AJAX DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
"I see now that/ we are nothing/ but shades/ stumbling around/ in the shadows."
-- Odysseus to Athena in Ajax
Some Questions To Consider
How would you interpret the relationship between the shield of Achilles and the sword of Hector in Sophocles' play?
To what extent is Ajax a play specifically about war and to what extent is it a play about life?
What does this play have to say about the relationship between humans and the gods? About relations between humans? What does this play say about the nature of friendship?
What is the vision offered in Ajax of human existence?
Is Ajax a hero?
What comments would you offer about Tecmessa as a character and about the relationship between her and Ajax?
How would you describe the relationship between Ajax and Odysseus, and how does this fit into the structure of the play?
How are Menelaus and Agamemnon portrayed in Ajax?
How would you bring Ajax into conversation with last week's Pandora's Jar reading? How would you compare and contrast it with the Bacchae?
How would you compare and contrast Ajax and connect it to Sophocles' much more famous play Oedipus Rex?
Some Extra Resources
"Ajax (Play)," Wikipedia: An entry from the online encyclopedia.
"Ajax The Great," Wikipedia: An entry from the online encyclopedia.
"Philoctetes (Sophocles Play)," Wikipedia: An entry from the online encyclopedia.
Ovid, "The Speeches Of Ajax And Ulysses," Book Thirteen, Metamorphosis.
Nicholas Paphitis, "Archaeologist Links Palace To Legendary Ajax," NBC News, March 30, 2006.
"Ajax The Great In Greek Mythology," Greek Legends And Myths:
"Hero Teucer In Greek Mythology," Greek Legends And Myths:
"Teucer," Wikipedia: An entry from the online encyclopedia.
"Tecmessa In Sophocles 'Ajax'": A short commentary in the form of a seminar note.
"Telemon," Wikipedia: An entry from the on-line encyclopedia.
"Rhoiteion," Wikipedia: The site of the traditional "Tomb of Ajax."