ISBN 9781139504652</ref><ref>Sophocles. ''Four Tragedies: Ajax, Women of Trachis, Electra, Philoctetes''. Meineck, Peter. Woodruff, Paul. “Introduction”. Hackett Publishing, 2007. ISBN 9781603844185. p. xiii.</ref><ref>harsh, Philip Whaley. ''A Handbook of Classical Drama''. Stanford University Press, 1944. ISBN 9780804703802. p. 91.</ref><ref>Sophocles. Burian Peter. Shapiro, Alan, eds. “Introduction”. ''The Complete Sophocles: Volume II: Electra and Other Plays''. Oxford University Press (2010). ISBN 9780195387827. p. 19</ref>
[[Sophocles]]'s '''''Ajax''''', or ''Aias'' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|eɪ|dʒ|æ|k|s}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|aɪ|.|ə|s}}; {{lang-grc|Αἴας}} {{IPA-el|a͜í.aːs|}}, gen. Αἴαντος), is a Greek [[tragedy]] written in the 5th century BCE. ''Ajax'' may be the earliest of Sophocles' seven tragedies to have survived, though it is probable that he had been composing plays for a quarter of a century already when it was first staged. It appears to belong to the same period as his ''[[Antigone (Sophocles play)|Antigone]]'', which was probably performed in 442 or 441 BCE, when he was 55 years old.<ref>Finglass (2011a, 1-10), Harsh (1944, 91), and Moore (1969); Golder tentatively dates the play to 445—440 BCE (2010, 19); Woodruff states that "''Women of Trachis'' and ''Ajax'' are generally considered fairly early" (2007, xiv); Watling argued that the "general shape and style place ''Ajax'' among the earlier works, and its position, in the oldest collections, at the head of the list, indicates a strong tradition of its having been the earliest of the[[extant]] plays" (1953, 7); Jebb argued that ''Ajax'' is later than ''Antigone'' (1896a, li-liv).</ref> The play depicts the fate of the warrior [[Ajax (mythology)|Ajax]], after the events of the ''[[Iliad]]'' but before the end of the [[Trojan War]].


==Plot==
==Plot==
⚫
[[File:The Belvedere Torso depicting Ajax.jpg|thumb|The Belvedere Torso, a marble sculpture carved in the first Century BC depicting Ajax.]]
The great warrior, [[Achilles]], has been killed in battle. The man who now can be considered the greatest warrior should be given Achilles’ armor, but the two kings, [[Agamemnon]] and [[Menelaos]], award it instead to [[Odysseus]]. Ajax becomes furious about this and decides to kill them. However Athena steps in and deludes Ajax into killing instead the spoil of the Greek army, which includes cattle as well as the herdsman. Suddenly Ajax comes to his senses and realizes what he has done. Overwhelmed by shame, he decides to commit suicide. His concubine, [[Tecmessa]], pleads for him not to leave her and their child, [[Eurysakes]], unprotected. Ajax then gives his son his shield, and leaves the house saying that he is going out to purify himself and to bury the sword given to him by Hector. [[Teucer]], Ajax’s brother, arrives. Teucer has learned from the prophet, [[Calchas|Kalchas]], that Ajax should not be allowed to leave his tent until the end of the day or he will die. Tecmessa and soldiers then try to find Ajax, but they are too late. Ajax has impaled himself upon his sword. Before his suicide, Ajax calls for vengeance against the sons of Atreus (Menelaus and Agamemnon) and the whole Greek army. Tecmessa is the first one to discover Ajax’s body. Teucer then arrives and orders that Ajax’s son be brought to him so that he will be safe from foes. Menelaus appears and orders the body not to be moved.
The great warrior, [[Achilles]], has been killed in battle. The man who now can be considered the greatest warrior should be given Achilles’ armor, but the two kings, [[Agamemnon]] and [[Menelaos]], award it instead to [[Odysseus]]. Ajax becomes furious about this and decides to kill them. However Athena steps in and deludes Ajax into killing instead the spoil of the Greek army, which includes cattle as well as the herdsman. Suddenly Ajax comes to his senses and realizes what he has done. Overwhelmed by shame, he decides to commit suicide. His concubine, [[Tecmessa]], pleads for him not to leave her and their child, [[Eurysakes]], unprotected. Ajax then gives his son his shield, and leaves the house saying that he is going out to purify himself and to bury the sword given to him by Hector. [[Teucer]], Ajax’s brother, arrives. Teucer has learned from the prophet, [[Calchas|Kalchas]], that Ajax should not be allowed to leave his tent until the end of the day or he will die. Tecmessa and soldiers then try to find Ajax, but they are too late. Ajax has impaled himself upon his sword. Before his suicide, Ajax calls for vengeance against the sons of Atreus (Menelaus and Agamemnon) and the whole Greek army. Tecmessa is the first one to discover Ajax’s body. Teucer then arrives and orders that Ajax’s son be brought to him so that he will be safe from foes. Menelaus appears and orders the body not to be moved.


