Looking at Ajax

"Ajax is perhaps the earliest of Sophocles' tragedies, yet the issues at its heart remain profoundly resonant today. Set in the Greek encampment during the siege of Troy, it traces not just the story of a respected war hero's mental breakdown but (like Sophocles' Antigone) the treatment of an enemy's remains and the management of his memory. Pitting the fate of the individual against not just his own community but the cosmic world of the divine, it explores questions of loyalty and power, compassion and control, integrity and political expediency - and ultimately what it is to be human. In Antiquity the fate of Ajax fascinated writers and artists alike. Today it has assumed a new importance with Sophocles' play being used to help treat military veterans suffering from PTSD. This collection of 12 essays by leading academics from across the UK, US and Ireland draws together many of the themes explored in Ajax, from how Sophocles exploits audiences' awareness of mythology and visual arts, to questions of politics and religion, staging and characterization, changing perceptions of the heroic, and the therapeutic use to which the play is put today. The essays are accompanied by David Stuttard's introduction and performer-friendly, accurate and easily accessible English translation."--Bloomsbury Publishing. Cover page Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page Dedication Contents Contributors Preface and Acknowledgements Introduction: Ajax, Bulwark of the Greeks The myth of Ajax Ajax in Athens Sophocles and the life of Athens Burying enemy dead: Morality and religion in classical Athens Staging Ajax Translating Ajax Notes 1 Some Visual Influences on Sophocles’ Ajax? Notes 2 Ajax the Hero 3 ‘Shield of the Achaeans’ Notes 4 The Power of Ajax’s Sword 1. The Sword’s evolving symbolism 2. The Sword as symbolic representative of Ajax 3. The Sword as symbolic representative of Hector 4. The Sword’s Homeric power 5. The Sword and the contest of arms 6. The Sword in Athenian context Conclusion Notes 5 The Sounds of Ajax’s Grief 6 Ajax’s Suicide Notes 7 Looking at the Isolation of Ajax 1. Individual isolation 2. Mystery-cult 3. Hero-cult Notes 8 Tecmessa Portrayals of Ajax Tecmessa’s role and speech Ajax and Tecmessa Ajax’s death Conclusion Notes 9 A Grief Observed: Tecmessa and Her Sadness-Work in Sophocles’ Ajax 1. Ajax’s suicide: A grief observed? 2. Tecmessa’s reaction: A grief observed Notes 10 Heroic Values and Lesser Mortals 11 Odysseus and Empathy Suggestions for further reading 12 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the Performance Reception of Sophocles’ Ajax Combat trauma in antiquity Outside the Wire’s ‘Theater of War’ project Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Our Ajax Aquila Theatre’s Ajax receptions Conclusion Sophocles’ Ajax Dramatis Personae Bibliography Index Edited By David Stuttard. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Includes An English Translation Of Sophocles' Ajax.