Ajax in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Ajax

99 passages from 12 ancient authors that tell of Ajax, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. Ajax was a hero in Greek mythology, son of King Telamon of Salamis and Periboea. He played a pivotal role in the myth of the Trojan War. He is also kn... For the story in one place, read our article on Ajax.

Hesiod (1)

Hesiod, Fragments 1.68The suitors of HelenThe best-preserved passage of the Catalogue lists the heroes who came to woo Helen, each with his gifts, from Philoctetes and the sons of Amphiaraus to Odysseus, Menestheus, Aias and Idomeneus. Tyndareus sends none away and receives no gift, and the passage ends with the birth of Hermione.

Homer (36)

Homer, Iliad 7.206–312The duel of Hector and AjaxAjax advances behind his huge shield of sevenfold bull's hide and tells Hector that he will learn that the Achaeans have other champions. Hector's spear pierces the shield through six layers, and Ajax's spear pierces Hector's shield and grazes his neck. They fight on with stones until the heralds part them at nightfall, and the two champions exchange gifts, Hector giving a sword and Ajax a purple belt.
Homer, Iliad 17.233–365The Achaeans rally round the body of PatroclusThe Trojans charge in a mass, hoping to drag the body away, and Ajax tells Menelaus to call the Achaean chiefs. The Achaeans fight over the body, and Ajax kills Hippothous. Apollo, in the likeness of Periphas, urges Aeneas to stand fast, and the Achaeans fall back, though fewer of them are killed because they guard one another in the throng.
Homer, Iliad 11.489–595Ajax holds the line; Machaon is woundedAjax defends the Achaeans like a river in spate, while Hector fights on the left and is unaware of him. Paris wounds the healer Machaon in the shoulder, and Idomeneus asks Nestor to take him to the ships. Zeus puts fear into Ajax, and he withdraws slowly like a stubborn donkey beaten from a cornfield.
Homer, Iliad 17.108–232Hector takes the armour of Achilles; Glaucus rebukes himMenelaus gives ground and Ajax comes up and covers the body of Patroclus with his shield, and Hector falls back, sending the armour of Patroclus to Troy. Glaucus reproaches him for leaving Sarpedon's body and not standing his ground, and Hector puts on the armour of Achilles. Zeus pities him, saying that though he wears the armour of the best of men he will never return from battle to Andromache, and Hector then calls on the Trojans and their allies to drag the body to Troy, promising half the spoil and half the glory to the man who does so.
Homer, Iliad 12.290–377Sarpedon and Glaucus; Ajax is called to the wallSarpedon tells Glaucus that the honours they have in Lycia, the seats, meat and wine and the great estate on the Xanthus, oblige them to be foremost in the fighting. Menestheus, seeing them come against his tower, sends a herald to Ajax for help, and Ajax and Teucer hurry to the place.
Homer, Iliad 15.390–483Patroclus leaves Eurypylus; Teucer's bow breaksWhile the fight is far from the ships, Patroclus sits beside Eurypylus, but when he sees the Trojans scaling the wall he hurries to Achilles. Ajax kills Lycophron, and Teucer's bowstring snaps as he is about to shoot Hector. Teucer says that a god has marred his fight, takes up a shield and spear in place of the bow, and Hector tells the Trojans that Zeus is helping them.
Homer, Iliad 7.92–205The nine champions draw lotsMenelaus is ashamed at the silence and is the first to arm, but Agamemnon holds him back. Nestor rebukes the Achaeans, wishes that he were young enough to fight Hector, and tells how he once killed Ereuthalion. Nine rise to answer the challenge, and the lot falls to Ajax son of Telamon, who prays to Zeus and arms himself.
Homer, Iliad 8.253–349Teucer's arrowsDiomedes leads the Danaans out, and Teucer, sheltering behind the shield of Ajax, shoots down Trojan after Trojan while Agamemnon praises him. Twice he aims at Hector and misses, killing Gorgythion and then Hector's charioteer Archeptolemus. Hector hurls a stone that breaks Teucer's collar-bone and Ajax covers him, but Zeus gives Hector the upper hand and the Achaeans are driven back.
Homer, Iliad 14.440–522The Trojans are routedWhen the Achaeans see Hector withdraw, they leap on the Trojans, and Ajax son of Oileus kills Satnius. Polydamas kills Prothoenor, Ajax son of Telamon kills Archelochus, and Acamas and Peneleos each kill a man. The Trojans flee, and the swift son of Oileus kills most of all.
Homer, Iliad 23.651–739Funeral games: boxing and wrestlingEpeius, who boasts that he will crush his opponent, wins the mule in the boxing and knocks out Euryalus with one blow. Ajax and Odysseus compete in the wrestling, and neither can throw the other, until Achilles stops them and gives both the prize.
Homer, Iliad 23.798–897Funeral games: armed duel, weight, archery and spearAjax and Diomedes fight in armour for the arms of Sarpedon, but the Achaeans stop the bout, fearing for them, and Achilles gives the sword to Diomedes. Polypoetes wins the contest in throwing the weight, and Meriones the archery with a dove tied to the mast. Agamemnon steps up for the spear, but Achilles awards him the prize without a throw.
Homer, Odyssey 11.465–567Achilles and AjaxThe ghosts of Achilles, Patroclus, Antilochus and Ajax come up. Achilles says that he would rather be the hired servant of a poor man on earth than king of all the dead, and asks for news of his son Neoptolemus and his father Peleus. Odysseus tells him how Neoptolemus fought at Troy, and Achilles departs rejoicing. The ghost of Ajax, still angry about the arms of Achilles, will not speak.