The last part of the play, is taken up with an angry dispute regarding what to do with Ajax’s body. The two kings, Agamemnon and Menelaos, want to leave the body unburied for scavengers to have, and Ajax’s half-brother Teucer wants to bury it. Odysseus arrives and persuades Agamemnon and Menelaos to allow Ajax a proper funeral. Odysseus points out that even one's enemies deserve respect in death. The play ends with Teucer making arrangements for the burial.
The last part of the play, is taken up with an angry dispute regarding what to do with Ajax’s body. The two kings, Agamemnon and Menelaos, want to leave the body unburied for scavengers to have, and Ajax’s half-brother Teucer wants to bury it. Odysseus arrives and persuades Agamemnon and Menelaos to allow Ajax a proper funeral. Odysseus points out that even one's enemies deserve respect in death. The play ends with Teucer making arrangements for the burial.
⚫
[[File:Ajax suicide.jpg|thumb|right|Ajax preparing for suicide.]]

⚫
=="Ajax" or "Aias"==
⚫
The Greek name of the play in the Greek alphabet is “Αἴας“. “Ajax” is the [[romanized]] version, and “Aias” is the English [[transliteration]] from the original Greek. Traditionally, proper nouns of [[Ancient Greek]] are first romanized before entering the English language. There has been a trend to break with that tradition by going back to a transliteration of the original Greek. It may be hardest to let go of the Latinized version when a name in that form has become widely recognized and rooted in English.<ref>Sophocles. ''Ajax''. Jebb, Richard Claverhouse. ''The Ajax''. ''Volume 7 of Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments''. The Cambridge University Press, 1896.</ref><ref>Sophocles. Bagg, Robert. Scully, James. Translation.''The Complete Plays of Sophocles; A New Translation''. Harper Perennial, 2011. ISBN 978 0 06 202034 5.</ref>

The text of this play hints at the original pronunciation of the name ''Ajax''. The protagonist, Ajax (or Aias), states that his own name has an [[onomatopoeic]] resemblance to a wailing cry of lament: “aiai!”<ref>Jenkins, Thomas E. ''Antiquity Now: The Classical World in the Contemporary American Imagination''. Cambridge University Press, 2015. ISBN 9780521196260. page 90</ref><ref>Sophocles. Euripides. ''Odysseus at Troy: Ajax, Hecuba and Trojan Women''. Esposito, Stephen. “An Essay on Sophocles’ Ajax.” Hackett Publishing, 2015. ISBN 9781585106516. p. 190 - 192.</ref>


⚫
=="''Ajax''" or "''Aias''"==
Two examples that show that passage being handled by different translators follow:
⚫
The title of the play in the Greek alphabet is ''Αἴας.'' ''Ajax'' is the [[romanized]] version and ''Aias'' is the English [[transliteration]] from the original Greek. Traditionally, proper nouns of [[Ancient Greek]] are romanised before entering the English language. There has been a trend towards the use of a transliteration of the original Greek, though the fact that the Latinized version has become widely recognized and rooted in English may make a wider use of ''Aias'' difficult.<ref>The translations by Michael Evans (1999) and [[James Scully (poet)|James Scully]] (2011) use ''Aias''.</ref>


The text of the play suggests the original pronunciation of Ajax's name—in lines 430-432, the [[protagonist]] states that it has an [[onomatopoeic]] resemblance to a wailing cry of [[lament]]: "''aiai!''"<ref>Esposito (2010, 190-192) and Jenkins (2015, 90).</ref> Translators have treated this relationship in differing ways:
<blockquote><poem>Aiai! My name is a lament!
<blockquote><poem>Aiai! My name is a lament!
Who would have thought it would fit
Who would have thought it would fit
so well with my misfortunes!
so well with my misfortunes!
Now truly I can cry out -- aiai! --
Now truly I can cry out -- aiai! --
two and three times in my agony.<ref>Sophocles. Golder, Herbert, translator. ''Aias (Ajax) Greek tragedy in new translations''. Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 9780195128192.</ref></poem></blockquote>
two and three times in my agony.<ref>[[Herbert Golder]]'s translation in Burian and Shapiro (2010).</ref></poem></blockquote>


<blockquote><poem>Aiee, Ajax! My name says what I feel;
<blockquote><poem>Aiee, Ajax! My name says what I feel;
who'd have believed that pain and I'd be one;
who'd have believed that pain and I'd be one;
Aiee, Ajax! I say it twice,
Aiee, Ajax! I say it twice,
and then again, aiee, for what is happening.<ref>Sophocles. Raphael, Frederick; McLeish, Kenneth; translators. ''Ajax'' University of Pennsylvania Press (1998) ISBN 9780812234459</ref></poem></blockquote>
and then again, aiee, for what is happening.<ref>Frederick Raphael and Kenneth McLeish's translation in Slavitt and Bovie (1998).</ref></poem></blockquote>


