Hector and Paris walked out of the Scaean Gate together. The Trojans rejoiced when they saw both heroes. Again they perked up in spirit, and a furious battle began again. Many heroes were slain by Hector, Paris and Glaucus. The Greeks began to retreat. The bright-eyed daughter of Zeus saw this and rushed to the sacred Troy. The goddess rushing from Olympus was met by the hundred-year-old oak that grew on the edge of the field, the god Apollo. He asked the goddess Athena if she was in a hurry to help the Greeks and convinced her to help him end the battle. Athena agreed. The gods decided, in order to stop the battle, to inspire Hector to challenge the most glorious of the Greek heroes to single combat. As soon as the gods decided this, the prophetic son of Priam Helen immediately saw their decision. He approached his brother Hector and advised him to challenge the Greek hero to single combat. Gelen revealed to Hector that he heard the voice of the celestials commanding him to do so, and that it was not fate for Hector to die in this single combat.
Hector immediately stopped the battle, stopping the Trojans; so did Agamemnon. The battlefield calmed down, and the warriors, tired from the battle, sat down on the ground. Pallas Athena and Apollo, taking off like predatory hawks, sat on a century-old oak, admiring the troops of the Trojans and Greeks. When everyone calmed down, Hector loudly challenged one of the Greek heroes to single combat. He promised not to desecrate the corpse of the slain and not to take off his armor and demanded that the hero of the Greeks also promise this if he was the winner. The Greeks listened to Hector's challenge, but everyone was silent, no one dared to go against Hector. Menelaus was terribly angry with them, he himself wanted to engage in single combat with Hector, but Agamemnon held him back: he was afraid that his brother would die at the hands of Hector, with whom even Achilles was afraid to fight. The elder Nestor also shamed the Greeks. As soon as his angry speech ceased, nine heroes immediately stepped forward: King Agamemnon, Diomedes, both Ajax, Idomeneo, Merion, Eurypylus, Foant and Odysseus. On the advice of Nestor, they decided to cast lots between the heroes. When the lots were placed in the helmet, Nestor began to shake it so that someone's lot fell out.
The heroes prayed to the gods that the lot of Ajax Telamonides, Diomedes or Agamemnon would fall. The lot fell on Ajax. The mighty Telamonides Ajax rejoiced. He donned his armor and stepped forward into the duel. He walked like the god of war Ares, huge, powerful and formidable. Before him he carried a copper-bound shield, as large as a tower, and brandished a heavy spear. The Trojans were horrified when they saw Ajax, fear penetrated Hector's chest. The soldiers looked at each other menacingly. Hector threw the spear first. He did not break the shield of Ajax. Ajax threw his spear and pierced Hector's shield through and through. It pierced the spear and armor of Hector and tore the tunic. Hector escaped death only by jumping to the side. The heroes pulled out their spears and collided again. Hector again struck Telamonides' shield with his spear, the tip of his spear did not bend. Ajax once again pierced Hector's shield and lightly wounded him in the neck. Hektar did not interrupt the battle, he picked up a huge stone and threw it into Ajax's shield; the copper covering the huge shield rattled, while Ajax grabbed an even heavier stone and threw it at Hector's shield with such force that it broke the shield and wounded Hector and his leg. Hector fell to the ground, but the god Apollo quickly picked him up.
The heroes grabbed their swords, they would have cut each other if the heralds had not arrived in time and stretched wands between them.
End the fight, heroes! - the heralds exclaimed, - we see everything that you are great warriors, Zeus loves both of you equally. The night is coming, everyone needs rest.
Herald, - Ajax turned to the herald of the Trojans, - what you said, Hector himself should say, because he called for single combat. I'm ready to stop fighting if he wants. Hector immediately answered Ajax:
Oh, Telamonides, the gods have given you great growth, and strength, and intelligence, you are the most glorious of Greek heroes. Let's finish our duel today. Later we can still meet with you on the battlefield. But as we part, let us honor each other with a gift as a memento of our single combat. Let the warriors of Troy and Greece remember that the heroes fought, blazing hostility against each other, but dispersed reconciled, like friends.
