Hero · Character in Homer’s Odyssey
Ajax
The great shade that turned away
Lost one contest of words; keeps the silence forever after.
Second only to Achilles among the Greeks at Troy. He and Odysseus contended for the dead Achilles' armor; the prize went to Odysseus' tongue, and Ajax died of the disgrace. Among the shades he alone stands off, and answers Odysseus' soft words with no word at all — a silence more famous than most speeches.
Bonds
- Ajax dwells in Hades — the shade that stands apart
- Ajax defies Odysseus — the unforgiven armor of Achilles
Appears in
- Book III Interview of Telemachus with Nestor
- Book IV Conference of Telemachus and Menelaus
- Book XI Visit of Odysseus to the Land of the Dead
- Book XXIV Conclusion
Scenes
- The Fleet’s Quarrel — Book III. Nestor recalls Atreus brothers’ quarrel
- Fates of Ajax and Agamemnon — Book IV. Ajax drowns, Aegisthus kills Agamemnon
- Achilles Among the Dead — Book XI. Achilles’s ghost speaks, Ajax lurks
- Ajax’s Silent Wrath — Book XI. Ajax’s ghost resents Achilles’s arms
- Achilles Meets Agamemnon — Book XXIV. Achilles greets shamefully slain Agamemnon