Ajax

Roles

• Tecmessa - Young Adult (20-35), Adult (36-50), Female

About this piece

Tecmessa tells the chorus Ajax' horrible deeds

Summary

Towards the end of the Trojan war between Troy and the Greeks, Achilles is killed by a Trojan arrow guided by Apollo. Ajax, considered one of the greatest Greek warriors after Achilles, expects to receive Achille's armor as a prize. The Greek commanders, however, decide to give the armor to Odysseus. Ajax loses his mind over this decision and decides to slay Odysseus and the Greek leaders. Athena, the goddess of war, intervenes and makes Ajax temporarily insane. Ajax mistakes sheep for his intended victims and slays them. Later, he realizes what he has done and feels profound shame. His concubine Tecmessa and his friends try to relieve his grief. He leaves and tells them he is going to bury the sword of Hector, a dead Trojan hero, but instead commits suicide by throwing himself onto the sword. In this monolouge Tecmessa tells the chorus how her husband slaughtered animals thinking they were the Greek leaders and how he grieved when he realized what he had done.

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