Ajax vs. Odysseus
QUOTED EXTENSIVELY FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHING WEBSITE
OF MICHAEL DELAHOYDE, SR. INSTRUCTOR OF ENGLISH

A great contest ensues after Achlle's death as to who will inherit his armor. In The Iliad, Ajax is still alive and so is Odysseus. Who will get Achilles' armor? This is a matter of extreme importance. We know this because when Ajax loses the contest, he goes insane and then commits suicide.

[quoted from Michael Delahoyde website]

Delahoyde is discussing Ovid's treatment and this contest as a device to "cover the salient points of the Trojan War". Traditionally reduced to a clash between brain and brawn -- warrior vs. intellectual, or jock vs. scholar -- the debate bears a closer look.... I substitute Odysseus, the Roman name for Ulysses.

Ajax argues that ...
1. Odysseus ran away when Hector was on a rampage to torch the Greek ships.
2. Ajax saved the Greek ships from Hector's torches.
3. Ajax is Achilles' cousin and greatgrandson of Jove.
4. Telamon, Ajax's father, took the walls of Troy with Hercules; therefore, Ajax's line was in on this war from the beginning.
5. Odysseus arrived on the scene of the war later than the other soldiers.
6. Ajax claims Odysseus deserted Philoctetes and Nestor.
7. Ajax saved Odysseus in battle.
8. Ajax threw a boulder at Hector.
9. Ajax acts alone, while Odysseus needs Diomedes as a sidekick.
10. Achilles' shield is too heavy for Odysseus to carry.
11. Ajax's shield is full of holes from all his battling, whereas Odysseus' has no holes; therefore Ajax needs a shield.

Ajax proposes the arms be laid down and both men fight for them. [BRAWN] One of Odysseus's arguments, by the way, is that Ajax is too stupid to appreciate the handiwork on the shield.

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As Odysseus begins to argue, we will see the greater degree of sophistication and wiliness, for which Odysseus is noted.

Odysseus argues that Troy was conquered because he made it possible ...
1. Odysseus brought Achilles out of hiding on Scyros to join the Greek force; therefore, Odysseus indirectly slew Hector.
2. Odysseus is also a greatgrandson of Jove; as a bonus, neither his grandfather nor his father were banished or exiled, as Ajax's were. Odysseus' maternal line is from Mercury. And if kinship should determine the new owner of Achilles' armor, then one of his sons is next in line.
3. Blood claims are insignificant anyway: merit alone deserves reward.
4. Odysseus convinced Agamemnon to make the human sacrifice (Iphigenia) in order to arrive safely in Troy.
5. Odysseus was the Ambassador to Troy. He persuaded Priam and Antenor to return Helen, but Paris and his brothers opposed a peaceful settlement.
6. During the first nine years of the war, Ajax "did nothing," according to Odysseus, while he set up ambuscades, constructed moats, encouraged the allies, counseled patience, built morale, and secured food and arms.
7. Odysseus convinced Agamemnon not to give up the fight in the last year. Ajax was ready to leave Troy. Since Odysseus forced Ajax back to the fight, he deserves credit for Ajax's accomplishments in the final year of the war.
8. Diomedes as Odysseus' sidekick simply means that of the thousands of Greek warriors, Odysseus was his pick.
9. Odysseus killed Dolon the Trojan spy, then slew sleeping men in their tents.
10. Odysseus has wounds; Ajax has none.
11. Odysseus carried Achilles from the field; obviously he is strong enough to carry his armor.
12. Ajax is too stupid to appreciate Hephaestus' fine handwork in the shield.
13. Arriving late to the Trojan war cannot disqualify him from receiving the armor; Achilles himself arrived late and fought last.
14. Odysseus stole Athena's statue from the Trojan shrine.
15. Odysseus promises to bring Philoctetes back to the scene, to help set the prophesied conditions for the fall of Troy.
16. Ajax is "strong and brainless"; wits are key to leadership.

Odysseus closes by saying that his role as guardian of this war should be honored with Achilles' armor.

Both Ajax and Odysseus are well spoken but the armor goes to Odysseus. Ajax goes bonkers and kills himself.

Later Odysseus shares the armor with Achilles' son, Neoptolemus.

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