Ajax, Hero or Villain?
The Greek tale of Ajax (the greater) is a tragic story of how being discredited of your hard work can lead you to doing things out of your character. Ajax, son of Telamon and brother to Teucer was an important contributor to the Greek’s in the war against Troy (Donald Richardson;Malcolm Day). The Columbia Encyclopedia even describes Ajax as being, “slow of thought and speech, but quick in battle and always showing courage.” With a reputation such as this it is hard to imagine that some people can think of Ajax as a villain. But he has done things that can portray him in a negative light. After Achilles, Ajax’s cousin, died in battle Ajax is the one that retrieved his body and carried it back to the ship (Ajax The Great). But a man named Odysseus assisted Ajax in carrying Achilles body and claimed his
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To prevent any quarrel between each other Odysseus proposed that they have the other kings decide who receives the armor. So when it came down to who was chosen to be rewarded Achilles armor, Ajax knew that no one was more worthy of it being gifted to them than he. But the armor was given to Odysseus because he was the “far the better speaker” and Ajax couldn’t “match his eloquence“ (The Death of Ajax). Being robbed of what Ajax believed to be rightfully his caused him to go mad and he had decided to kill all of his fellow Greeks, especially Odysseus. To prevent this from happening the goddess Athena put a curse of madness on him so that he killed animals instead of people. After Ajax saw what he had done he was so ashamed of himself that he fell upon his own sword and killed himself. This tragic tale can leave a reader split on whether Ajax was a hero or a villain but there are several reasons why
As well as having courage and bravery, Odysseus is also a strong warrior and leader. Living as king of Ithaca, he leads his fleet of warriors across Poseidon’s sea into a great battle against the Trojans. It is here where Odysseus and his fleet of warriors defeated the Trojans because of his great leadership. Knowing that he cannot defeat the Trojans from outside the immense walls, he comes up with a different plan. A plan that will get him through the walls with a little help from Poseidon. He makes a giant wooden horse (Trojan Horse) and has a person present it as a gift to accept a peace with them. The Trojans accept the gift and open the walls for the horse, not knowing that inside the horse was Odysseus and a small fleet of soldiers. The Trojans had a great celebration for what they thought was a victory. As the Trojans finally went to sleep, Odysseus and his fleet crept out of the horse and completely slaughtered the Trojans in a very bloody battle.
"In the cave of Polyphemus he is disguised as Noman, a non-entity, until he leaves the cave and shouts back at the ogre that "I am Odysseus, son of Laertes."" This quote explain how Odysseus gains his identity back which shows how he sees victory in different ways then others do. He is also constantly Odysseus is in disguise with different tactics the other similar heroes would so. Achilles would despise of Odysseus ways because he thinks that you should fight your way with strength and not tricking the enemy into believing that the your fate is inevitable and that you will die no matter what because you aren't a superior
While Achilles is a great and powerful warrior, he still risks his life when he engages in battle with the Trojans, courageously leading his men and fighting in such a way that renders admiration from both parties of the war. Odysseus, on the other hand, also exhibits courage in battle, but, additionally, exhibits courage during the many perilous trials that he and his men endure on their journey home. While Achilles does have great capacity for courage and bravery, his own agenda often prevents him from using these virtues for the benefit of his comrades. A necessary characteristic of a true hero is the ability to put personal grievances aside for the greater good. When Agamemnon demands Achilles’ prize of battle, the maiden Briseis, Achilles’ pride is so injured that he refuses to take part in battle. This exhibition of selfishness and single-minded pettiness on the part of Achilles attests to this character’s tendency for menis, an unbound rage and wrath. This menis both makes Achilles an invaluable soldier and prevents him from being as admirable of a hero as Odysseus. The latter hero endures countless personal losses, yet keeps the well-being of his men first and foremost in his
When the times get tough, the tough gets going and that’s exactly what Odysseus did when the Trojan War started. On the journey back Odysseus shows how much courage he really has.” Only the ghost of Great Ajax, son of Telamon, kept his distance, blazing with anger at me still for the victory that I had one by the ships that time I pressed my claim for the arms of prince Achilles.” – (P. 267, L. 620) In this segment Odysseus just beat the ghost Ajax for Achillies armor. Odysseus is courageous when he decides to fight Ajax for a set of armor. When Ajax died his spirit was still mad at Odysseus for defeating him. “ No ship of men has ever approached and slipped past, always some disaster, big timbers and sailors corpses whirled away by the waves and lethal blasts of fire.”- Circe, (P. 277, L 75) Odysseus explains the terror of the position that he is in; he chose the courageous path to sail just to save some time. To the right lies a giant whirlpool and to the left a cluster of jagged rocks. ‘You dogs! You never imagined I’d return from Troy so cocksure that bled my house to death, ravishing my serving women- wooed my wife behind my back while I was still alive! No fear of the gods who rule the skies up there, no fear that men’s revenge might someday- now all your necks are in the noose- your doom is sealed!”- Ody...