Having said this, Hector took off the sword adorned with silver and gave it to Ajax, and Ajax gave Hector a purple precious belt as a gift. Thus ended the duel of heroes. The Trojans rejoiced that Hector had emerged unscathed from the single combat with the mighty Ajax, and triumphantly escorted him to Troy. The Greeks also rejoiced when they saw what a mighty hero Telamonides Ajax was. King Agamemnon arranged a feast in honor of Ajax, calling all the leaders to it. The leaders feasted until evening.
When the feast was over, Elder Nestor, at a meeting of Greek leaders, gave advice to stop the battle for a day in order to bury the fallen heroes and build a wall with towers around the camp and ships, so that this wall would be protection for the Greeks, and dig a deep ditch near the wall. The leaders agreed with Nestor's advice and dispersed to their tents until morning.
Gathered council of leaders and Trojans. At this council, Antenor advised to give the beautiful Helen and the stolen treasures to the Greeks. But Paris would never agree to extradite Helen, he agreed to return only the treasures of Menelaus, adding gifts from himself to them. King Priam gave advice to send a messenger to the Greeks in the morning, who was supposed to convey to them the proposal of Paris, but if the Greeks do not agree with this proposal, then continue the battle until the gods give the final victory to one side or the other. The Trojans agreed with Priam's proposal. When morning came, the Trojans sent a messenger to the Greeks, but they rejected the proposal of Paris, they only agreed to interrupt the battle for a day in order to bury the dead soldiers.
Even before sunrise, the Trojans and Greeks began to bury the fallen soldiers. They took the bodies to the fires and burned them. Then the Greeks built a high wall with towers around the camp in one day and dug a deep ditch in front of it. Even the Olympian gods marveled at this work of the Greeks. Only the god Poseidon was angry with the Greeks because they did not make sacrifices to the gods, erecting a wall. But the Thunderer Zeus reassured Poseidon. He gave him advice to destroy then the wall of the Greeks and again cover the coast with sea sand.
The Greeks, having finished their work, began to cook their own supper. At this time, ships with wine arrived from Lemnos. The Greeks rejoiced, they quickly bought up the wine, and a feast began in the camp. The feast of the Greeks was not calm. The Thunderer Zeus, with peals of thunder, foreshadowed many troubles for them. Fear often seized the feasters, and they spilled wine from the goblets. None of the Greeks dared to drink without making a libation in honor of the terrible Zeus. Finally, the feast was over, and the entire Greek camp fell into a dream.
Ajax (Αίας), in Greek mythology, the name of two participants in the Trojan War; both fought near Troy as applicants for the hand of Helen. In the Iliad, they often act hand in hand, in the battle for the wall surrounding the Achaean camp, in the defense of ships, in the battle for the body of Patroclus and are compared with two mighty lions or bulls (Homer, Iliad, XIII 197-205; 701-708 ).
Ajax and Cassandra, 1886
Joseph Solomon artist
Ajax Oilid (Αίας Oιλνιος), son of Oileus and Eriopis (Eriope), king of Locris, leader of a militia of forty people from Locris, a region of central Greece. A skilled javelin thrower and an excellent runner, second only to Achilles in speed. His warriors are renowned as archers and slingers. This so-called "small Ajax" is not so powerful and not so tall in comparison with Ajax Telamonides (Homer, Iliad, II 527-535). He is known for his violent and brash temper. So, during the capture of Troy, he committed violence against Cassandra, who sought protection at the altar of Athena (Apollodorus, V 22; Virgil, Aeneid, II 403-406). On the advice of Odysseus, the Achaeans were going to stone Ajax for this sacrilege (Pausanias, X 31, 2), but he took refuge at the altar of the same Athena. However, when the fleet returned from Troy, the angry goddess broke the Achaean ships (including the ship of Ajax by throwing lightning at it) by a storm near the Cyclades Islands. Ajax escaped and, clinging to a rock, boasted that he was alive against the will of the gods. Then Poseidon split the rock with a trident, Ajax fell into the sea and died. His body was buried by Thetis on the island of Mykonos, near Delos (Hyginus, Fab. 116). The sacrilege of Ajax, by the decision of the oracle, was expiated by the inhabitants of Locris for a thousand years, sending two virgins to Troy every year, who served in the temple of Athena, never leaving it. According to Apollodorus and Polybius, this custom ceased to exist after the Phocian War in the 4th century BC.