24 more passages of Homer that name Ajax

Apollodorus (2)

Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome E.5.1–23The death of Achilles, the Wooden Horse and the fall of TroyPenthesilea and then Memnon come to Troy's aid and are killed by Achilles, who is himself shot by Paris and Apollo. The contest for Achilles' arms drives Ajax to madness and suicide. Troy falls after Philoctetes shoots Paris, Helenus reveals the three conditions, Neoptolemus joins the army and Odysseus steals the Palladium, and the Greeks take the city with the Wooden Horse, Sinon and the beacon at Tenedos; the section closes with the sack, the deaths of Astyanax and Polyxena, and the division of the captives.
Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome E.4.1–7The Iliad in brief: Achilles' anger, Patroclus and HectorThe Epitome gives a short account of the events of the Iliad: Achilles withdraws from the fighting because of the quarrel over Briseis, Paris and Menelaus fight a single combat, and Hector drives the Greeks back to the ships. Patroclus, wearing Achilles' armour, is killed by Hector. Achilles takes up Hephaestus's new armour, kills Hector and drags his body, holds games for Patroclus, and Priam ransoms Hector's body.

Pindar (6)

Pindar, Nemean Odes 7.1–105Nemean 7: for Sogenes — Neoptolemus at DelphiPindar invokes Eleithyia, goddess of birth, and praises Sogenes of Aegina, boys' pentathlon victor, saying that song gives fame to the deeds of heroes. He tells how Neoptolemus, who sacked Troy, lies buried at Pytho after being struck down in a quarrel over the sacrifice, and defends himself against the charge of having slandered him. He ends by praising the Aeginetan hero's family and warning against idle talk like babbling to babes of 'Corinth, the city of Zeus'.
Pindar, Isthmian Odes 6.1–75Isthmian 6: for Phylacidas — Heracles and TelamonPindar mixes a second bowl of song for the house of Lampon after the pancratium victory of Phylacidas. He tells how Heracles, as Telamon's guest, prayed to Zeus for a son and Zeus sent an eagle, so that the child was named Aias, and how Heracles sailed with Telamon against Troy and killed Laomedon and his sons. He ends with the victories of Phylacidas, Pytheas and their uncle Euthymenes, who has won at the Isthmus and Nemea.
Pindar, Nemean Odes 2.1–25Nemean 2: for Timodemus — the Homeridae and AjaxPindar compares the Homeridae, who begin their songs with Zeus, to Timodemus of Acharnae, who has begun his victories at Nemea in the pancratium and may hope for the Isthmian and Pythian crowns. He recalls how Hector heard of Ajax at Troy, notes that Acharnae is famous for its heroes, and that the sons of Timodemus are pre-eminent in contests.
Pindar, Nemean Odes 4.1–96Nemean 4: for Timasarchus — Peleus and ThetisPindar says that good cheer and song heal the toil of contests and praises Timasarchus of Aegina, boys' wrestling victor. He recalls Teucer, who rules in Cyprus, Ajax at Salamis, and Peleus, who wedded Thetis, one of the Nereids, and saw the gods promise sovereignty to his line. He promises to raise a monument of song for the victor's uncle Callicles.
Pindar, Nemean Odes 8.1–51Nemean 8: for Deinias — Ajax and OdysseusPindar invokes the queen of youthful prime, and praises Deinias of Aegina, double foot-race winner, and prays to Aeacus for his city. He recalls the envy that has always pursued the valiant, as it did Ajax, who killed himself after the Greeks gave Achilles' arms to Odysseus. He ends by saying that it is easy to raise a monument of song for Deinias' grandfather Megas and the Chariadae.
Pindar, Isthmian Odes 3.1–4.72Isthmians 3-4: for Melissus — Ajax and Heracles against AntaeusIsthmian 3 praises Melissus of Thebes, victor in the chariot race, and says that the gods alone are free from change. Isthmian 4 praises his pancratium victory at the Isthmus, recalls Ajax who fell on his own sword at Troy, and tells how the Theban hero Heracles, small of stature but unflinching, went to the land of Antaeus in Libya to put a stop to his murders. It ends with the trainer Orseas, whose name Pindar joins with that of the victor.

Sophocles (19)

Sophocles, Ajax 1–133Prologue: Athena shows Odysseus the madness of AjaxAthena sees Odysseus tracking footprints near the tent of Ajax, and Odysseus says that the army's cattle have been found slaughtered and that everyone blames Ajax. Athena tells how she sent a madness on Ajax, so that he took the animals for the Greek chiefs and tortured and killed them, and calls him out of his tent. Though Ajax boasts to her that he has dealt with the Atreidae and Odysseus, Odysseus does not rejoice, but pities him, and Athena tells him to learn from this to avoid arrogance toward the gods.