.... There, they taunted him and agreed with Penelope that whoever could prove himself worthy in a shooting contest with Odysseus’s bow would be determined as Penelope’s new husband and the new King of Ithaca. However, when it was his turn to shoot, he turns on the suitors and his arrow hit Antinous, the rudest of the suitors, under the chin, and kills him. Then together, with his son and the assistance of Athena, attacks the suitors, one by one, punishing them for disrespecting him and his home. Through this, Odysseus receives a personal satisfaction as a result of his diligence in taking back his home, and avenging his wife. His personal satisfaction was his revenge.
Despite gaining this knowledge and being dismayed by these self-pitying comments of Achilles, Odysseus contemplates foolishly engaging his fate in battle. Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus, lives a complex life. His personal issues and accomplishments tend to conflict, and he best copes with his many different struggles. Lord Mansfield once said, “Consider what you think justice requires, and decide accordingly. But never give your reasons; for your judgment will probably be right, but your reasons will certainly be wrong.”
A main reason why Odysseus is not a hero is because he manipulated the truth and achieved his victories through lies. Achilles, the hero from the Iliad explains his thoughts on the matter, “I hate that man like the very Gates of Death / who says one thing but hides another in his heart” (Knox, 37). Bernard Knox who wrote the introduction to the Odyssey explains how Odysseus prides himself on his ability to cover and manipulate the truth. Bernard also says, “He will gladly employ deceit to win victory” (Knox, 38). A hero is a man of honor with a noble purpose and heart, but Odysseus has neither. The main characteristics of a hero are that they can do heroic things, but retain their nobility. If we sacrifice the truth for progress then we are no
And so he perished, /His lungs full of saltwater”. This shows that Ajax was not balanced after being saved by the gods. This reveals that no matter the circumstance, if one do not show humility, consequences will ensue. This proves that one must be balanced when shown pity by the gods. Golden Mean is shown by not only Odysseus but other characters to the true Dr. Steven Aicinena from thesportsjournal.org, in the article “When Pride Goes Wrong”, says that athletes will go far enough to have pride as to hurt other players unknown of the consequences.
What are the differences between heros and villains? A hero is someone who is willing to fight to the death to help someone else. A villain is soeone who will do bad at any cost, whether someone gets hurt or not. The epic poem, The Odyssey, has both heros and villains. The Odyssey is about a king named Odysseus who is fighting his way home to get back to his wife, and son, while fighting monsters and obsticals. The main character, Odysseus, could be considered botha hero and a villain because, he fights hard to get home while being brave, and determaned, but he kills along the way at no cost which makes him a villain. Therefore, Odysseus is mostly a monster because he could have let all of the people go and not kill them.
