Ajax, Patroclus, Aeneas and Hector in iliad
Uploaded by nukrolat on Sep 18, 2002
The Lesser Ajax :
The son of the king of Locrians “Oelius” and “Eriopis.”
He was one of the heroes who fought against Troy as commander of the Locrians, bringing forty ships.
A different derivation is mostly used for his name : “of the earth” from “aia” the poetic form of the word “gaia” meaning earth. Sophocles related the name to “aiazo” , “to wail”, “cry ah.” (1)
When the city of Troy is about to be conquered by Acheans, the daughter of Priamos: Cassandra was sheltered in the temple of Athena. She was holding the statue of Athena tightly. The Lesser Ajax wanted to take her out and without obeying and divine rule, he got in and took her out. By the way, the statue of Athena dropped and broken. As a punishment for entering the temple in such a rude way, Achaeans begun stoning him. This time Ajax sheltered in the temple of Athena and he was saved by Athena from being killed. But the goddess who saved him did not let him go without being punished. In the journey back Acherons were caught in a great storm. Ajax’s ship sunk. Poseidon saved him but because Ajax said that he managed to stay alive despite the wrath of Athena, Poseidon broke the rock on which Ajax standing. He fall into the see again and was killed by Athena who was using Zeus’s thunderbolts. (2)
Great Ajax :
The son of Telamon of Salamis and Peribora.
Traditionally his name derives from “aiteos” meaning, “eagle” from the one seen by his father when before his birth, Hercules prayed to Zeus to give his friend a brave son.
He reigned over Salamis and came to Troy leading the island’s contingent of twelve ships. Next to Achilles he was the most powerful and the bravest hero in the whole army. (3)
Once the city of Troy had been captured he demanded that Helen should be punished for her adultery by being put to death, but this roused the sons of Atreus to anger against him. And Odysseus secured her return to Menelaus. Then Ajax demanded the Palladium as his share of the spoils, but Odysseus, under pressure from Atrides, managed to dissension. Ajax threatened to take vengeance on Menelaus and Agamemnon. The Atrides surrounded themselves with guards and on the morning of the following day Ajax was found stabbed with his own sword.
Another account of his death...