Sophocles, Ajax 331–429Kommos: Ajax laments among the slaughtered animalsAjax is revealed in his tent among the dead animals and cries out in shame and grief. He calls on the Chorus to kill him and on his enemies to laugh. The Chorus and Tecmessa urge him to give way, and Ajax prays to darkness and to the sea and the land of Troy, saying that he has been brought low and cannot go home.
Sophocles, Ajax 430–544Second episode: Ajax's decision and Tecmessa's pleaAjax says that a man of noble birth must either live nobly or die nobly, and that he cannot return to his father or stay at Troy in disgrace. Tecmessa pleads with him not to leave her and their son to be slaves of his enemies. Ajax says that he will approve of her if she does his bidding, and asks for his son to be brought.
Sophocles, Ajax 693–814Second stasimon: the sailors' joy; the Messenger's warningThe Chorus sing a joyful song to Pan, thinking that Ajax's trouble is over. A Messenger arrives from Teucer, whom the army has been abusing, and tells them that the seer Calchas has said that Ajax must be kept in his tent that day, since Athena's wrath will last only that day, and that if he goes out he will die. Tecmessa and the Chorus rush out to search for him.
Sophocles, Ajax 545–595Second episode (cont.): Ajax and his son EurysacesAjax takes his young son in his arms, prays that he will be luckier than his father but otherwise like him, and tells the Chorus to ask Teucer to take the boy home to Telamon. He gives him his great shield and tells Tecmessa to take the child and shut the doors of the tent. The Chorus is afraid of his words.
Sophocles, Ajax 866–973The search of the Chorus; Tecmessa finds the body of AjaxThe Chorus return in two halves and fail to find Ajax, and Tecmessa then cries out that she has found him, lying folded around the sword. She covers the body with her cloak, the Chorus lament, and Tecmessa says that all this has come by the will of the gods, for Odysseus' sake. The Chorus say that Odysseus and the Atreidae will laugh at them, and Tecmessa answers that Ajax has what he longed for.
Sophocles, Ajax 974–1039Teucer arrives and mourns AjaxTeucer arrives and learns from the Chorus that Ajax is dead, and asks for his son to be brought so that no enemy can seize him. He grieves over the body, says that he fears what his father Telamon will say, and tells how Ajax and Hector exchanged gifts, the sword and the belt, which proved fatal to each of them.
Sophocles, Ajax 201–330First episode: Tecmessa tells what happened in the nightTecmessa, Ajax's captive wife, tells the Chorus that Ajax was struck by madness in the night. She tells how he rushed out of the tent, killed the cattle and sheep, dragged some of them in, and tortured a ram bound to a pillar, believing that he was punishing his enemies, and how he has now recovered his senses and sits in shame among the carcasses.
Sophocles, Ajax 1093–1162Teucer defies MenelausTeucer answers that Ajax was not Menelaus' subordinate, but came to Troy of his own will, and says that Menelaus has no right to forbid his burial. The two exchange insults, and Teucer says that the body will be buried at once. Menelaus says that it would be a disgrace to argue when he has the power to use force, and leaves.
Sophocles, Ajax 1223–1315Fifth episode: Agamemnon and Teucer quarrelTeucer returns when he sees Agamemnon coming, and Agamemnon calls him a captive's son and asks how he dares to speak so boldly. Teucer tells him how Ajax saved the Greek ships from Hector's fire, and how much the army owes him. He answers with the ancestry of Agamemnon and says that he will protect the body with his own life.
Sophocles, Ajax 134–200Parodos: the sailors of SalamisThe Chorus of Salaminian sailors, followers of Ajax, say that rumours are spreading through the army that Ajax has killed the captured cattle, and that Odysseus is spreading the slander. They say that envy strikes the great, wonder whether Artemis or Ares sent the madness, and call on Ajax to come out and answer his enemies.
Sophocles, Ajax 1040–1092Menelaus forbids the burialThe Chorus warn Teucer that Menelaus is approaching. Menelaus orders Teucer not to bury Ajax, who he says was a traitor who wished to kill the whole army and now lies where the gods turned his outrage on animals. He says that a state needs fear and respect for authority, and that the body will be cast out on the sand.

