Greek Mythology: Analysis Of The Story Of Ajax
Greek mythology is used to tell the history of the ancient world. While there maybe be one true meaning to the myth, there are hundreds of different interoperations for everyone. The story of Ajax is no different.
Ajax was the strongest warrior in Greek myth behind Achilles, and he believed that he should lead the Greek army. When he is not chosen his pride is hurt and vows to make everything right. His pride drives him to treachery and finally his death. The story of Ajax begins at the end of the Trojan War, following the death of Achilles. Achilles armor would be given to the next leader of the Greek army. The two frontrunners were Ajax the strongest Greek fighter or Odysseus the smartest Greek fighter. Ajax believed that he should be the next leader. Menelaus and Agamemnon, the leaders of the Greeks, picked Odysseus over Ajax because of this military intelligence. When Odysseus is chosen to be the next leader, Ajax fell into a fit of rage, he believed that if Achilles was still alive he would of chosen him. He vowed to kill everyone that didn’t give him the armor. At the top of Ajax’s list was Odysseus. Before Ajax got a chance to kill Odysseus, the goddess Athena cast a spell on Ajax clouding his vison and making him think farm animals were the leaders he wanted to kill. Athena picks favorites among men and Odysseus is one of her favorites. Ajax slaughter the Greeks livestock, killing and torturing every animal because he thinks they are the leaders that wronged him. The next day after breaking free from Athena’s curse he emerged from his tent covered in blood and revels he is ashamed and broken man. “It is a painful thing, to look at your own trouble and know that you yourself and no one else has made it”.
When it is revealed what he did his troops lamented his downfall and questioned the dark purpose of the gods. Nothing could break Ajax free of this depression not even his wife or son. He ordered all his men to start loading the ship to sail home while he went on a walk to clear his mind. Worried that Ajax would kill himself his wife and men went out looking for him, but they were too late, Ajax had fallen on his sword. When word spread to the leaders they were happy he died and believed he didn’t deserve the respect of a proper burial because he tried to kill them. But Odysseus believed that every great man and warrior deserved the respect of a proper burial.
Ajax’s immense pride and brutality got the best of him, leading to his downfall. There are many ways to interpretations this play but the main on is Carl Jung’s. Jung believed that myths were expressions of the collective unconscious. The collective unconscious is a memory or experience that is common among all humans. These experiences come from ancestral memories or things that actually happened in the past, he believed these myths actually happened and help show how humans gained this collective emotion or belief. “Myths express characters and stories that are encoded into the human species in prehistory, and therefore express universal concerns”.
The collective emotion in the story of Ajax is how pride can be our downfall. Ajax was known for his brute strength and his pride. Early in Ajax’s rejected help from the goddess Athena because he believed he didn’t need them, this was his first mistake involving pride. After rejecting the help of the goddess this hurt her pride which made her doom Ajax. His pride would not allow him to see that Odysseus was a better leader than him. Even though Odysseus was a smart military general and could solve conflict without weapons, which was something Ajax couldn’t do. He could not accept that another warrior has been chosen as more worthy. His pride drives him to treachery and finally to his death.