Ajax Telamonides (Αίας Τελαμώνιος), descended from Zeus and the nymph Aegina. He is the grandson of Aeacus, the son of Telamon and Periboea, the cousin of Achilles. His name is associated with a myth in which Hercules appears as a friend of the Salamis king Telamon. During a visit to the island of Salamis, Hercules prays to Zeus to grant Telamon a valiant son; when Zeus, in agreement with the request of Hercules, sends an eagle in the form of a banner, Hercules advises Telamon to name the future son by the name Aias (from the Greek aietos - eagle; Apollodorus, III 12 7). Ajax Telamonides - the king of Salamis, who brought twelve ships under Troy (Homer, Iliad, II 557-558). Under Troy, Ajax became famous as a hero second only to Achilles in prowess. He is huge in growth (the so-called "big Ajax"), formidable, powerful, armed with a huge seven-skinned shield covered with copper. Ajax acts in battle as the god Ares himself, strides firmly, shaking a powerful spear. He throws a huge stone at Hector and pierces the enemy's shield with it. When Ajax appears, carrying his shield like a tower, the Trojans scatter in fear, and he continues to smash the enemies, raging on the plain.
antique fresco
When Patroclus is killed and there is a struggle for his body, Ajax covers the defeated with his shield, and then helps the Achaeans to carry away the body of Patroclus from the battlefield, repelling the Trojans together with Ajax Oilid. In the battle of the ships, Ajax confronts Hector. Protecting the ship from fire, he kills twelve Trojans in hand-to-hand combat. After the death of Achilles, Ajax selflessly protects his body from the Trojans and therefore considers himself entitled to inherit the armor of the murdered hero. However, the armor is awarded (and the Trojans or allies of the Achaeans act as judges) to Odysseus, and the offended Ajax decides to kill the Achaean leaders at night. But Athena, saving the Achaeans, sends madness on him and herds of cattle become victims of the sword of Ajax. When reason returns to Ajax, he cannot survive the disgrace he has brought upon himself and, having deceived the vigilance of his wife Tekmessa and associates, commits suicide in despair. The body of Ajax, by the decision of Agamemnon, was not put on fire, and the Rhaeteian cape became his grave (Apollodorus, V 6). Ajax cannot forget the insult inflicted on him by Odysseus even in Hades, where he responds to the friendly speeches of Odysseus with gloomy silence, preserving an unbending and stubborn spirit in the kingdom of the dead (Homer, Odysseus, XI 541-565). The fate of Ajax, his madness and death are dedicated to the tragedy of Sophocles "Ajax" and the trilogy of Aeschylus "Argument about weapons" that has not come down to us.
Ajax Telamonides was revered as a hero. On the agora in the city of Salamis was the temple of Ajax (Pausanias, I 35, 3). Before the battle of Salamis, according to Herodotus, the Greeks brought prayers to the gods and called for help from Ajax and his father Telamon. The festival of ayantia in honor of Ajax was celebrated with great solemnity in Attica and Salamis. The proximity of Ajax to Athens is emphasized in the Iliad, which says that Ajax placed his ships next to the ships of the Athenians.
Ajax Oilid and Ajax Telamonides are very ancient mythological images. These are unbridled and proud heroes, going not only against the will of people, but also against the will of the gods. It is likely that originally both Ajaxes constituted one integral mythological image, which later underwent a certain modification, appearing in the form of two heroes very close in spirit and differing rather in external features (Ajax large and Ajax small, Afaretides, Dioscuri, Gemini myths). Perhaps Locris is the ancient homeland of the heroic archetype, and Salamis is secondary and appeared in myth through Telamon. The name Telamon has a common noun (in ancient Greek telamon, a belt or baldric for a shield and sword), and Ajax Telamonides acts as the owner of the famous shield held by strong straps. The frequent joint performance of both Ajaxes in the Iliad also allows us to make an assumption about the originally single image of Ajax.
The Kingdom of Flora and the Suicide of Ajax, 1631,
Art Gallery, Dresden, by Nicolas Poussin
In ancient art, Ajax Oilid is depicted mainly on coins on Lokrid, where he appears in the guise of a heavily armed warrior, in vase painting (the scene of violence against Cassandra), and on frescoes. The myth of Ajax and Cassandra served as the subject of paintings by Peter Paul Rubens, Joseph Solomon and other artists.
