|
Ajax
(1.
The
Greater; 2.
The Lesser)
1. Ajax, the Greater
Also known as Telamonian Ajax and
Greater Ajax.
In Greek mythology,
the son of Telamon, king of Salamis. After Achilles,
he was the mightiest of the Greek heroes in
the Trojan War. He was a man of giant
stature, daring but slow-witted.
As most of the great Greek warriors, he also
received his arms and fighting skills training by Chiron, the
centaur. He fought Hector in single combat, and even
though he wounded the Trojan prince with his spear, he failed to kill him. The
contest was declared a draw.
Ajax was known for his great might and bravery. When Achilles' best friend
Patroclus is killed, it is Ajax, with the help of Menelaus, that prevents Hector
from throwing his body to the dogs, bringing it back safely to the Greek
encampment. Later, when Achilles is killed, him and
Odysseus (Ulysses) are the ones who rescue his
corpse from the Trojans.
In the Odyssey, when the armor of Achilles
is
awarded to Odysseus, as the champion, Ajax goes mad and kills himself.
Later Odysseus encountered him in the
underworld and tried to placate his anger, but the ghost, still nursing his
resentment, stalked away in speechless rage.
2. Ajax, the Lesser.
In Greek mythology,
the son of Oileus, king of Locris, and a man of small stature.
Ajax the
Lesser was a brave warrior and the leader of the Locrian contingent during
the Trojan War, but he was also a brutal and blasphemous man who at the sack
of Troy desecrated the sacred
Palladium. As consequence of this act, and of the rape of Priam's daughter
Cassandra, a prophetess, he was finally drowned by Poseidon
after being shipwrecked.
See
Troy,
Casting Black Magic Spells,
Commanding Spirits,
The Tarot Store and
Divination & Scrying Tools and
Supplies.
Sources: (1)
Brewer's Dictionary
of Phrase & Fable,
Harper Collins Publishers;
(2)
Evans, Bergen,
Dictionary of Mythology, Dell Publishing;
(3) Hamilton, Edith,
Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes,
Warner Books.
|
|
|
