Sophocles was one of the three great Athenian tragic playwrights of the fifth-century BC, along with Aeschylus (author of Prometheus Bound) and Euripides. Ajax is one of Sophocles’ seven surviving plays, the most famous of which is the tragedy of Oedipus the King.
The Story of Ajax in Greek Mythology
The events of Ajax occur after The Iliad and the Trojan War and before the events of The Odyssey. Ajax is the son of King Telamon of Salamis, and is a cousin to the great Achilles. He is a mighty hero of the Trojan War and Odysseus calls him “the bravest of all the Greeks who ever came to Troy, except Achilles” (1282-83).
The main event that initiates the conflict in Ajax occurs when Achilles is killed by Paris after Paris shoots him in the heel with an arrow. Ajax and Odysseus both fight against the Trojans to recover Achilles’ body from the Trojans so they can bury it. Because of their bravery, both Odysseus and Ajax believe that they should be awarded Achilles’ armour. To settle the disagreement, naturally there is a competition held so Ajax and Odysseus can battle it out, but the duel ends in a tie. The competition moves from being a physical show down to a battle of words. Here, like in The Odyssey, we see the ability to speak well is used as a way to decide who is the better and worthier warrior. Both Ajax and Odysseus must explain to the council, which is overseen by Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, and Menelaus, King of Sparta, why each thinks he should be awarded the armour. Ajax explains the ways he has helped the Greeks throughout the War and says he deserves the armour. However, Odysseus is more eloquent in his speech and with Athena’s help, the council agrees to give Achilles’ armour to Odysseus instead of Ajax.
This conflict between Odysseus and Ajax over Achilles’ armour is the catalyst for the events described Sophocles’ play. Ajax is so furious that he is not given the armour that he tries to kill Odysseus, Agamemnon, and Menelaus. This was his plan, but Athena intervenes and confuses his mind and he attacks and slaughters the herds of the Greeks instead. Once Ajax regains his sanity and realizes what he has done, he kills himself to salvage whatever honour he has left.
Justice in Ajax
“Control your violence. / Hatred should not tread justice under foot. / He [Ajax] was my [Odysseus’] enemy as well as yours, / The worst in all the army, ever since / I won Achilles’ armor. Even so, / I would never refuse to do him honour / Or to acknowledge that he was the bravest / Of all the Greeks who ever came to Troy, / Except Achilles. You would be unjust / To be contemptuous of him” (Sophocles, 1276-1285).
Justice plays a large part in Sophocles’ tragic play Ajax. The epigram above refers to the scene between Agamemnon and Odysseus in the last hundred lines of the play where Odysseus disagrees with Agamemnon, who insists that Ajax should not be buried. Odysseus, on the other hand, is adamant that it would be an act of injustice to leave Ajax unburied. Teucer, Ajax's half-brother, tells Odysseus, “May the Father / Who rules the heavens, the unforgetting Furies, / And Justice the avenger bring destruction / Upon those wicked men for having sought / To fling him out in undeserved disgrace” (1333-37). Teucer is thankful to Odysseus for supporting his view that Ajax is a hero. As the second greatest of all the Greeks, Ajax deserves to be buried with honour, opposed to unjustly being left to rot above ground “in undeserved disgrace,” as Menelaus and Agamemnon would wish.
However, Menelaus and Agamemnon are, arguably, justified in their anger against Ajax, who slaughtered their herds and plotted and (unsuccessfully) attempted to kill them. Of course, Ajax thought he was unjustly dealt with when he was not awarded Achilles’ armour for his bravery. In Ajax’s mind, Odysseus, Menelaus and Agamemnon deserve to die because they slighted his honour (366f). In the same way, Athena would argue that she acted justly by confusing Ajax’s senses when she caused him to chase after the Greek’s herds in a murderous rage. Athena believes that Ajax’s arrogance against the gods, and especially against herself, deserves to be punished (130). Ajax thought that “‘if the gods help him, anyone can succeed, / Even a man worth nothing” and so he decided he would “win a glorious name without their help’” (729-31). Because of Ajax’s pride and insolence, it is just that Athena punishes Ajax.
The theme of justice is closely associated with the theme of revenge. Teucer calls justice “the avenger” (1335). The real reason that motivates the sons of Atreus’ injustice is their “hatred” of Ajax (1276). Ajax sought to inflict harm on them and slaughtered their herds; therefore, the two kings are acting out in revenge by asking that Ajax remains unburied. Ajax seeks revenge, and what he sees as justice, when he seeks to kill those responsible for slighting his honour. Similarly, Athena could also be seen as taking revenge against Ajax for insulting the gods. The thirst for revenge seems to be a large factor that influences an individual’s perception of what counts as justice and injustice.
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If you're curious to know more about the ancient Greek view of justice, check out my previous article on justice in revenge in Homer's Odyssey: https://steemit.com/literature/@rennoelle/homer-s-odyssey-justice-in-revenge
Sophocles. “Ajax.” Translated by T. H. Banks. In Four Plays by Sophocles. New York: Oxford UP, 1966.