==Critical analysis and reception==
== Interpretations ==
⚫
[[File:Ajax suicide.jpg|thumb|right|Ajax preparing for suicide.]]
Ajax is a heroic figure, whose strength, courage and quick-thinking are almost superhuman. The stories of him coming to the rescue of his fellow man in dire moments are the stuff of legend. Yet, as in this play, he and others also suffer from those same qualities when Ajax becomes proud, stubborn and hot tempered. Some critics consider that the Greek gods are portrayed as just, and when Ajax suffers it is a learning-experience for him. Other critics instead consider that Ajax is heroically in defiance of the unjust and capricious gods. Ajax’s murderous intentions in this play are not softened by the playwright, and the difficult aspects of his character are fully depicted. But Sophocles is profoundly sympathetic of the greatness of Ajax, and appreciative of Ajax’s brave realization that suicide is the only choice — if he is to maintain his conception of honor and his sense of self.<ref>Sophocles. Lloyd-Jones, Hugh. ed. & trans. ''Sophocles; Ajax, Electra, Oedipus Tyrannus''. “Introduction”. Loeb Classical Library. Harvard Univ. Press, 1994. ISBN 0-674-99557-0</ref>
Ajax is a heroic figure, whose strength, courage and quick-thinking are almost superhuman. The stories of him coming to the rescue of his fellow man in dire moments are the stuff of legend. Yet, as in this play, he and others also suffer from those same qualities when Ajax becomes proud, stubborn and hot tempered. Some critics consider that the Greek gods are portrayed as just, and when Ajax suffers it is a learning-experience for him. Other critics instead consider that Ajax is heroically in defiance of the unjust and capricious gods. Ajax’s murderous intentions in this play are not softened by the playwright, and the difficult aspects of his character are fully depicted. But Sophocles is profoundly sympathetic of the greatness of Ajax, and appreciative of Ajax’s brave realization that suicide is the only choice — if he is to maintain his conception of honor and his sense of self.<ref>Lloyd-Jones (1994a).</ref>


One interpretation sees the play as composed in two distinct parts. The first part is steeped in the old world, of Kings and heroes, and the second part resembles more the democratic world of Sophocles’ Greece, and is marked by an imperfect debate of contending ideas. The play may be seen as an important epoch-spanning work, that raises complex questions, including: How does fifth century Greece advance from the old world into the new? It clings to and reveres the old, in its stories and thoughts; and yet the new democratic order is important and vital, and so completely different from the past. Ajax, with his brute force has been a great warrior-hero of the old world, but the war itself has changed and become a quagmire, and what’s needed now is a warrior who is intelligent, someone like Odyseus. Ajax must still be respected, and the end of the play demonstrates respect and human decency with the promise of a proper burial.<ref>Sophocles. Bagg, Robert. Scully, James. Translation.''The Complete Plays of Sophocles; A New Translation''. Harper Perennial, 2011. ISBN 978 0 06 202034 5.</ref>
One interpretation sees the play as composed in two distinct parts. The first part is steeped in the old world, of Kings and heroes, and the second part resembles more the democratic world of Sophocles’ Greece, and is marked by an imperfect debate of contending ideas. The play may be seen as an important epoch-spanning work, that raises complex questions, including: How does fifth century Greece advance from the old world into the new? It clings to and reveres the old, in its stories and thoughts; and yet the new democratic order is important and vital, and so completely different from the past. Ajax, with his brute force has been a great warrior-hero of the old world, but the war itself has changed and become a quagmire, and what’s needed now is a warrior who is intelligent, someone like Odyseus. Ajax must still be respected, and the end of the play demonstrates respect and human decency with the promise of a proper burial.<ref>Scully (2011).</ref>


Another interpretation sees the play as primarily a character study of Ajax, who, when he first appears covered in the blood of the animals he in his madness has killed, presents an image of total degradation; the true action of the play is how this image is transformed, and how Ajax recovers his heroic power and humanity. The play personifies in Ajax an affirmation of what is heroic in life.<ref>Moore, John, trans. “Introduction to Ajax”. Sophocles. ''Ajax. Sophocles II: Ajax, The Women of Trachis, Electra & Philoctetes (The Complete Greek Tragedies)'' 2nd Edition. Edited by David Grene and Richmond Lattimore. University of Chicago Press. 1969. ISBN 978-0226307862. page 2</ref>
Another interpretation sees the play as primarily a character study of Ajax, who, when he first appears covered in the blood of the animals he in his madness has killed, presents an image of total degradation; the true action of the play is how this image is transformed, and how Ajax recovers his heroic power and humanity. The play personifies in Ajax an affirmation of what is heroic in life.<ref>Moore (1969, 2).</ref>

⚫
Bernard Knox considers Ajax’s speech on “time” to be “so majestic, remote and mysterious, and at the same time so passionate, dramatic and complex” that if this were the only writing we had of Sophocles, he would still be considered “one of the world’s greatest poets.”<ref>Knox, Bernard. “The Ajax of Sophocles”, ''Word and Action: Essays on the Ancient Greek Theater''. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979. Page 125</ref> The speech begins:


