Grief Within Gilgamesh and the Ajax

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Ajax, full of grief and shame, seeks escape and redemption by nobly taking his own life. A great warrior, second to Achilles himself, Ajax believes that Achilles’ armor should be passed down to him, but when it goes to Odysseus, he feels betrayed and is filled with rage. “And yet this much, at least I think I know: if Achilles has still been alive and was to award to anyone his armor as the first prize for prowess, no one else would have snatched them before me. But, as it turned out, the sons of Atreus procured them for a man who is a scheming stop-at-nothing scoundrel, and they have thrust aside my triumphs.” (Ajax, 440-446) The fact that he was cast aside despite all that he has done has left him feeling not only betrayed but also dishonored. This makes him feel inferior and slighted by those who took what he deemed his.

He was not even able to fight for the armor, which in his mind is an insult to his skill and worth. He sees this as shameful and in retaliation, he seeks out Agamemnon and Menelaus for revenge, but he is cast into madness. “No longer is it so. For his fury subsides like a southern gale after a sharp outburst when its bright lightning ceases. And now, though sane again, he has fresh grief. For to observe one’s self-inflicted sufferings when nobody else has assisted in the deed intensifies the mighty pangs of agony.” (Ajax, 257-262) Due to Athena casting madness on him, Ajax slaughtered cattle and sheep thinking they were the sons of Atreus as well as his own commander. This act alone shames him, makes him appear weak and a fool. He has lost everything, his reputation, and his honor. Overwhelmed by shame and grief, Ajax kills himself as a way to escape his grief and with as much dignity he had left.

“Let them mark my misery—how I have been ruined by the sons of Atreus….Go to it, you swift avenging Furies, drink deep, suck the blood of every soldier in the army! Spare none of them!....O radiant light of day, O sacred soil of Salamis, my native land…O glorious Athens and you, her race with whom I was nurtured…and you the plains of Troy, I call on you who nurtured me!” (Ajax, 836-844, 859-863)

He blames the sons of Atreus for his misery and why he is doing this but he also wants to die the hero that he was seen as in Athens and be remembered for his fame in Troy. He wants to die with arête and does not seem all that remorseful. Though his death is what makes the play a tragedy, it is only Tecmessa who sees Ajax’s death as tragic. “Well, let them laugh, let them rejoice over this man’s misfortunes!....For men whose judgment is evil don’t know the good they hold in their hands until they throw it away. To me his death is as bitter as it is sweet to them and pleasant for him.” (961-967) By killing himself, he has not only done his advisories a favor, but he has also helped himself, his son will not be ridiculed or looked down on.

Grief is constantly present and dealt with in different ways; in Gilgamesh, the death of Enkidu leads Gilgamesh on a journey of grief and acceptance, and in The Ajax, it is only through death that allowed Ajax to escape his grief. Grief and tragedy are a constant. It is inevitable for one to encounter a loss of some sort. It is a part of life and that is why they are frequently written about. There is a need, and desire to understand, to make sense of this grief, and this feeling of connecting with others through these feelings. There is this search for understanding because there is this need for confirmation that we are not alone in our pain, it gives us something to relate to; like how the play The Ajax was a catharsis for veterans and those who went to war. It helps us work through our own problems, giving us hope and inspiration to get through the grief. It can come upon someone suddenly, like a sudden death or from a terrible event, or creep up, infecting the body and soul in a dark sadness. Like in The Ajax, it is very easy to get swallowed up by grief, and it is only through our own journey and experience, like in Gilgamesh, that we may overcome it and continue to live.

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Work Cited

Gilgamesh, trans. by David Ferry. New York, 1992.

Odysseus at Troy: Ajax, Hecuba, and Trojan Women, ed. Stephen Esposito. Massachusetts, 2010.