{{Otheruses|Ajax}}
[[Image:Ajax Ermordung der Herden.jpg|thumb|Ajax]]
'''Ajax''' or '''Aias''' ([[ancient Greek]]: {{polytonic|'''Αἴας'''}}) was a [[Greek mythology|mythological Greek hero]], the son of [[Telamon]] and [[Periboea]] and king of [[Salamis Island|Salamis]]. He plays an important role in [[Homer]]'s ''[[Iliad]]'' and in the [[Epic Cycle]], a series of [[epic poems]] about the [[Trojan War]]. To distinguish him from [[Ajax the lesser|Ajax, son of Oileus]], he is called "Telamonian Ajax," "Greater Ajax," or "Ajax the Great".

==Ajax the Great==
In Homer's Iliad he is described as of great stature and colossal frame, the tallest and strongest of all the [[Achaeans]], second only to his cousin [[Achilles]] in skill-at-arms, and the 'bulwark of the Achaeans'. He was trained by the [[centaur]] [[Chiron]] (who had also trained his father, [[Telamon]], and Achilles' father [[Peleus]]), at the same time as Achilles. Aside from Achilles, Ajax is the most valuable warrior in [[Agamemnon]]'s army (along with [[Diomedes]]), though he is not as cunning as [[Nestor]], [[Idomeneus]], or [[Odysseus]]. He commands his army wielding a great hammer and a huge shield made of seven ox-hides with a layer of bronze. He is not wounded in any of the battles described in the ''Iliad''.

==Trojan War==
In the ''Iliad'', Ajax is notable for his abundant strength and courage, seen particularly in two fights with [[Hector]]. In Book 7, Ajax is chosen by lot to meet Hector in a duel which lasts most of a whole day. Ajax at first gets the better of the encounter, wounding Hector with his spear and knocking him down with a large stone, but Hector fights on until the [[herald]]s, acting at the direction of [[Zeus]], call a draw: the action ends without a winner and with the two combatants exchanging gifts.

The second fight between Ajax and Hector occurs when the latter breaks into the Achaean camp, and fights with the Greeks among the ships. In Book 14, Ajax throws a giant rock at Hector which almost kills him. In Book 15, Hector is restored to his strength by [[Apollo]] and returns to attack the ships. Ajax, wielding an enormous spear as a weapon and leaping from ship to ship, holds off the [[Troy|Trojan]] armies virtually single-handedly. In Book 16, Hector is able to disarm Ajax (although Ajax is not hurt) and Ajax is forced to retreat, seeing that Zeus is clearly favoring Hector. Hector and the Trojans succeed in burning one Greek ship, the culmination of an assault that almost finishes the war. Ajax manages to kill many of the other Trojan lords, including [[Phorkys]].

Achilles was absent during these encounters because of his feud with Agamemnon. In Book 9, Agamemnon and the other Greek chiefs send Ajax, Odysseus and [[Phoenix (Iliad)|Phoenix]] to the tent of Achilles in an attempt to reconcile with the great warrior and induce him to return to the fight. Although Ajax speaks earnestly and is well received, he does not succeed in convincing Achilles.

When Achilles' best friend [[Patroclus]] is killed, Hector tries to steal his body and feed him to the dogs. Ajax is the man who fights to protect the body, and he takes it back safely to Achilles at the camp. Ajax, assisted by [[Menelaus]], succeeds in fighting off the Trojans and taking the body back with his chariot; of course, the Trojans had already stolen the armor and left the body naked. Ajax's prayer to Zeus to remove the fog that has descended on the battle to allow them to fight or die in the light of day has become proverbial.