⚫
Bernard Knox considers Ajax’s speech on "time" to be "so majestic, remote and mysterious, and at the same time so passionate, dramatic and complex" that if this were the only writing we had of Sophocles, he would still be considered "one of the world’s greatest poets."<ref>Knox (1979, 125).</ref> The speech begins:
<blockquote><poem>Long rolling waves of time
<blockquote><poem>Long rolling waves of time
bring all things to light
bring all things to light
and plunge them down again
and plunge them down again
in utter darkness.<ref>Sophocles. Bagg, Robert. Scully, James. Translation.''The Complete Plays of Sophocles; A New Translation''. Harper Perennial, 2011. ISBN 978 0 06 202034 5. page 52</ref> </poem></blockquote>
in utter darkness.<ref>James Scully's translation, in Bagg and Scully (2011, 52).</ref></poem></blockquote>

==Performance history==
The American director [[Peter Sellars]] staged the play at [[La Jolla Playhouse]] in [[San Diego]] in 1986.<ref name=s86>Sullivan (1986).</ref> The setting was relocated to the United States in the near future, having recently won a war in Latin America, which had, however, gone very badly.<ref name=s86/>. [[Howie Seago]] played Ajax, Ralph Marrero played Menelaus, [[Aleta Mitchell]] played Athene, and Ben Halley Jr. was the leader of the chorus.<ref name=s86/> The set design was by George Tyspin and the costumes by Dunya Ramicova.<ref name=s86/>


==Translations==
==Translations==
⚫
[[File:The Belvedere Torso depicting Ajax.jpg|thumb|The Belvedere Torso, a marble sculpture carved in the first Century BCE depicting Ajax.]]
* Richard Claverhouse Jebb, 1896<ref>Sophocles. ''Ajax''. Jebb, Richard Claverhouse. ''The Ajax''. ''Volume 7 of Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments''. The Cambridge University Press, 1896.</ref>
* [[Richard Claverhouse Jebb]], 1869 ({{Internet Archive|ajaxeditedbyrcje00sophuoft|available online}}).<ref>Reprinted in Jebb (1896b).</ref>
⚫
* John Moore, 1969<ref>Sophocles. ''Ajax. Sophocles II: Ajax, The Women of Trachis, Electra & Philoctetes (The Complete Greek Tragedies)'' 2nd Edition. Edited by David Grene and Richmond Lattimore. Univerisy of Chicago Press. 1969. ISBN 978-0226307862.</ref>
* [[R. C. Trevelyan]], 1919 ({{Internet Archive|cu31924026593446|available online}}).<ref>Trevelyan (1919).</ref>
* Hugh Lloyd-Jones, 1993<ref>Sophocles. ''Sophocles, Volume I. Ajax. Electra. Oedipus Tyrannus'' (Loeb Classical Library No. 20) ISBN 978-0674995574</ref>
* [[E. F. Watling]], 1953.<ref>Watling (1953, 16-67).</ref>
* James Scully, 2011<ref>Sophocles. Bagg, Robert. Scully, James. Translation.''The Complete Plays of Sophocles; A New Translation''. Harper Perennial, 2011. ISBN 978 0 06 202034 5.</ref>
* John Moore, 1969.<ref>Reprinted in Griffiths and Most (2013).</ref>
⚫
* Frederic Raphael and Kenneth McLeish, 1998 <ref>Sophocles. ''Sophocles, 1 : Ajax, Women of Trachis, Electra, Philoctetes'' (Penn Greek Drama Series) University of Pennsylvania Press (May 1, 1998) ISBN 978-0812216530</ref>
* Robert Auletta, 1986.<ref>This text was used in [[Peter Sellars]]'s 1986 production; see Sullivan (1986).</ref>
* R. C. Trevelyan, 1919<ref>Trevelyan, R.C. ''The Ajax of Sophocles''. Cornell University Library (June 25, 2009) ISBN 978-1112068171</ref>
* [[Hugh Lloyd-Jones]], 1994.<ref>Lloyd-Jones (1994, 27-164).</ref>
* David Raeburn, 2008.<ref>Sophocles. Electra and Other Plays (Penguin Classics). June 24, 2008. ISBN 978-0140449785</ref>
* [[Frederick Raphael]] and Kenneth McLeish, 1998.<ref>Slavitt and Bovie (1998, 1-70).</ref>
⚫
* John Tipton, 2008<ref>Sophocles. ''Ajax''. Tipton, John. translator. Chicago: Flood Editions (2008) ISBN 978-0-9787- 4675-9</ref>
* Michael Evans, 1999.<ref>Evans (1999, 2-42).</ref>
⚫
* George Theodoridis, 2009 – prose: [http://bacchicstage.wordpress.com/sophocles/ajax/ full text]
* [[Herbert Golder]] and Richard Pevear, 1999.<ref>Burian and Shapiro (2010, 26-80).</ref>
* David Raeburn, 2008.<ref>Raeburn (2008).</ref>
* John Tipton, 2008.<ref>Tipton (2008).</ref>
⚫
* George Theodoridis, 2009 – prose: [http://bacchicstage.wordpress.com/sophocles/ajax/ full text].
* [[James Scully (poet)|James Scully]], 2011.<ref>Bagg and Scully (2011, 13-98).</ref>