Ajax Telamonides is one of the most popular characters. Various plots of the myth are embodied in the vase painting: "The dispute over the armor of Achilles", "Ajax's suicide", "Ajax's duel with Hector and other Trojans", "Ajax's participation in the battle for the body of Achilles", etc. In European fine art, the paintings "The Kingdom of Flora" by Nicolas Poussin, the statue "Ajax" by Antonio Canova and other works are known.
The tragic death of the hero Ajax Telamonides was a favorite subject of ancient authors. It is known that Aeschylus also portrayed her, but only the tragedy of Sophocles has come down to us. The plastic and painting of antiquity also willingly depicted the exploits of both Ajaxes.
Farewell to Hector and Andromache. Hector quickly brought rich gifts to the goddess and was already hurrying back to the battlefield, but his beloved wife Andromache met him at the very gates and said: “Oh, my Hector! Courage will kill you! I will remain a widow, and without you it is better for me not to live in the world! You are everything to me - father, brother and husband. Have pity on me and our little son, don’t take more soldiers out into the field, stay in the city!”
Hector answered her: “And I myself know that the day will come, Troy will perish, my king-father, all the people. But your fate saddens me even more, beloved Andromache! Some Greek will take you captive, and in a foreign land they will point their fingers at you and say: “Here is the wife of Hector, who was the most glorious of the Trojan heroes!” It will be hard to hear such words. Better to kill me before this happens! No one will descend into the kingdom of gloomy Hades against the dictates of fate, neither the brave nor the coward will escape their fate. It would be a great shame for me to remain in Troy and not participate in the battle! Go, take care of household chores, but we, men, will take care of the military!” Hector put on his helmet and went out of the city gates.
Combat between Hector and Ajax. Hector returned to the Trojans, they perked up, seeing their leader again on the field, and rushed at the Greeks with renewed vigor. So strong was their onslaught that the Achaeans began to slowly retreat to the ships. Athena saw this and rushed to the aid of the Greeks. But on the way she met Apollo, and they agreed to stop the battle for one day, to give the heroes a break. They inspired Hector with the idea to challenge the most glorious of the Greek heroes to single combat. Hector immediately stopped the battle, as did Agamemnon. Tired fighters sat down on the ground, Hector stepped forward and challenged. The Greeks conferred for a long time on who to accept him, many were eager to measure their strength with a glorious hero; they decided to cast lots so that the will of the gods would determine who would join the battle. The lot fell on the mighty Ajax.
Ajax came out to the place of the duel, huge, powerful, formidable, he was like Ares himself! He carried in front of him a shield bound with copper, as big as a tower, and brandished a heavy spear. Even Hector, who had not known fear before, became timid! But he did not refuse the duel, he was the first to throw his spear at the enemy: it stuck into Ajax's shield, but did not break through it. Ajax threw a spear: it pierced Hector's shield through and through, but the Trojan hero jumped aside and thereby escaped certain death. The heroes pulled out their spears and again collided; Hector's spear bent from powerful blows, he then grabbed a huge stone and threw it at Ajax: the copper that covered him rattled, but the Greek only laughed and threw an even larger stone at Hector. Hector fell to the ground, but Apollo immediately helped him up. The heroes grabbed their swords and, probably, would have cut each other to pieces, but then heralds entered the field and proclaimed: “You are great warriors, and Zeus loves both of you equally! End your fight - night is coming and you need rest!
Truce. The heroes lowered their weapons, and Hector said: “Truly, Ajax, you are a great warrior! We may still meet with you in battle, but today, in memory of our duel, we will honor each other with gifts. Let people say: "They fought, burning with enmity, parted like friends." Having said this, Hector handed Ajax his formidable sword, adorned with silver, and Ajax handed him a precious purple belt.
The Greeks and the Trojans concluded a truce with each other for a day to bury the dead, and dispersed. All the next day they picked up the fallen on the field and performed funeral rites over them, knowing that the next day there would be even more of them.
ajaxancient greek mythology
Ajax (Ayant, Eant) (Αιας) - in Greek mythology - a hero, the son of Telamon, a participant in the Trojan War.
