The Contention of Ajax and Ulysses for the Armour of Achilles

About the show

In the Greek camp outside Troy after Achilles’s death, Ajax and Ulysses contend for his armor. Their servants’ argument and fight are stopped by Calchas, who oversees the debate before the Greek generals. Ulysses’s eloquence defeats Ajax’s boastful self-praise, and the generals award him the armor. In the aftermath, Ajax loses his mind, kills a politician, and commits suicide; Calchas delivers a funeral dirge.