Greek Tragedy X: Sophocles’s Ajax, or When Good Heroes Go Bad

We start Sophocles today with what we believe is his oldest surviving play. Ajax is a pretty heavy story and deals with his death by suicide.

Discussion Prompts:

1. This play breaks from convention by including an on-stage death. Why do you think Ajax dies on stage? If you were directing this play today, how would you handle this scene?
2. Who is the hero in this play? Is there one? Why or why not?
3. What are your thoughts on Tecmessa? What does this play tell us about the status of women?
4. We call the title character Ajax, but in Greek, his name was Aias. At one point in the play, Aias notes the similarity between the sound of his name and the sound of weeping (think “alas!” in English). What are your thoughts on this relationship? Is it a coincidence or did his name fate him to grieve?