Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman Mythology (Facts on File Library ...

The chief instrument <strong>of</strong> Ajax’s undoing
is the madness that Athena inflicts on him.
Madness, as in the Bacchae, signifies the god’s
destruction <strong>of</strong> a mortal’s identity <strong>and</strong> basic
dignity. He loses not simply his position in life
but his sense <strong>of</strong> self <strong>and</strong> the purpose behind
his existence. As in Agave’s terrible moment <strong>of</strong>
realization in Euripides’ play, it is the return <strong>of</strong>
clarity that is the most destructive <strong>and</strong> painful.
Ajax realizes that it is too late, <strong>and</strong> that he cannot
go back to being who he was.
Particularly notable in this version <strong>of</strong> the
Sophoclean hero estranged from his community
is the emphasis on the hero’s culpability.
Antigone <strong>and</strong> Philoctetes are not clearly culpable
to the same degree. Even Oedipus seems
less obviously culpable than Ajax. Oedipus may
be intellectually arrogant, <strong>and</strong> given to violent
outbursts, but it is also clear that an intricate
web <strong>of</strong> destiny has victimized him. Ajax, by
contrast, seems to invite his own doom. On two
occasions, he hubristically proclaimed his lack
<strong>of</strong> need for divine support, <strong>and</strong> he specifically
refused Athena’s help. It is thus all the more
ironic when, in his demented state, he calls
Athena his ally. She stood by the warrior in
battle—but drove him to slaughter livestock,
not human enemies. It is also clear that he
aimed to carry out a slaughter <strong>of</strong> his fellow
<strong>Greek</strong>s—a slaughter that does not seem morally
justifiable. Other versions <strong>of</strong> the story were
available. For Pindar, Ajax’s suicide simply followed
from the disgrace <strong>of</strong> not receiving Achilles’
armor. Sophocles has maximized the horror
<strong>and</strong> shame by elaborating a version in which
Ajax slays <strong>and</strong> tortures herd animals as part <strong>of</strong>
an abortive plan to slay the <strong>Greek</strong> chieftains.
It is thus perhaps all the more dramatic in
this instance that Sophocles maintains the keen
sense <strong>of</strong> pity for Ajax—above all through the
powerful characterization <strong>of</strong> Tecmessa—<strong>and</strong>
maintains the sense <strong>of</strong> his greatness even as he
falls on his own sword. Like Oedipus, he will be
revered as a hero after his death—as an example
<strong>and</strong> an object <strong>of</strong> awe. And like Oedipus in
Sophocles’ oedipus at coLonus, the hero Ajax
Alcestis
has a connection with Athens. The Chorus <strong>of</strong>
Salaminian sailors stresses its place <strong>of</strong> origin—
an important site <strong>of</strong> Athenian patriotism—<strong>and</strong>
apostrophizes Athens conspicuously. Ajax does
the same shortly before his death. The Athenians
themselves honored Ajax’s memory in
their own way by sitting as spectators before
this dark <strong>and</strong> fascinating play.
Alcestis Euripides (438 b.c.e.) Euripides’
Alcestis was produced in 438 b.c.e. <strong>and</strong> won
second prize in the tragedy competition. The
story concerns Admetus, king <strong>of</strong> Thessaly:
He has learned that he must die unless he can
find someone to die in his stead. His parents
refuse, <strong>and</strong> the one person who agrees to do so
is his own wife, Alcestis. At the opening <strong>of</strong> the
action, Alcestis is near death. The play was presented
fourth in order, the place usually occupied
by a satyr play—a humorous type <strong>of</strong> play
where heroic mythology is typically treated in
a less serious manner. Indeed, we hear that an
earlier tragedian, Phrynicus, had produced a
satyr play on Alcestis <strong>and</strong> Admetus. The present
play alludes to aspects <strong>of</strong> the satyr play but
is best described as an unconventional tragedy.
Euripides <strong>of</strong>ten challenges the conventions <strong>and</strong>
high seriousness <strong>of</strong> the tragic genre <strong>and</strong> presents
his audience with sub-heroic or otherwise
perplexing characters <strong>and</strong> situations. Admetus
hardly seems to fit the pr<strong>of</strong>ile <strong>of</strong> the hard,
unyielding tragic hero, yet his experience <strong>of</strong>
grief <strong>and</strong> loss nonetheless achieves a pr<strong>of</strong>ound
resonance. The Alcestis is a play above all about
the necessity <strong>of</strong> death <strong>and</strong> its implications for
the human condition.
SynoPSIS
Apollo enters <strong>and</strong> st<strong>and</strong>s before the house <strong>of</strong>
Admetus at Pherae in Thessaly. He explains
that he has been in the service <strong>of</strong> Admetus,
king <strong>of</strong> Thessaly, as a lowly shepherd, because,
angry that Zeus had killed his son Asclepius
with a lightning bolt, he killed Zeus’s smiths,
the Cyclopes. He was therefore condemned to