Achilles and Ajax playing dice. Fragment of a painting on a black-figure amphora by Exekias. 530-525 BC e.
Ajax Telamonides, descended from Zeus and the nymph Aegina. He is the grandson of Aeacus, the son of Telamon and Periboea, the cousin of Achilles. His name is associated with a myth in which Hercules appears as a friend of the Salamis king Telamon. During a visit to the island of Salamis, Hercules prays to Zeus to grant Telamon a valiant son. When Zeus, in agreement with the request of Hercules, sends an eagle in the form of a sign, Hercules advises Telamon to name his future son Ajax ("eagle").
Ajax was the king of Salamis, who brought 12 ships to Troy.
The powerful Ajax Telamonides brought out twelve ships of Salamis and with them stood where the Athenian phalanx stood. Homer Iliad (II 557-558) When he boarded the ship, his father advised him in parting: "Always think about victory, and the gods will help you" The son boastfully replied: "With the help of the gods, any coward and fool can gain glory; I hope achieve everything without their help!" By such boasting he incurred the wrath of the gods. Once, when Athena appeared to cheer him up in battle, Ajax exclaimed: "Do not interfere, goddess, it is better to encourage my Achaean comrades-in-arms, and where I am, the enemy will not pass!"
Under Troy, Ajax became famous as a hero second only to Achilles in prowess. He was huge in growth ("big Ajax"), formidable, powerful, armed with a huge seven-skinned shield covered with copper.
Ajax was covered with brilliant copper And, as soon as he was dressed all in battle armor, He began to move forward, like Ares steps huge, If he marches to the battle of the peoples, whom Cronion, with the spirit of enmity of the heart-guzzling, brought to a bloody battle: Such was Telamonides huge, the stronghold of the Danae, With a formidable face grinning; and with sonorous strong feet He walked, speaking widely, with a spear of long-range hesitation. All the Argives, looking at him, admired the spirit; But to each Trojan, trembling entered into all members; Even Hector's heart trembled in his mighty chest; But neither to avoid the enemy, nor to hide in the crowd of militias There was no more opportunity: he himself called for battle. Ajax quickly approached, carrying in front of him, like a tower, the Seven-skinned Copper Shield, which the artist had compiled Quiet, the most famous Usmar, who lived in Gila as a monastery; He created this shield, easily movable, combining seven skins from the fattest oxen and an eighth surface from copper. (Homer Iliad VII, 206-223) Ajax acted in battle as the god Ares himself. When Hector challenged Achilles to a duel, and he replied that he was no longer fighting, the Greeks decided to put Ajax Telamonides in his place. The two warriors fought without rest until dark, and when they were parted, each praised the dexterity and courage of the other as best he could. During the battle with Hector, he threw a huge stone at him and broke through the enemy's shield with it. When Ajax appeared, carrying his shield like a tower, the Trojans fled in fear, and he continued to smash the enemies, raging on the plain. When Patroclus was killed and a struggle took place for his body, Ajax covered the defeated with his shield, and then helped the Achaeans to carry away the body of Patroclus from the battlefield, repelling the Trojans together with Ajax Oilid.
Ajax Telamonides with the body of Achilles. Fragment of a painting on a black-figure amphora by Exekias. OK. 540 BC e.
In the battle of the ships, Ajax confronted Hector. Protecting the ship from fire, he killed twelve men in hand-to-hand combat. After the death of Achilles, Ajax brought his body to the Achaean fortifications and therefore considered himself entitled to inherit the armor of the murdered hero. But the armor was awarded to Odysseus, who protected Ajax while he carried the body of Achilles. The offended Ajax decided to kill all the Achaean leaders at night. But Athena, saving the Achaeans, sent madness on him and herds of cattle became a victim of his sword. When reason returned to Ajax, he could not survive the shame he had brought upon himself and, having deceived the vigilance of his concubine Tekmessa and friends, in despair committed suicide by throwing himself on a sword. Agamemnon, who at first intended not to perform a funeral rite, but to leave the body to be torn to pieces by vultures, on the advice of Calhant, nevertheless allowed Ajax Telamonides to be buried on conditions befitting suicides, while forbidding burning at the stake, since the deceased did not fall on the battlefield. The tomb of Ajax was Cape Retheus.