7 more passages of Sophocles that name Ajax

Euripides (3)

Euripides, Iphigenia at Aulis 164–302Parodos: the women of Chalcis describe the Greek army and fleetThe Chorus of women of Chalcis tells how they crossed the narrow Euripus to the sandy beach of Aulis to see the army that Menelaus and Agamemnon are leading to Troy on a thousand ships in quest of Helen. They describe the heroes they saw, the two Aiases, Protesilaus and Palamedes at their game, Diomedes, and Achilles running a race, and then the squadrons of the fleet.
Euripides, Rhesus 454–517Third episode: Rhesus asks to face Achilles; Hector describes OdysseusThe Chorus praises Rhesus and wonders how Achilles and Aias will stand against his spear, and Rhesus says that he wishes to march afterward against the Argives' own country. Hector tells him that he may take any post in the army, but that he cannot fight Achilles, who is angry and holds back from battle. Hector names Aias, Diomedes and Odysseus as the other chiefs, and describes how Odysseus stole the image of Athena and crept into Troy as a beggar, and Rhesus vows to impale him.
Euripides, Helen 68–141First episode: Teucer arrives and brings news of Troy and LedaTeucer arrives at the palace and, seeing Helen, curses her likeness to the woman who ruined the Greeks. Helen questions him, and he tells of his exile from Salamis after the death of his brother Aias, and of the sack of Troy. He says that Menelaus is reported dead, that Leda hanged herself, and that the Dioscuri are said to be both dead and gods.

Diodorus Siculus (1)

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 5.28.1–5.32.7The Gauls: appearance, war and customsThe Gauls are tall, fair, with hair treated with lime-water, and they invite strangers to their feasts. The historian describes their chariots, the heads they take from enemies and keep, their dress and weapons, their speech, and their sacrifices, which require a 'philosopher'. He closes by distinguishing the Celts from the Gauls who live farther north and calls the latter the people who captured Rome and plundered Delphi, and he gives their savage sacrifices.