Like most of the other Greek leaders, Ajax is alive and well as the ''Iliad'' comes to a close. Later, when Achilles dies, killed by [[Paris (mythology)|Paris]] (with help from Apollo), Ajax and Odysseus are the heroes that fight against the Trojans to get the body and bury it next to his dear friend, Patroclus. Ajax, with his great hammer, manages to get the Trojans away, while Odysseus pulls the body towards his chariot, and rides away. After the burial, both claim the armor for themselves, as recognition for their efforts. But in the end, after some discussion, Odysseus is given the armor. Ajax is furious about it, and falls to the ground, exhausted. When he wakes up, he is under the influence of a spell from Athena. He goes to a flock of sheep and slaughters them, imagining they are the Achaean leaders, including Odysseus and Agamemnon. When he comes to his senses, covered in blood, and realizes what he did, with diminished honor he decides that he prefers to kill himself rather than to live in shame. He did it with the same sword Hector had given him when they exchanged presents. (''[[Iliad]],'' 11.541). From his blood sprang a red flower, as at the death of [[Hyacinth (mythology)|Hyacinthus]], which bore on its leaves the initial letters of his name ''Ai,'' also expressive of lament ([[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] 1.35.4). His ashes were deposited in a golden urn on the [[Rhoetean]] promontory at the entrance of the [[Hellespont]]. This account of his death is from the ''Ajax'' of [[Sophocles]]; in [[Pindar]]'s ''Nemean'', 7; and in [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Metamorphoses (poem)|Metamorphoses]]'', 13.1. Homer is somewhat vague about the precise manner of Ajax's death but does ascribe it to his loss in the dispute over Achilles's shield: when Odysseus visits [[Hades]], he begs the soul of Ajax to speak to him, but Ajax, still resentful over the old quarrel, refuses and descends silently back into [[Erebus]].

Like Achilles, he is represented (although not by Homer) as living after his death in the [[Snake Island (Black Sea)|island of Leuke]] at the mouth of the [[Danube]] ([[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] 3.19.11). Ajax, who in the post-Homeric legend is described as the grandson of [[Aeacus]] and the great-grandson of Zeus, was the [[tutelary]] hero of the island of [[Salamis Island|Salamis]], where he had a temple and an image, and where a festival called ''Aianteia'' was celebrated in his honour (Pausanias 1.35). At this festival a couch was set up, on which the [[panoply]] of the hero was placed, a practice which recalls the Roman [[Lectisternium]]. The identification of Ajax with the family of Aeacus was chiefly a matter which concerned the [[Athenian]]s, after Salamis had come into their possession, on which occasion [[Solon]] is said to have inserted a line in the ''[[Iliad]]'' (2.557-558), for the purpose of supporting the Athenian claim to the island. Ajax then became an [[Attica|Attic]] hero; he was worshipped at [[Athens]], where he had a statue in the market-place, and the tribe ''Aiantis'' was named after him. Pausanias also relates that a gigantic skeleton, its kneecap 5 inches in diameter, appeared on the beach near Sigeum, on the Trojan coast; these bones were identified as those of Ajax.

== Family ==
Ajax is the son of Telamon, who was the son of [[Aeacus]] and grandson of [[Zeus]], and his first wife [[Periboea]]. He is the cousin of [[Achilles]], the most remembered Greek warrior, and elder [[Sibling|half-brother]] of [[Teucer]]. Many illustrious [[Athenians]], including [[Cimon]], [[Miltiades]], [[Alcibiades]] and the historian [[Thucydides]], traced their descent from Ajax.

==Palace==
In 2001, Yannos Lolos began excavating a [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean]] palace on the island of Salamis that may have been Ajax's home. The ruins have been excavated at a site near the village of Kanakia of Salamis, a few miles off the coast of Athens. The multi-story structure covers 750 m² (8,000 [[Square foot|sq ft]]) and had perhaps 30 rooms. It appears to have been abandoned at about the era of the Trojan War. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2106548,00.html]