Jason sent on an impossible mission by a king in order to remove him from the country. Both Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece and Odysseus' journey home is thrust upon them. Jason does not feel the same need to complete his journey unlike Odysseus whom yearns to return home out of a feeling of nostos. Jason's story is more a story of multiple heroes where the Odyssey surrounds the story of one man, a king, and his followers. Odysseus was the "thinking man's hero," One of the famous warriors of the Trojan War, it was Odysseus who retrieved the slain body and armor of Achilles in the thick of heavy fighting. It was Odysseus who devised the stratagem of the Trojan Horse. His virtue was his mind, a supernatural type of ingenuity and intelligence that he used to overcome the trials of his journey, such as: The Cyclops, Circe, and how to deal with his wife's multitude of suitors. Jason is much more human with less personal devices to help him achieve his goal. Jason must rely on the supernatural talents and gifts of his fellow-man in order to survive. Yet both men are very human when it comes to their faults and both can be seen and the anti-hero. Odysseus can be seen as such because is the new form of hero, the think before you kill, type of hero. His cr...
Heroes are found everywhere. They are seen in movies, on television, in books, and in reality. A hero can be anyone from a friend to a fictional character. To be considered a hero, one must make selfless sacrifices, develop and learn, overcome challenges and temptations, and ultimately present their known world with a gift of any kind. Homer’s The Odyssey paints a picture of the supposed savior Odysseus. The irony of Odysseus’ situation is that he really is not the marvelous hero that many who read The Odyssey see him to be. When imagining a great hero, the words of cruel, unfaithful, selfish, or careless never come to mind, but the son of Laertes sets examples for each attribute. Odysseus makes many poor decisions that cause his dislikable traits to highly outweigh his few better ones. Several of his more prominent characteristics are exhibited on numerous accounts. Odysseus cannot possibly earn the title of being a hero because he harbors hubris, he displays a lack of faith, and his self-centeredness causes unfortunate events.
In Homer’s The Iliad, Achilles is often referred to as a very courageous Greek hero but a further look into the epic will reveal a man that is more arrogant than courageous. It was truly his arrogance that made his name famous and not his courage. Achilles was a narcissistic, self-serving man who was not concerned with his fellow country man. His actions of courage can easily be revealed as selfishness instead of what most people believe.
Sophocles' Ajax, written around 440 B.C., deals with the destruction of the Greek hero Ajax, who is sometimes considered the greatest warrior of the Trojan War, second only to Achilles. Ajax, driven insane by the goddess Athena, slaughtered the Greek herds of cattle, thinking that they were Greeks, to avenge them for rewarding the armor of Achilles to Odysseus instead of him. Only after coming to his senses, he realized that he was disgraced and he committed suicide. The play moves on, however, to deal with his burial, in which Teucer, Ajax's half-brother, and Odysseus argue with two supreme kings, Agamemnon and Menelaus, that Ajax has the right to burial. Throughout the play until his death, Ajax is the central character, undergoing a grim change from a proud, insane lunatic to a sane, shamed man, whose only hope for honor is suicide.
The majority of those who read The Odyssey consider the protagonist of the story, Odysseus, a hero. On many occasions, however, Odysseus makes decisions beneficial to himself alone. For example, when Odysseus and his men find themselves on Polyphemus's island, Odysseus's actions are self-centered and at the expense of his men. This can be said for most of Odysseus's actions in the story, as his main objective is to reach his home. Having his men by his side when he returns seems a trivial thing to him. Odysseus could be considered a hero, but many of his actions say otherwise. Due to the many unfaithful and self-centered decisions he makes in the story, Odysseus is not a hero.
Achilles, a very valuable warrior and great fighter was a very significant part of the Trojan War. He wasn’t fighting for a family back home or anything of that nature, he was simply fighting because it was his destiny. He knew going into the battle that he was going to die, but he trusted that fighting was the best thing for him and something he had to do. He took his destiny seriously, even though he knew it meant he was going to die. Odysseus, on the other hand, was fighting a very different battle. He was fighting to get home. Throughout the entire poem, The Odyssey, Odysseus displays his longing to be back at home with his wife and son. He is constantly fighting with the gods, monsters, and beast to try and make it back to Ithaca. These two characters are fighting for two very different reasons. One fighting because it’s his destiny and what he’s meant to do, and the other because he longs to see his family once again. It’s plain to see that the motives behind the fighting is different for both of these