Ovid (5)

Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.121–254The contest for the arms of Achilles: Odysseus repliesOdysseus (Ulysses) answers that Ajax's strength is of no use without the counsel that guides it, and that he, a descendant of Zeus (Jupiter), has served the Greeks as much with his mind as with his hands. He tells how he brought Iphigenia to Aulis for the common good, and how he found Achilles disguised among the daughters of Lycomedes and brought him to Troy. He tells too how he went as an envoy to Troy, and how he and Diomedes killed Dolon and Rhesus and won Rhesus' horses.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.255–381Odysseus' speech: his services at TroyOdysseus (Ulysses) lists the Trojan warriors he killed, reminds the chiefs that he carried the body of Achilles from the field, and answers the charge about Palamedes. He tells how the prophets said that Philoctetes and his arrows were needed to take Troy, and how he brought Philoctetes to the army. He says that he alone dared to enter Troy by night and take the Palladium, and he ends by asking for the arms as the reward of his mind, pointing to the image of Athena (Minerva).
Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.1–120The contest for the arms of Achilles: Ajax speaksThe Greek chiefs gather to judge between Ajax and Odysseus (Ulysses), who both claim the armour of Achilles. Ajax speaks first, boasting of his strength and lineage, and of how he defended the ships against Hector's fire while Odysseus stayed behind. He accuses Odysseus of feigning madness to avoid the war, of abandoning Nestor in battle, and of getting Palamedes killed.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.382–438The arms awarded; the death of Ajax; the fall of TroyThe chiefs award the armour to Odysseus (Ulysses), and Ajax, in a rage that he has been robbed, kills himself with the sword that Hector had given him. From his blood a purple flower rises, marked with the letters of his name. Odysseus fetches Philoctetes from Lemnos, and Troy falls, and the Trojan women are shared among the Greeks, among them Hecuba, who is given to Odysseus. The Thracian king Polymestor, to whom Priam had sent his youngest son Polydorus with gold, kills the boy and throws his body into the sea.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 12.534–628Periclymenus and the death of AchillesNestor ends his tale, and Tlepolemus, a son of Heracles (Hercules), reproaches him for passing over his father, and Nestor says that Heracles killed all his brothers except Periclymenus, whom Poseidon (Neptune) had given the power to change his shape, and who escaped by turning into an eagle until Heracles shot him. Poseidon, angry at the death of Cycnus, asks Apollo to destroy Achilles, and Apollo directs Paris' arrow, which kills him. His ashes lie in a small urn, and the contest for his armour begins.