==In Popular Culture==

* Football (soccer) clubs, [[AFC Ajax]], [[Ajax Cape Town FC|Ajax Cape Town]] and [[Ajax America]], are named after Ajax.
* The laundry [[detergent]] brand [[Ajax cleanser|Ajax]]'s slogan is "Stronger than dirt", presumably in the mythological reference.
* Several ships of the [[Royal Navy]] were called [[HMS Ajax]] after him, but none are currently operational.
* The town of [[Ajax, Ontario]] (pop. 90,000), was named after one of the above-mentioned ships, and thereby indirectly after the hero.
* Several [[United States Navy]] ships called [[USS Ajax]] were named for his valor.
* Ajax is the name given to one of the most ferocious [[Titan (Dune)|Titans]] in [[Brian Herbert]] and [[Kevin J. Anderson]]'s prequel book trilogy, ''[[Dune: The Butlerian Jihad]]'', to [[Frank Herbert]]'s classic [[Science fiction|sci-fi]] epic ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'', as well as to a [[Melange|spice]] harvester in ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'' itself.
* In the first ''[[Baldur's Gate I]]'' game there is one NPC, called [[List of Baldur's Gate characters#Ajantis Ilvastarr|Ajantis Ilvastarr]] - a Palladin, worshiper of Helm. He features in the second game too, as he is disciplce of [[List_of_Baldur's_Gate_characters#Keldorn_Firecam|Keldorn Firecam]] - a joinable NPC from the second game ''[[Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn]]''. The player kills him due to an unavoidable accident in which Ajantis, along with a group of other paladins, has an illusion cast over him, making them look like monsters. The same goes for the player's party as well, as Ajantis' group attacks the players on sight. He can be recognized only by Keldorn, if he is in the party. This is a reference to Ajax's own death brought by an illusion spell too.
* Ajax appears as one of the main characters in the [[Personal computer game|computer game]] ''[[Age of Mythology]]'' and is a good friend to the main character [[Arkantos]] and [[Odysseus]].
* In the 2004 film ''[[Troy (film)|Troy]]'', Ajax was played by [[professional wrestling|wrestler]] [[Tyler Mane]] and in great contrast to the story, was killed in battle by Hector.
* Ajax is a character in the 1979 film ''[[The Warriors (film)]]''; played by [[James Remar]], the character exhibits similar traits to the mythological Ajax.
* Ajax appears in [[Dan Simmons]]' sci-fi novels ''[[Ilium (novel)|Ilium]]'' and its sequel ''[[Olympos (novel)|Olympos]]'' as himself in a massive recreation of Homer's ''[[Iliad]]'' on the surface of the planet [[Mars]].
* In the 1970 film "[[Patton]]" screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola has General Patton praying for good weather in battle, borrowed from Ajax's prayer to Zeus.

==References==
*Homer, ''Iliad'' 7.181-312
*Homer, ''Odyssey'' 11.543-67
*[[Apollodorus]], ''Epitome'' III, 11-V, 7
*Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' 12.620-13.398
*[[Friedrich Schiller]], ''[http://www.autoren-gedichte.de/schiller/das-siegesfest.htm Das Siegerfest]''

==External links==
{{Commonscat|Ajax the Great}}
*{{cite news
| first=Nicholas
| last= Paphitis
| url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12080932/
| title=Archaeologist links palace to legendary Ajax
| publisher=MSNBC
| date=[[2006-03-30]]
| accessdate=2006-03-31
}}
{{Characters in the Odyssey}}
{{Characters in the Iliad}}
{{1911}}

[[Category:Characters in the Iliad]]
[[Category:Characters in the Odyssey]]
[[Category:Mythological kings]]
[[Category:People of the Trojan War]]
[[Category:Tutelary]]

[[br:Aias Telamonios]]
[[bg:Аякс Теламонид]]
[[ca:Àiax el Gran]]
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[[es:Áyax el Grande]]
[[fa:آیاس]]
[[fr:Ajax fils de Télamon]]
[[is:Ajas Telamonsson]]
[[it:Aiace Telamonio]]
[[he:איאס]]
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[[hu:Aiasz (Telamón fia)]]
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[[ja:大アイアス]]
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[[pl:Ajaks Wielki]]
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[[ro:Aiax din Salamina]]
[[ru:Аякс Великий]]
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[[fi:Aias]]
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[[uk:Аякс Теламонід]]
[[zh:大埃阿斯]]