# Athena — Ajax character guide

> Athena in Ajax by Sophocles.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Athena Resentment touching dead Achilles

**First appearance:** 0002-ajax

## Snapshot

The warrior goddess who once favored Ajax, now stages his madness as theater — and invites his enemy to watch the show.

## Who they are

Athena opens the play hovering above the stage, invisible to Odysseus but visible to us, and her tone is closer to cruel delight than justice. She has turned Ajax's arrogance into a delusion that makes him slaughter livestock, and she summons him out of his tent to perform his madness for an audience. Her mockery frames the play's central question: what does a god's favor mean, and what does it cost when it curdles into resentment?

## Relationships

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

_psychological_

Athena manipulates Odysseus as her favored mortal, guiding him while also using him to enact her vengeance on Ajax.

### [Ajax](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters/ajax)

_rivalry_

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

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

_psychological_

Athena manipulates Odysseus as her favored mortal, guiding him while also using him to enact her vengeance on Ajax.

### [Ajax](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters/ajax)

_rivalry_

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

## Links

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