==Adaptations==
==Adaptations==
⚫
[[Timberlake Wertenbaker]]'s play ''Our Ajax'', which was first performed in November 2013 at the [[Southwark Playhouse]], London, was inspired by Sophocles' tragedy. It has a contemporary military setting, with references to modern warfare including the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Wertenbaker made use of interviews with current and former servicemen and women in developing the play.
* Bryan Doerris – Through his company ''[http://www.outsidethewirellc.com/projects/theater-of-war/overview Theatre of War]'', Doerris presents readings of ''Ajax'' and other plays to American military bases, to spark dialogue about PTSD.
⚫
* British playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker's play 'Our Ajax' had its premier at the Southwark Playhouse, London, in November 2013. This play, inspired by Sophocles' tragedy, has a contemporary military setting, with references to modern warfare including the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Wertenbaker is reported to have developed this new work from interviews with current and former servicemen and women.
* Robert Auletta, 1986 – modern adaptation.<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/1986-09-02/entertainment/ca-13641_1_la-jolla-playhouse ] Sullivan, Dan. Stage Review : “Sellars' ''Ajax''--more Than Games”. ''Los Angeles Times''. 2 September 1986</ref>
<!--
==References==
{{reflist}}-->


==References==
==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist|3}}


==Further reading==
==Sources==
{{refbegin|2|indent=yes}}
⚫
* Grant, Michael. "Sophocles." Greek and Latin Authors 800 BC-AD 1000. New York: HW Wilson Company, 1980. 397–402. Print.
: [[Robert Bagg|Bagg, Robert]] and [[James Scully (poet)|James Scully]], eds. 2011. ''The Complete Plays of Sophocles: A New Translation''. By Sophocles. New York: Harper. ISBN 978-0062020345.
: Burian Peter, and Alan Shapiro, eds. 2010. ''The Complete Sophocles: Volume II: Electra and Other Plays''. Vol 2. ''Electra and Other Plays''. By Sophocles. Greek Tragedy in New Translations ser. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195373301.
: [[P. E. Easterling|Easterling, Pat]]. 2008. Introduction. In Raeburn (2008, xii-xxxiv).
: Esposito, Stephen. 2010. "An Essay on Sophocle's ''Ajax''." In ''Odysseus at Troy: Ajax, Hecuba and Trojan Women''. Ed. Stephen Esposito. New York: Hackett. ISBN 978-1585103966. 189-210.
: Evans, Michael, ed. 1999. ''Four Dramas of Maturity: ''Aias'', ''Antigone'', ''Young Women of Trachis'', ''Oidipous the King''.'' By Sophocles. The Everyman Library ser. London: Dent. ISBN 978-0460877435.
: Finglass, P. J. 2011a. Introduction. In Finglass (2011b, 1-70).
: ---, trans. and ed. 2011b. ''Ajax''. By Sophocles. Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries ser. Vol. 48. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1107003071.
⚫
: [[Michael Grant (author)|Grant, Michael]]. 1980. "Sophocles." ''Greek and Latin Authors 800 BC-AD 1000.'' New York: HW Wilson. ISBN 978-0824206406. 397–402.
: [[Herbert Golder|Golder, Herbert]]. 2010. Introduction. In Burian and Shapiro (2010, 1-22).
⚫
: Griffiths, Mark and Glen W. Most, eds. 2013. ''Sophocles II: ''Ajax'', ''The Women of Trachis'', ''Electra'', ''Philoctetes'', ''The Trackers''.'' By Sophocles. The Complete Greek Tragedies ser. 3rd rev. ed. Original edition ed. David Grene and Richmond Lattimore, 1969. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226311555.
: Harsh, Philip Whaley. 1944. ''A Handbook of Classical Drama''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804703802.
: [[Richard Claverhouse Jebb|Jebb, Richard Claverhouse]]. 1896a. Introduction. In Jebb (1896b, ix-liv).
: ---, trans. and ed. 1896b. ''Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments. Part VII. The Ajax''. By Sophocles. Cambridge: Cambdrige University Press. {{Internet Archive|ajaxsoph00soph|1907 reprint available}}.
: Jenkins, Thomas E. 2015. ''Antiquity Now: The Classical World in the Contemporary American Imagination''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521196260.
: [[Bernard Knox|Knox, Bernard]]. 1979. "The ''Ajax'' of Sophocles." ''Word and Action: Essays on the Ancient Greek Theater''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0801834097. 125-160.
: [[Hugh Lloyd-Jones|Lloyd-Jones, Hugh]]. 1994a. Introduction. In Lloyd-Jones (1994b, 1-24).
: ---, ed. & trans. 1994b. ''Sophocles: ''Ajax'', ''Electra'', ''Oedipus Tyrannus''.'' By Sophocles. Loeb Classical Library ser. vol. 20. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674995574.
: [[Peter Meineck|Meineck, Peter]] and [[Paul Woodruff]], trans. and ed. 2007. ''Four Tragedies: Ajax, Women of Trachis, Electra, Philoctetes''. By Sophocles. Hackett Classics ser. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett. ISBN 978-0872207639.
: Moore, John. 1969. "Introduction to ''Ajax''". In Griffiths and Most (2013).
: Raeburn, David, trans. and ed. 2008. Electra'' and Other Plays.'' By Sophocles. Penguin Classics ser. London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0140449785.
: [[James Scully (poet)|Scully, James]]. 2011. Introduction. In Baggs and Scully (2011, 3-12).
⚫
: [[David R. Slavitt|Slavitt, David R.]] and Palmer Bovie, eds. 1998. ''Sophocles, 1: ''Ajax'', ''Women of Trachis'', ''Electra'', ''Philoctetes''.'' By Sophocles. Penn Greek Drama ser. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0812216530.
: Sullivan, Dan. 1986. "Stage Review: Sellars' ''Ajax''--More Than Games." ''Los Angeles Times'' Sept 2, 1986. [http://articles.latimes.com/1986-09-02/entertainment/ca-13641_1_la-jolla-playhouse]
⚫
: Tipton, John, trans. 2008. ''Ajax''. By Sophocles. Chicago: Flood Editions. ISBN 978-0978746759.
: [[R. C. Trevelyan|Trevelyan, R.C.]], trans. 1919. ''The Ajax of Sophocles''. By Sophocles. London: George Allen & Unwin. {{Internet Archive|cu31924026593446|available online}}
: [[E. F. Watling|Watling, E. F.]], trans. 1953. Electra ''and Other Plays.'' By Sophocles. Penguin Classics ser. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-140-44028-3.
: [[Paul Woodruff|Woodruff, Paul]]. 2007. Introduction. In Meineck and Woodruff (2007, vii-xlii).
{{refend}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{wikisource|Ajax (Sophocles)|''Ajax''}}
{{wikisource|Ajax (Sophocles)|''Ajax''}}
*{{wikisourcelang-inline|el|Αίας|''Αἴας''}}
*{{wikisourcelang-inline|el|Αίας|''Αἴας''}}
* {{Internet Archive|ajaxeditedbyrcje00sophuoft|The Ajax, by Sophocles, trans. Richard Claverhouse Jebb (1869)}}
*http://classics.mit.edu/Sophocles/ajax.html Text of ''Ajax'' translated by R. C. Trevelyan
* {{Internet Archive|cu31924026593446|The Ajax, by Sophocles, trans. R. C. Trevelyan (1919)}}
* {{librivox book | title=Ajax | author=SOPHOCLES}}
* {{librivox book | title=Ajax | author=SOPHOCLES}}


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Revision as of 19:00, 13 August 2016

For other uses, see Ajax (disambiguation).
Ajax
The suicide of Ajax. Etrurian red-figured calyx-krater, ca. 400–350 BCE.
Written bySophocles
ChorusSailors from Salamis
CharactersAthena
Odysseus
Ajax
Tecmessa
Messenger
Teucer
Menelaus
Agamemnon
MuteAttendants
Servants
Soldiers
Eurysaces
Place premieredAthens
Original languageAncient Greek
GenreTragedy

Sophocles's Ajax, or Aias (/ˈeɪdʒæks/ or /ˈaɪ.əs/; Ancient Greek: Αἴας [a͜í.aːs], gen. Αἴαντος), is a Greek tragedy written in the 5th century BCE. Ajax may be the earliest of Sophocles' seven tragedies to have survived, though it is probable that he had been composing plays for a quarter of a century already when it was first staged. It appears to belong to the same period as his Antigone, which was probably performed in 442 or 441 BCE, when he was 55 years old.[1] The play depicts the fate of the warrior Ajax, after the events of the Iliad but before the end of the Trojan War.

Plot

The great warrior, Achilles, has been killed in battle. The man who now can be considered the greatest warrior should be given Achilles’ armor, but the two kings, Agamemnon and Menelaos, award it instead to Odysseus. Ajax becomes furious about this and decides to kill them. However Athena steps in and deludes Ajax into killing instead the spoil of the Greek army, which includes cattle as well as the herdsman. Suddenly Ajax comes to his senses and realizes what he has done. Overwhelmed by shame, he decides to commit suicide. His concubine, Tecmessa, pleads for him not to leave her and their child, Eurysakes, unprotected. Ajax then gives his son his shield, and leaves the house saying that he is going out to purify himself and to bury the sword given to him by Hector. Teucer, Ajax’s brother, arrives. Teucer has learned from the prophet, Kalchas, that Ajax should not be allowed to leave his tent until the end of the day or he will die. Tecmessa and soldiers then try to find Ajax, but they are too late. Ajax has impaled himself upon his sword. Before his suicide, Ajax calls for vengeance against the sons of Atreus (Menelaus and Agamemnon) and the whole Greek army. Tecmessa is the first one to discover Ajax’s body. Teucer then arrives and orders that Ajax’s son be brought to him so that he will be safe from foes. Menelaus appears and orders the body not to be moved.

The last part of the play, is taken up with an angry dispute regarding what to do with Ajax’s body. The two kings, Agamemnon and Menelaos, want to leave the body unburied for scavengers to have, and Ajax’s half-brother Teucer wants to bury it. Odysseus arrives and persuades Agamemnon and Menelaos to allow Ajax a proper funeral. Odysseus points out that even one's enemies deserve respect in death. The play ends with Teucer making arrangements for the burial.

