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Sophocles · c. 496-406 BC

Ajax

Αἴας
Ancient Sources / Sophocles / Ajax

Read our guide to Ajax

Ajax is set in the Greek camp at Troy. When the arms of the dead Achilles are awarded to Odysseus and not to him, Ajax, the greatest warrior after Achilles, plans to kill the Greek leaders, but Athena turns his madness against the cattle and sheep of the army. The play follows his shame and suicide, and the quarrel over whether he may be buried. The sections follow the play's own units (prologue, parodos, episodes, choral songs and exodos) and keep the standard line numbers of the Greek text.

Read from the start
Text
Greek original with English translation, 18 passages, about 13300 words in English.
Translator
Richard C. Jebb (modernised by Perseus) (1893)
Edition
Greek text: Francis Storr (ed. and trans.), Sophocles, Loeb Classical Library, London: William Heinemann, 1913, as digitised by Perseus. English: Richard C. Jebb, Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, The Ajax, Cambridge University Press, 1893 (Perseus's modernised version of Jebb's prose translation)
Cite as
Sophocles, Ajax 1 (by line number)

Contents · 18 passages

  1. 1–133Prologue: Athena shows Odysseus the madness of Ajax1428 words
  2. 134–200Parodos: the sailors of Salamis550 words
  3. 201–330First episode: Tecmessa tells what happened in the night1106 words
  4. 331–429Kommos: Ajax laments among the slaughtered animals801 words
  5. 430–544Second episode: Ajax's decision and Tecmessa's plea1146 words
  6. 545–595Second episode (cont.): Ajax and his son Eurysaces519 words
  7. 596–645First stasimon: the sailors long for Salamis288 words
  8. 646–692Third episode: Ajax's speech of apparent yielding443 words
  9. 693–814Second stasimon: the sailors' joy; the Messenger's warning1140 words
  10. 815–865Ajax's farewell speech on the shore473 words
  11. 866–973The search of the Chorus; Tecmessa finds the body of Ajax855 words
  12. 974–1039Teucer arrives and mourns Ajax682 words
  13. 1040–1092Menelaus forbids the burial549 words
  14. 1093–1162Teucer defies Menelaus792 words
  15. 1163–1222Third stasimon: Teucer protects the body; the Chorus longs for home409 words
  16. 1223–1315Fifth episode: Agamemnon and Teucer quarrel989 words
  17. 1316–1375Odysseus persuades Agamemnon to allow the burial683 words
  18. 1376–1420Exodos: the burial of Ajax422 words

More by Sophocles

English translation by Richard C. Jebb (modernised by Perseus) (1893). Original text: Greek text: Francis Storr (ed. and trans.), Sophocles, Loeb Classical Library, London: William Heinemann, 1913, as digitised by Perseus. English: Richard C. Jebb, Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, The Ajax, Cambridge University Press, 1893 (Perseus's modernised version of Jebb's prose translation).

Greek text and translation from the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Perseus Digital Library); translation public domain. Introductions, summaries and notes © GreekMythology.com.