Philoctetes

Roles

• Philoctetes - Young Adult (20-35), Adult (36-50), Male

About this piece

Philoctetes tells Neoptolemus his sad story

Summary

In the background story of the play, during the Trojan war between Troy and Greece, the Greeks capture a Trojan seer who tells them they will need Philoctetes and Heracles' bow to win the war. When Heracles had died, in fact, Philoctetes had received his bow. Philoctetes is a Greek hero and soldier who, after being bitten by a snake, had been left on the deserted island of Lemnos by Odysseus. Odysseus now sails back to the island with Neoptolemus to try to convince Philoctetes to join the Trojan war, difficult task considering that Philoctetes now hates him. In the beginning of the play Odysseus and Neoptolemus arrive on the island. Odysseus decides to hide and convinces Neoptolemus to tell Philoctetes that he hates Odysseus as well since he has his father's armor (Neoptolemus is Achilles' son and Odysseus had received his armor after his death). In this scene Neoptolemus has just met Philoctetes. He pretends not to recognize him and therefore Philoctetes narrates his sad story to him.

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