ajax
ajax — noun
1. in Greek myth, a tall and very strong warrior who fought for the Greeks at Troy,
in Greek myth, a tall and very strong warrior who fought for the Greeks at Troy, the son of Telamon; after losing a contest with Odysseus over the dead Achilles' armour, he goes mad and kills himself with his own sword.
Sophocles wrote a famous play about Ajax, who falls on his sword after the shame of losing the armour.
proper noun: capitalized, no article
In the Iliad, Ajax holds back the Trojans almost single-handedly while the other Greeks retreat to their ships.
appears as subject of action verbs in narrative
Homer often pairs Ajax with his half-brother Teucer, the famous archer, on the battlefield.
The Greek soldiers chose Odysseus over Ajax, and the insulted hero turned his anger on a flock of sheep.
- Aias
the original Greek spelling, used in some scholarly translations
- Telamonian Ajax
fuller name marking him as the son of Telamon
用法筆記
Often called Ajax the Great or Greater Ajax to distinguish him from the smaller, faster hero of sense 2. Treated as a proper noun: always capitalized and used without 'the' or 'a'.
常見錯誤
2. in Greek myth, a smaller but very fast Greek warrior at Troy, the son of Oileus,
in Greek myth, a smaller but very fast Greek warrior at Troy, the son of Oileus, known for his speed in running and for the cruel things he did when the city of Troy fell.
Homer praises Ajax for his speed, saying that only Achilles could outrun him on foot.
noun phrase: speed of Ajax
When Troy was burning, Ajax dragged Cassandra from the temple of Athena, and the goddess never forgave him.
Greek writers often called him Ajax the Lesser to set him apart from the bigger, slower Ajax.
On the way home from the war, Athena sent a storm that smashed the ship of Ajax against the rocks.
- Ajax the Lesser
standard English epithet for this hero
- Locrian Ajax
scholarly name; he led the Locrian troops
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1 by the epithets 'the Lesser' or 'son of Oileus'. This Ajax is famous for speed and impiety, while the Greater Ajax is famous for size and strength.