# Ajax — Ajax character guide

> Ajax in Ajax by Sophocles.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Ajax Both, Ajax Ho Teucer, Ajax Wretch, Ajax Ay, Ajax Quick, Stalwart Ajax, great Ajax, Exit Ajax

**First appearance:** 0002-ajax

## Snapshot

The Greeks' mightiest warrior, denied Achilles' arms by intrigue, wakes from a goddess-sent madness to find his honor unsalvageable and his sword the only answer.

## Who they are

Ajax is the army's bulwark, the man who bore the sevenfold shield, and he knows it — which is precisely the problem. When the arms of Achilles go to Odysseus instead of to him, his rage turns homicidal, then, under Athena's delusion, absurd: he butchers the army's cattle believing they are the generals. The play's early arc belongs to his waking shame — a hero who cannot imagine surviving disgrace, deaf to his wife's pleas and his own son's face, already rehearsing the farewell that will read as tenderness and deception at once.

## Relationships

### [Odysseus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters/odysseus)

_rivalry_

Ajax bitterly resents Odysseus for winning Achilles' armor, viewing him as a cunning rival who robbed him of his rightful honor.

### [Menelaus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters/menelaus)

_rivalry_

Ajax holds deep contempt for Menelaus, seeing him as a weak and undeserving king who conspires against him.

### [Agamemnon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters/agamemnon)

_rivalry_

Agamemnon and Ajax are locked in a bitter power struggle, with Agamemnon using his authority to humiliate and isolate Ajax.

### [Athena](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters/athena)

_rivalry_

Ajax views Athena as a hostile deity who deliberately drove him mad and destroyed his honor.

### [Eurysaces](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters/eurysaces)

_family_

Eurysaces is Ajax's young son, whom Ajax fiercely loves and for whom he wishes a future of honor and strength.

### [Teucer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters/teucer)

_family_

Teucer is Ajax's loyal half-brother, who defends Ajax's legacy and honor after his death with unwavering devotion.

### [Messenger](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters/messenger)

_professional_

The Messenger serves as a herald who brings news and warnings to Ajax, acting as a conduit for the army's commands.

### [Calchas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters/calchas)

_professional_

Calchas is the prophet whose dire predictions about Ajax's fate are relayed to him, creating a tense dynamic of foreknowledge and doom.

### [Telamon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters/telamon)

_family_

Telamon is Ajax's father, a source of pride and pressure for Ajax, who fears disappointing his legendary sire.

### [Zeus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters/zeus)

_psychological_

Ajax appeals to Zeus as a god of justice, but feels abandoned by him, leading to a relationship of bitter supplication.

### [Hector](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters/hector)

_rivalry_

Ajax and Hector are mortal enemies on the battlefield, locked in a fierce combat that defines Ajax's martial glory.

### [Odysseus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters/odysseus)

_rivalry_

Ajax bitterly resents Odysseus for winning Achilles' armor, viewing him as a cunning rival who robbed him of his rightful honor.

## In the story

### [Dramatis Personae](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/chapters/dramatis-personae)

Son of Telamon and Euboea, leader of the Salaminians.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/chapters/endnotes)

His name Aias is the subject of wordplay, similar to Shakespeare's 'Gaunt'.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters/ajax
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters