1 Phelps

David C. Phelps
English 102
E. Celello
16 Dec 2013
Identifying With the Polis
Our politicians have lied to and cheated us for too long. It is about time that we,
the people, stand up for ourselves and handle the situation. Let us go, drag them out of
their beds in the middle of the night, and summarily execute them. One might think that
this line of thought would describe the deranged, hate-fueled ravings of an angry mob or
perhaps the chaos of the French Revolution, and perhaps it might resemble it a bit, but
no, this is just another day of Athenian Democracy. It may be evident to modern society
that a political system where the populace exiles or executes leaders based on the
perception of their job performance is less than ideal, greatly flawed, or chilling even,
but this was all new to the Athenians. These were the first fledgling steps of democracy
upon a long and winding path, painstakingly constructed by many great men, both
ancient and modern. One of these great men was the playwright Sophocles. In AJAX,
Sophocles pointed out the strengths, weaknesses, and changes in Athenian Democracy
by using the chorus, the role of Odysseus and Ajax, and communal reflection and
2 Phelps

dialogue to show how personal issues played out against this unique political
background, thus helping to pave the way for our democracy of today.
The polymorphism of Sophocles unique chorus in AJAX is fundamental in
portraying the change to active participation and reactionism in democracy. At times the
chorus fulfills its traditional role by giving pieces of historical and background
information, summarization, and commentary on themes, but the chorus in AJAX
mutates into something above and beyond, becoming an active participant, an actor and
reactionary that becomes an audience within an audience or a mirror, stand-in of the
current audience which ties them in as active observers as well. This is evident with
the chorus interaction with Tecmessa which shows that they dont know what is going
on and are in a similar position to the audience.
Though daughter of Phrygian Teleutas, speak;
For a constant love has valiant Ajax
Borne thee, his spear-won prisoner bride.
Then hide from us naught that thou knowest (Sophocles, 8).
Tecmessa goes on to recall her account of what Ajax has done for both the sake of the
chorus and the audience, thus tying them together and making both active participants.
The sense of interaction is also increases when Tecmessa invites the chorus to enter the
3 Phelps

tent and help Ajax at the beginning, prior to calling Ajax out from his tent.
But, O friends! twas for this cause I came forth
Enter and help, if help at all you can:
For my friends words men so bestead are won (Sophocles 11).
Later, the chorus splits up and disappears to search for Ajaxs body. All of these events
portray the chorus as either being only partially informed at best. They are coming to
their own answers and conclusions within the same timeframe as the audience and
actually end up having less knowledge about the events than the audience after Ajaxs
deception speech. Many would argue that the role of Sophocles chorus is diminished in
comparison to other Greek playwrights, but I would have to agree with what Josh Beer
states on page 77 of Sophocles and the Tragedy of Athenian Democracy.
Sophocles was more interested in personal realism but kept the
chorus in the form of a participating cast member, for Sophocles
the chorus became both a active protagonist and a commentator on the events
of the play.
Although the traditional role of the chorus is diminished, its implications for the overall
role it plays are heightened. The chorus role in the burial debate is one where they seek
the same level of involvement as they had the rest of the play just to have it snatched
4 Phelps

away by Menelaus, Agamemnon, and Teucer. They breathe a collective sigh of relief
when Odysseus enters the scene. The transition from a static chorus that fed information
to the audience to that of an active participant that reflected the audience and the group
was a change that echoed the developing Athenian democracy.
The hero of Ajax portrays the difficulty of the transition of values between the
old Athenian hero society where might and valor made right with those of the new
Athenian democracy. The rage of Ajax begins after he refuses to accept the judgment on
the awarding of the arms of Achilles. Unlike the past where honor was decided based on
the number of famous enemies killed or level of valor, individual qualities, this matter
was voted for by the generals in a democratic manner. Ajax represents the old viewpoint
of Athenian society and his dissent is focused on the institution as much as it is
Odysseus. Elton Barker explores this idea in his book Entering the Argon: Dissent and
Authority in Homer, Historiography, and Tragedy:
The tragedy of Ajax explores Ajaxs dissent from the perspective of those
looking on, Ajaxs concubine-wife, his half-brother, and the Chorus. It will
Be argued that Ajaxs dissent is not only made institutional in Athens; it makes
up part of the process the audience themselves engage in while active in
spectating (Elton, 279-280).
5 Phelps

He goes on to explain how much of Ajaxs dissent and confusion is due to his inability
to comprehend the changes in institution and to adapt to those changes. This dissent also
involves one of the major problems with democracy which is addressed when Teucer
comments, Because to defraud him you intrigued for votes (Socrates 33). Another
seemingly misunderstood aspect of Ajax the hero is that he was a condemned man or at
least he was as good as condemned. There were no concepts such as innocent until
proven guilty. If a person was guilty in the court of public opinion it was pretty much a
wrap, charges and a trial could be brought by any random citizen. Although Ajax
dissented, by committing suicide he showed abidance or at least acquiescence to the
opinion of society, thus regaining his public honor and being memorialized as a hero by
the whole. This idea of a personal ideological conflict with society and death due to such
is also attributed to Socrates in Platos Apology on page 8, where Ajax is implicitly
referenced.
I, too, shall have a wonderful interest in a place where I can converse with
Palamedes, and Ajax the son of Telamon, and other heroes of old, who have
Suffered death through an unjust judgment; and there will be no small pleasure,
As I think, in comparing my own sufferings with theirs.
Although under somewhat similar circumstances, Socrates acknowledges his inability to
6 Phelps

blend in with the current society much like Ajax. The difference in this case is that
Socrates was too liberal as opposed to Ajax who was bound by the older ideas of heroism
and valor. In either case, both of them were unwilling to change. The most damning
evidence of this inability to cope and the realization of societal change comes from Ajax
himself in one of his final speeches.
All things the long and countless lapse of time
Brings forth. displays, then hides once more in gloom.
Naught is too strange to look for; but the event
May mock the sternest oath, the firmest will (Sophocles 19).
The hero Ajax was built up to be a branch of ancient virtues and ideologies, being
unable to bend with the winds of modern political change and lines of thinking, he
broke.
The role of Odysseus was a counterpart for Sophocles own political
experiences and turmoil at the time of the Ionian Revolt and the beginning of the
Peloponnesian War. As Odysseus was unlike many of the ancient Grecian warriors in
that he used craftiness and dialogue to many times achieve victory in the absence of
glorious combat, so was Sophocles a great general that fit neither of the classic roles.
He showed no particular aptitude for political life. Yet he was twice
7 Phelps

elected general, the highest office which an Athenian could hold (Haigh 130).
Sophocles, like Odysseus was a leader of men, being elected as general twice. He did
not fit the profile of the fierce ancient warrior, but instead fit the role of wartime
moderator and compromiser, one who settled disputes through his crafty words and wit
rather than his brawn. He was a state treasurer, hellenotamiai, between 443 and 442,
also called treasurers of Athena, which were also responsible for the division and
moderation of the spoils of war between members of the Delian League. This could
very well have a connection with Odysseus role in the resolution of AJAX and his
relationship with Athena. He was a general involved with putting down the revolt on
Samos in c.441 BCE. After the revolt was put down there was a supposed division
amongst the leadership on whether to bury the traitors or to leave their corpses in the
burnt out shell of the city which they had already done on numerous prior occasions.
Although his role in this is unknown due to the lack of records that we would call
reliable, the link to AJAX would appear extremely strong. Lastly, he sat on a council, the
probouloi which was convened to deal with the crisis of Athens failed expedition
against Syracuse, in which he was also one of the attacking generals himself. Only his
astounding ability at moderation and compromise made this possible.