Pausanias (6)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.35.1–8Salamis and the island of Helene; the bones of giants and the grave of AjaxPausanias describes the islands off Attica, Helene and Salamis, whose history he traces from Cychreus and Telamon to the Athenian expulsion of the Salaminians. He notes the temple of Ajax, the stone where Telamon sat and the flower that sprang from Ajax’s blood. He then lists remarkable large bones and bodies, among them Ajax’s knee bones, the ribs of Protophanes, the corpse of Asterius at Lade and the skeleton found at Temenothyrae, which locals took for Geryon.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 10.31.1–12Delphi: Polygnotus' painting of the underworld (4): Ajax, Meleager, Memnon, Penthesilea, Sisyphus and TantalusPausanias completes the underworld painting with the dicing group of Ajax, Palamedes and Thersites, Ulysses' enemies, and Meleager, with the rival accounts of his death. He describes Hector, Memnon with the birds called Memnonides, Sarpedon, Paris and Penthesilea, then the uninitiated carrying water in broken pitchers, Callisto, Nomia, Pero, Sisyphus and Tantalus.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 3.19.1–13Amyclae and Therapne: Hyacinth’s tomb, Helen and the White IslePausanias describes the image of the Amyclaean Apollo, standing on an altar said to hold the tomb of Hyacinth and carved with reliefs, and the sanctuary of Alexandra and Dionysus Psilax at Amyclae. He then follows the road to Therapne past the sanctuaries of Zeus, Cotylean Aesculapius and Ares Theritas, and gives the Rhodian story of Helen’s hanging and the tale from Crotona and Himera of Leonymus and the White Isle.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.5.1–5Athens: the Rotunda and the eponymous heroes of the tribesNear the Council House is the Rotunda, where the presidents sacrifice, and above it stand statues of the heroes who gave their names to the Athenian tribes, among them Hippothoon, Antiochus, Ajax, Leos, Erechtheus, Aegeus, Oeneus and Acamas. Pausanias distinguishes two kings called Cecrops and two called Pandion, and tells of Pandion’s exile at Megara and of Tereus, Procne and Philomela. He adds the later tribes named after Attalus, Ptolemy and the Emperor Hadrian, and mentions Hadrian’s benefactions.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.15.1–4Athens Agora: the Painted Colonnade and its paintingsThe Painted Colonnade holds paintings of the Athenians against the Spartans at Oenoe, Theseus fighting the Amazons, the Greek kings after the fall of Ilium, and the battle of Marathon with the hero Marathon, Theseus, Athena, Hercules, Callimachus, Miltiades and Echetlus. Bronze shields hang there, some taken from the Scionians and some, smeared with pitch, from the Spartans captured at Sphacteria. A trophy on a nearby gate marks a cavalry victory over Plistarchus.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.29.1–11Epidaurus and Aegina: the Aeaceum and the stories of Aeacus and PhocusPausanias lists the temples and images of Epidaurus city and moves to Aegina, tracing the island’s legends from Zeus and Aegina to Aeacus, the descendants of Aeacus who went elsewhere, and its rise to naval power. He describes the Aeaceum with the relief of the envoys who begged Aeacus to end the drought, and the grave of Phocus, killed by Peleus’ quoit throw. He also notes the Secret Harbour and Telamon’s mole, and the theatre and stadium.

Quintus Smyrnaeus (16)

Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 3.212–292The fight over Achilles' bodyThe Trojans, among them Glaucus, Aeneas and Agenor, close round the fallen Achilles to drag his body to Troy, but Aias bestrides it and thrusts them back, killing many. Glaucus threatens Aias, who answers with scorn and then kills him. Aeneas drags Glaucus' body away for the Trojans and, fighting on to strip Achilles, is pierced in the forearm by Aias and withdraws to Troy to be healed.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 3.293–421Aias and Odysseus rescue Achilles' bodyAias fights on beside Odysseus, who kills Maenalus, Atymnius and Proteus and is wounded by Alcon, whom he kills. When Paris draws his bow on Aias, Aias strikes his helmet with a stone, and Paris is carried off to Troy behind Hector's horses. Aias drives the rest of the Trojans into the city and then strides back across a plain covered with the dead, and the kings bring Achilles' body to his tent, where the army wails for him.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 4.215–322Funeral games: wrestlingDiomedes and the great Aias wrestle, and Diomedes at last throws his huge rival. They stop, embrace and receive prizes from Thetis. Idomeneus offers himself for the boxing and Thetis sets out the prize, but at first no one will fight him until Nestor shames the Argives.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 5.333–455The madness of AiasThetis and the Nereids plunge back into the sea, where Cymothoe curses Prometheus. Aias, furious at the verdict, will not eat or sleep and arms himself in the night, and Athena strikes him with madness to spare Odysseus. Menelaus fears for the army, but Aias slaughters the flocks in the plain, thinking them Argives, and taunts a slain ram as if it were Odysseus.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 5.237–332Odysseus wins the arms of AchillesOdysseus and Aias abuse each other in turn, Odysseus mocking Aias' tongue and Aias denying that Odysseus did anything in the fighting. The Trojan captives are made to judge, and they award the arms to Odysseus.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 1.494–653Achilles kills PenthesileiaAs the Trojans are about to fire the ships, Aias hears the cries and calls Achilles, and both arm and meet the Amazons. Penthesileia hurls two spears at them in vain and boasts, and Achilles pierces her with Chiron's spear. He then runs his spear through her horse, and horse and rider die together.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 5.456–567The death of AiasAthena clears his mind, and Aias sees the dead sheep and, knowing that the gods have cheated his senses, thrusts Hector's sword into his throat. Teucer wants to die with him and is held back. Tecmessa, his captive-bride, wails over the body, and Agamemnon promises her that no man shall make her a slave while he and Teucer live.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 4.118–214Funeral games: the foot-raceNestor rises to sing of the deeds of Achilles, and Thetis rewards him with the horses Telephus once gave her son. Ten heifers are set out as prizes for the foot-race. Teucer and Aias son of Oileus run for them, and Teucer, tripped by a tamarisk root and lamed, loses to Aias.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 5.121–236Aias and Odysseus claim the armsThetis offers the arms to the best of the Argives, and Aias and Odysseus rise to claim them. Nestor speaks privately to Idomeneus and Agamemnon, warning that this contest will cost the army dear. The three refuse to judge between the heroes.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 5.568–663The burial of AiasThe army wails for Aias, and Odysseus and Nestor speak to the grieving Argives. The kings lift the huge body and carry it to the pyre, and his bones are gathered and buried.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 6.451–651Eurypylus drives the Argives to the shipsPodaleirius arms in grief for his brother and kills Cleitus and Lassus. Eurypylus then drives the Argives toward the ships; Aias son of Oileus is struck down by a stone from Aeneas, and the Atreidae are surrounded until Teucer, Idomeneus and others rally. The Trojans charge as one man and the Argives flee, and only nightfall stops Eurypylus from burning the ships.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 4.323–464Funeral games: boxing, archery and the iron barEpeius, son of Panopeus and builder of the Horse, steps forward for the boxing, and none dares face him. Oileus' son and Teucer then compete in archery at a helmet. Aias alone is able to hurl the great bar of iron.

4 more passages of Quintus Smyrnaeus that name Ajax

Bacchylides (1)

Bacchylides, Epinicians (Odes of Victory) 12.1–14.23Odes 12–14: Pytheas of Aegina and the Aeacidae; Cleoptolemus of ThessalyOde 12 asks Cleio to guide the poet to Aegina and to a wrestler's victory at Nemea, but only its opening survives. Ode 13, for Pytheas of Aegina, shows Heracles, the descendant of Perseus, mastering the Nemean lion, praises Aegina and her heroes Peleus, Telamon, Achilles and Ajax, and tells how Achilles' anger let the Trojans drive the Greeks to their ships until Ajax stopped Hector. It ends with praise of the trainer Menander and of the host Lampon. Ode 14 reflects that fortune can crush or exalt a man before honouring Cleoptolemus of Thessaly and the domain of Poseidon Petraios.

Epic Cycle (3)

Epic Cycle, Summaries and Fragments 7.1–26Little IliadProclus' summary of the Little Iliad begins with the judging of the arms of Achilles, which Odysseus wins, and the madness and death of Aias. Philoctetes is brought from Lemnos, Eurypylus is killed by Neoptolemus and Epeius builds the wooden horse. The fragments give the girls' quarrel over Aias and Odysseus, Achilles at Scyros, the golden vine given to Laomedon for Ganymedes, and the death of Astyanax.
Epic Cycle, Summaries and Fragments 6.1–5AethiopisProclus' summary tells how Memnon, the son of Eos, comes to help the Trojans in armour made by Hephaestus, and how Thetis tells her son about him. Achilles is killed by Paris and Apollo and Aias carries the body away. A fragment adds the Amazon, the daughter of Ares, who came after the burial of Hector.
Epic Cycle, Summaries and Fragments 8.1–8Sack of IliumProclus' summary tells how the Trojans debated what to do with the wooden horse, some wishing to hurl it from the rocks, some to burn it and some to dedicate it to Athena. The fragments say that one Palladium was given to Dardanus, that Astyanax was hurled from the wall, and that Agamemnon gave gifts to the sons of Theseus. One fragment describes the gifts of the Earth-Shaker to Machaon and Podaleirius.