Nature, Love and War

Consider Achilles and Ajax, two Greek heroes, passing the tedious hours, years away from home. As they hazard chances, in play here, in battles later, fate plays out their lives. After Achilles’ death, the commander Agamemnon will consider which of two great soldiers to arm: Ajax or Odysseus. Achilles’ armor appears behind him, objects the helmeted Ajax will later seek to win.

Ajax, next to Achilles, is among the greatest of fighters. Odysseus, however, has the wits to bring down Troy with trickery, with a Trojan horse. When Agamemnon honors Odysseus with the armor of Achilles, Ajax falls upon his sword.

Our soldiers are Odysseus and Ajax, and their diverging stories were the property of all Homeric Greeks. Ajax,
a man after Achilles own heart, displays his character
as a straightforward soldier, a courageous fighter.
The helmet on shield behind one figure foreshadows
the eventual bestowal of Achilles’ armor on Odysseus. When the craft of Odysseus (recall the Trojan horse) wins out over the time-honored prowess in hand-to-hand fighting demonstrated by Ajax, the armor, Ajax will go berserk. Odysseus, descended onto the underworld following
the fall of Troy, comes upon Ajax. Recognizing his
soon-to-be companion as a shade, Odysseus seeks
to embrace his fellow-warrior. But Ajax turns his back, moving away even as a shade into private oblivion.