8 Phelps

He was also known as the most god-fearing of mankind., and beloved of the gods
(Haigh, 135), which also mirrors the relationship of Odysseus with Athena. The
interactions of Odysseus in AJAX mirrored Sophocles own political life with suspicious
accuracy that implies that he used his own political and wartime experience in the
Athenian democracy as a template.
The events regarding Ajaxs burial implies a hidden enthusiasm for Athenian
democracy when read between the lines. Although there is a general agreement that
Sophocles AJAX had political implications, most scholars are in disagreement as to
what they were due to the subtlety of the message. Odysseus final exchange with
Agamemnon has political implications for democracy in general and Athenian
democracy in particular (Golder, Pevear, 20). Although a message definitely exists,
there appears to be a great reluctance to actually state opinions on what the political
message is. My assertion is that Sophocles was posing a number of questions to the
audience: What are we to make of the life of Ajax?, Was he a butcher or a hero?,
What of Menelaus and Agamemnon?, Do they really represent the values of the
majority? These questions are left unanswered for a reason to focus on the form and
process by which a reliable answer might be found, a dialogue of guidance by Odysseus
in which matters can come to a tidy democratic conclusion. The words of Menelaus,
9 Phelps

Agamemnon, and Teucer are all one-sided and unreliable, words spoken in the heat of
the moment with the implication that they are self-serving. The chorus recognizes this
and their reaction to this standoff is a desire for a more reasonable way to reach a
compromise, Would that you both might learn wisdom and temperance. There is no
better counsel I can give you (Socrates 37). They are also relieved when Socrates
arrives and presents a more reasonable conclusion to the events. In good time, King
Odysseus, hast thou come, If 'tis thy purpose not to embroil but reconcile (Socrates 38).
It is henceforth that the conversation enters the form of a democratic debate where all
sides are represented and a reasonable conclusion is begrudgingly accepted by all sides.
I assert that wisdom and the institution of dialogue most commonly represented by
democracy acted as the true protagonist to AJAX and question if it was really a tragedy
or a message done in the style of a tragedy due to the sufficiency of the resolution and
the fact that the entire second half of the play focused on it. The burial scene represents
the true protagonist of AJAX, the polis of the Athenian democracy (Barker, 305).
In Ajax burial, the focus is on the process of obtaining a reasonable conclusion, without
the use of force of arms, power, or lineage. Such a conclusion, reached by a logical and
moderate dialogue and consensus, although begrudgingly, cannot be called anything but
a democratic process. Before the pen was mightier than the sword, the dialogue was
10 Phelps

mightier than the sword.
Although Sophocles never outright states that his play AJAX has major political
implications in regards to democracy and more specifically the Athenian form of
democracy at the time, it is clearly evident through the relationship between the work
and his own life, the interactions between the characters and the chorus, and the main
direction, focus, and process of conclusion of the classic and effective Athenian debate
that concludes the burial scene and the play. He would be pleased to know that although
the process of debate and the importance of the individual in the context of a political
background were lost through many centuries of near totalitarianism his work and ideas
remain highly relevant in the democratic societies of today.








11 Phelps

Works Cited
Barker, Elton T. E. Entering the Agon: Dissent and Authority in Homer, Historiography
and Tragedy. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009.276-280.Print.
Beer, Josh. Sophocles and the Tragedy of Athenian Democracy. Westport, CT: Praeger,
2004.77.Print.
Golder, Herbert and Pevear Richard. Sophocles: Aias. The Greek Tragedy in
NewTranslations. Oxford: University Press, 1999. 20.Print.
Haigh, A. E. The Tragic Drama of the Greeks,. Oxford: Clarendon, 1896. 126-137 Print.
Heath, Malcolm, and Eleanor Okell. "Sophocles' Ajax: Expect The Unexpected." The
Classical Quarterly 57.02 (2007):7-8. Print.
Plato, and James Adam. Crito. Cambridge: n.p., 1972.44.Print.
Plato, and James J. Helm. Apology. Mundelein, IL: Bolchazy-Carducci, 2009. 8.Print.