"Ajax" or "Aias"

The title of the play in the Greek alphabet is Αἴας. Ajax is the romanized version and Aias is the English transliteration from the original Greek. Traditionally, proper nouns of Ancient Greek are romanised before entering the English language. There has been a trend towards the use of a transliteration of the original Greek, though the fact that the Latinized version has become widely recognized and rooted in English may make a wider use of Aias difficult.[2]

The text of the play suggests the original pronunciation of Ajax's name—in lines 430-432, the protagonist states that it has an onomatopoeic resemblance to a wailing cry of lament: "aiai!"[3] Translators have treated this relationship in differing ways:

Aiai! My name is a lament!
Who would have thought it would fit
so well with my misfortunes!
Now truly I can cry out -- aiai! --
two and three times in my agony.[4]

Aiee, Ajax! My name says what I feel;
who'd have believed that pain and I'd be one;
Aiee, Ajax! I say it twice,
and then again, aiee, for what is happening.[5]

Critical analysis and reception

Ajax preparing for suicide.

Ajax is a heroic figure, whose strength, courage and quick-thinking are almost superhuman. The stories of him coming to the rescue of his fellow man in dire moments are the stuff of legend. Yet, as in this play, he and others also suffer from those same qualities when Ajax becomes proud, stubborn and hot tempered. Some critics consider that the Greek gods are portrayed as just, and when Ajax suffers it is a learning-experience for him. Other critics instead consider that Ajax is heroically in defiance of the unjust and capricious gods. Ajax’s murderous intentions in this play are not softened by the playwright, and the difficult aspects of his character are fully depicted. But Sophocles is profoundly sympathetic of the greatness of Ajax, and appreciative of Ajax’s brave realization that suicide is the only choice — if he is to maintain his conception of honor and his sense of self.[6]

One interpretation sees the play as composed in two distinct parts. The first part is steeped in the old world, of Kings and heroes, and the second part resembles more the democratic world of Sophocles’ Greece, and is marked by an imperfect debate of contending ideas. The play may be seen as an important epoch-spanning work, that raises complex questions, including: How does fifth century Greece advance from the old world into the new? It clings to and reveres the old, in its stories and thoughts; and yet the new democratic order is important and vital, and so completely different from the past. Ajax, with his brute force has been a great warrior-hero of the old world, but the war itself has changed and become a quagmire, and what’s needed now is a warrior who is intelligent, someone like Odyseus. Ajax must still be respected, and the end of the play demonstrates respect and human decency with the promise of a proper burial.[7]

Another interpretation sees the play as primarily a character study of Ajax, who, when he first appears covered in the blood of the animals he in his madness has killed, presents an image of total degradation; the true action of the play is how this image is transformed, and how Ajax recovers his heroic power and humanity. The play personifies in Ajax an affirmation of what is heroic in life.[8]

Bernard Knox considers Ajax’s speech on "time" to be "so majestic, remote and mysterious, and at the same time so passionate, dramatic and complex" that if this were the only writing we had of Sophocles, he would still be considered "one of the world’s greatest poets."[9] The speech begins:

Long rolling waves of time
bring all things to light
and plunge them down again
in utter darkness.[10]

Performance history

The American director Peter Sellars staged the play at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego in 1986.[11] The setting was relocated to the United States in the near future, having recently won a war in Latin America, which had, however, gone very badly.[11]. Howie Seago played Ajax, Ralph Marrero played Menelaus, Aleta Mitchell played Athene, and Ben Halley Jr. was the leader of the chorus.[11] The set design was by George Tyspin and the costumes by Dunya Ramicova.[11]

Translations

The Belvedere Torso, a marble sculpture carved in the first Century BCE depicting Ajax.

Adaptations

Timberlake Wertenbaker's play Our Ajax, which was first performed in November 2013 at the Southwark Playhouse, London, was inspired by Sophocles' tragedy. It has a contemporary military setting, with references to modern warfare including the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Wertenbaker made use of interviews with current and former servicemen and women in developing the play.

Notes

  1. ^ Finglass (2011a, 1-10), Harsh (1944, 91), and Moore (1969); Golder tentatively dates the play to 445—440 BCE (2010, 19); Woodruff states that "Women of Trachis and Ajax are generally considered fairly early" (2007, xiv); Watling argued that the "general shape and style place Ajax among the earlier works, and its position, in the oldest collections, at the head of the list, indicates a strong tradition of its having been the earliest of theextant plays" (1953, 7); Jebb argued that Ajax is later than Antigone (1896a, li-liv).
  2. ^ The translations by Michael Evans (1999) and James Scully (2011) use Aias.
  3. ^ Esposito (2010, 190-192) and Jenkins (2015, 90).
  4. ^ Herbert Golder's translation in Burian and Shapiro (2010).
  5. ^ Frederick Raphael and Kenneth McLeish's translation in Slavitt and Bovie (1998).
  6. ^ Lloyd-Jones (1994a).
  7. ^ Scully (2011).
  8. ^ Moore (1969, 2).
  9. ^ Knox (1979, 125).
  10. ^ James Scully's translation, in Bagg and Scully (2011, 52).
  11. ^ a b c d Sullivan (1986).
  12. ^ Reprinted in Jebb (1896b).
  13. ^ Trevelyan (1919).
  14. ^ Watling (1953, 16-67).
  15. ^ Reprinted in Griffiths and Most (2013).
  16. ^ This text was used in Peter Sellars's 1986 production; see Sullivan (1986).
  17. ^ Lloyd-Jones (1994, 27-164).
  18. ^ Slavitt and Bovie (1998, 1-70).
  19. ^ Evans (1999, 2-42).
  20. ^ Burian and Shapiro (2010, 26-80).
  21. ^ Raeburn (2008).
  22. ^ Tipton (2008).
  23. ^ Bagg and Scully (2011, 13-98).

Sources

Bagg, Robert and James Scully, eds. 2011. The Complete Plays of Sophocles: A New Translation. By Sophocles. New York: Harper. ISBN 978-0062020345.
Burian Peter, and Alan Shapiro, eds. 2010. The Complete Sophocles: Volume II: Electra and Other Plays. Vol 2. Electra and Other Plays. By Sophocles. Greek Tragedy in New Translations ser. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195373301.
Easterling, Pat. 2008. Introduction. In Raeburn (2008, xii-xxxiv).
Esposito, Stephen. 2010. "An Essay on Sophocle's Ajax." In Odysseus at Troy: Ajax, Hecuba and Trojan Women. Ed. Stephen Esposito. New York: Hackett. ISBN 978-1585103966. 189-210.
Evans, Michael, ed. 1999. Four Dramas of Maturity: Aias, Antigone, Young Women of Trachis, Oidipous the King. By Sophocles. The Everyman Library ser. London: Dent. ISBN 978-0460877435.
Finglass, P. J. 2011a. Introduction. In Finglass (2011b, 1-70).
---, trans. and ed. 2011b. Ajax. By Sophocles. Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries ser. Vol. 48. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1107003071.
Grant, Michael. 1980. "Sophocles." Greek and Latin Authors 800 BC-AD 1000. New York: HW Wilson. ISBN 978-0824206406. 397–402.
Golder, Herbert. 2010. Introduction. In Burian and Shapiro (2010, 1-22).
Griffiths, Mark and Glen W. Most, eds. 2013. Sophocles II: Ajax, The Women of Trachis, Electra, Philoctetes, The Trackers. By Sophocles. The Complete Greek Tragedies ser. 3rd rev. ed. Original edition ed. David Grene and Richmond Lattimore, 1969. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226311555.
Harsh, Philip Whaley. 1944. A Handbook of Classical Drama. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804703802.
Jebb, Richard Claverhouse. 1896a. Introduction. In Jebb (1896b, ix-liv).
---, trans. and ed. 1896b. Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments. Part VII. The Ajax. By Sophocles. Cambridge: Cambdrige University Press. 1907 reprint available at the Internet Archive.
Jenkins, Thomas E. 2015. Antiquity Now: The Classical World in the Contemporary American Imagination. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521196260.
Knox, Bernard. 1979. "The Ajax of Sophocles." Word and Action: Essays on the Ancient Greek Theater. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0801834097. 125-160.
Lloyd-Jones, Hugh. 1994a. Introduction. In Lloyd-Jones (1994b, 1-24).
---, ed. & trans. 1994b. Sophocles: Ajax, Electra, Oedipus Tyrannus. By Sophocles. Loeb Classical Library ser. vol. 20. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674995574.
Meineck, Peter and Paul Woodruff, trans. and ed. 2007. Four Tragedies: Ajax, Women of Trachis, Electra, Philoctetes. By Sophocles. Hackett Classics ser. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett. ISBN 978-0872207639.
Moore, John. 1969. "Introduction to Ajax". In Griffiths and Most (2013).
Raeburn, David, trans. and ed. 2008. Electra and Other Plays. By Sophocles. Penguin Classics ser. London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0140449785.
Scully, James. 2011. Introduction. In Baggs and Scully (2011, 3-12).
Slavitt, David R. and Palmer Bovie, eds. 1998. Sophocles, 1: Ajax, Women of Trachis, Electra, Philoctetes. By Sophocles. Penn Greek Drama ser. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0812216530.
Sullivan, Dan. 1986. "Stage Review: Sellars' Ajax--More Than Games." Los Angeles Times Sept 2, 1986. [1]
Tipton, John, trans. 2008. Ajax. By Sophocles. Chicago: Flood Editions. ISBN 978-0978746759.
Trevelyan, R.C., trans. 1919. The Ajax of Sophocles. By Sophocles. London: George Allen & Unwin. available online at the Internet Archive
Watling, E. F., trans. 1953. Electra and Other Plays. By Sophocles. Penguin Classics ser. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-140-44028-3.
Woodruff, Paul. 2007. Introduction. In Meineck and Woodruff (2007, vii-xlii).

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