The suicide of Ajax Telamonides. Fragment of the painting of the black-figure amphora Exekias. OK. 530 BC e.
Ajax could not forget the insult inflicted on him by Odysseus even in Hades, where he answered the friendly speeches of Odysseus with gloomy silence, maintaining an inexorable and stubborn spirit in the realm of the dead.
Sadly, the souls of other dead people who had died stood. Everyone tried to hear about what lay in each heart. Only the soul of Telamon's son of Ajax silently stood far away, lonely, all for victory, Angered by me, who gave me the armor of the Son of Peleev before the courts ... ... Oh, why did I win in such a competition! What a man, because of this armor, the incomparable, the Son of Telamon Ajax, died, - and with his deeds and appearance After the fearless Pelid, who exceeded all the Danaans! With a soft and affectionate speech to his soul, I addressed: "Son of Telamon, fearless Ajax! Is it really dead You never want to stop being angry at me Because of the damned armor that caused us so many troubles! You, our eternal stronghold, died. Oh to you incessantly All of us, the Achaeans, mourn, as about Achilles equal to the gods, Remembering your early death. No one is guilty of it, Except Zeus, who showed evil enmity to the troops of the spear-boring Danaans and sent down the hour of death to you. Come, lord, draw near, so that you can hear our speech and the word. Inflexible anger and curb your stubborn spirit! So I said. Ajax did not answer me and silently Moved after the other shadows of the dead to Erebus. Homer Odysseus (XI, 541-565) The fate of Ajax, his madness and death are dedicated to the tragedy of Sophocles "Ajax" and the trilogy of Aeschylus "Dispute about weapons" that has not come down to us.
Ajax Telamonides was revered as a hero. On the agora in the city of Salamis was his temple. Before the battle of Salamis, according to Herodotus, the Greeks brought prayers to the gods and called for help from Ajax and his father Telamon. The festival of ayantia in honor of Ajax was celebrated with great solemnity in Attica and Salamis.
Ajax (Ayant, Eant), Greek - the name of two Trojan wars who ended their lives ingloriously. One of them was huge, the other was small and, accordingly, they were called "Ajax Big" and "Ajax Small".
Ajax the Great (Telamonid) was the son of the Salamis king Telamon and the most powerful and brave of the Achaean warriors. Three of his many exploits have remained in the memory of subsequent generations. Ajax was the first of the Achaeans to accept Hector's challenge to a duel and fought with him on equal terms until the night divided the heroes. He courageously defended the Achaean ships from the Trojans when Hector wanted to set them on fire, and held out alone until Achilles sent his army led by Patroclus to help. The third of his glorious deeds was the salvation of the body of Achilles. After a fierce battle, covered by Odysseus, Ajax the Great brought the body of Achilles to the Greek camp. Despite his strength, courage, open and honest character, Ajax did not have much weight in the military council: he was a man of action, and his physical abilities clearly prevailed over his mental ones.
Ajax did not wait for the victorious end of the Trojan War. By a tragic coincidence, the cause of his death was precisely his last feat. Thetis, the mother of Achilles, reasoned that the armor of her son, made by Hephaestus himself, should go to the one who distinguished himself the most in saving the body of Achilles. It seems that Ajax and Odysseus could equally claim the armor of the slain hero. Information about their dispute is contradictory. It is only known for sure that the armor went to Odysseus, and Ajax committed suicide.
Shot from the film "Troy" (2004), in the role of Ajax the Great - actor Tyler Mane.
According to one version, at a military meeting it was decided that the weapon would go to the one whom the captured Trojans would call their worst enemy. The Trojans named Ajax; however, when counting the votes, the commander-in-chief Agamemnon falsified the results, not without reason believing that the decision of the Trojans was dictated by the desire to annoy Odysseus, from whom they saw the most evil. Odysseus was named the winner. Ajax was furious and thought about it for so long that his mind went beyond his mind - nothing surprising, especially considering that he tried to drown his grief in wine until late at night. In the end, Ajax went to Agamemnon to settle accounts with him. However, on the way, he wandered by mistake into a cattle paddock. Imagining that Agamemnon was in front of him with his retinue, he attacked the sleeping shepherds and killed them all along with the cattle. In the morning, having sobered up from wine and anger, he was horrified by his act, left the camp on the seashore and there threw himself on his own sword.
According to another version, the arbiters in this dispute were not captured Trojans, but the Greeks themselves. Both heroes presented their claims before the general assembly: but Ajax did it so clumsily, and Odysseus with such oratory that the weapon was awarded to Odysseus. Big Ajax, accustomed to winning on the battlefield, did not bear his defeat in an oratorical duel. "No one can defeat Ajax but Ajax himself!" - He exclaimed and pierced his chest with a sword.
Suicide of Ajax the Great.
Ajax Small was the son of the Locrian king Oilei (Oilid). Despite his small stature and violent and impudent disposition, he was an excellent warrior, and in throwing a spear only the Cretan king Idomeneo could compare with him. He wore only "cloth armor", so he usually fought side by side with his mighty namesake, who covered him with his shield. Most of all, he distinguished himself in the defense of the wall, which surrounded the Achaean camp. Successfully repulsing numerous enemies, he retreated only when Sarpedon tore the battlement from the wall, and Hector broke through the gate. Ajax the Small was also one of the warriors who, in a Trojan horse, got to Troy and stormed the fortified palace of Priam. After the fall of Troy, Ajax dishonored Cassandra at the altar of Athena, and the angry goddess did not forgive him for this. When Ajax returned with glory and rich booty, near the island of Euboea, behind which his native Locris was already visible, Athena sent a storm to the sailors, and Ajax's ship crashed on a rock. However, Poseidon took pity on Ajax and ordered the waves to carry him ashore. Once on the shore, Ajax urged his fellow travelers to boldly take an example from him - after all, only his own strength and courage helped him escape. Ajax's bragging infuriated Poseidon, he split the rock on which Ajax stood with his trident, he fell into the sea and died.
Such was the end of both Ajaxes: the grave of one of them was the sea, the second - a high mound on the banks of the Dardanelles (at least, so the post-Homer tradition claims). In 1873, this "grave of Ajax" was explored by Sophie Schliemann, the wife of the discoverer of Troy. She did not find human remains there, but found that the base of the grave was a ring-shaped structure made of stone, reminiscent of the description of the graves in the Iliad: “The Achaean people marked the grave around, laid the foundation with a stone, then poured a high mound of clay.”
In the photo: the match of the championship of the Netherlands with the participation of the Ajax club.
The name of Ajax the Great still lives on as a symbol of strength in classic sayings, in the names of powerful devices (for example, that was the name of the first Czech steam locomotive in 1841) and sports clubs. It has come down to us mainly thanks to Homer's Iliad and Ovid's Metamorphoses. However, the early tragedy of Sophocles "Ajax" (30s of the 5th century BC) has also been preserved. Suetonius reports that the Roman emperor Augustus also wrote the tragedy of the same name, who used to compose in the bath while bathing: and when asked by his friends what Ajax was doing, he replied that Ajax threw himself on his sponge. From this we can judge that Augustus was self-critical, which cannot be said about most rulers.
Ajaxes (Telamonides and Oilides) are depicted on numerous antique vases and several reliefs. The most popular motifs are “Ajax plays dice with Achilles”, “Suicide of Ajax”, “Fight of Ajax with Hector”, “Dispute about weapons”, “Ajax Telamonides with the body of Achilles”, “Fight of Ajax with Aeneas”, “Ajax in the kingdom of the dead ”, “Ajax Small with Cassandra”.
Ajax plays dice with Achilles
Unfortunately, the famous painting by the ancient Greek painter Parrasius “The Dispute of Ajax and Odysseus about the weapons of Achilles” (2nd half of the 5th century BC) has not been preserved, so we will have to be content with only a historical anecdote about it. Parrhasius submitted this picture to the competition, but Timanthus won it. As Parrasius put it, he regretted this "not for his own sake, but for the sake of Ajax, who for the second time was defeated by the unworthy."
Artists of modern times turned to these images relatively rarely: Rubens' Ajax and Cassandra (1617), Canova's statue of Ajax the Great (c. 1800) and a few other works.
