Ajax the Great. Ajax or Aias is a Greek mythological hero, the son of King Telamon and Periboea, and the half-brother of Teucer.
He plays an important role, and is portrayed as a towering figure and a warrior of great courage in Homer's Iliad and in the Epic Cycle, a series of epic poems about the Trojan War. He is also referred to as Telamonian Ajax, Greater Ajax, or Ajax the Great, which distinguishes him from Ajax, son of Oileus.
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, and is the elder half-brother of Teucer.
His given name is derived from the root of to lament, translating to one who laments; mourner. Hesiod, however includes a story in The Great Eoiae that indicates Aias received his name when Heracles prayed to Zeus that a son might be born to Telemon and Eriboea.
Zeus sent an eagle as a sign. Heracles then bade the parents call their son Aias after the eagle. Many illustrious Athenians, including Cimon, Miltiades, Alcibiades and the historian Thucydides, traced their descent from Ajax. On an Etruscan tomb dedicated to Racvi Satlnei in Bologna there is an inscription that says, aivastelmunsl which means of Telamonian Ajax. In Homer's Iliad he is described as of great stature, colossal frame and strongest of all the Achaeans. Known as thebulwark of the Achaeans, he was trained by the centaur Chi
He plays an important role, and is portrayed as a towering figure and a warrior of great courage in Homer's Iliad and in the Epic Cycle, a series of epic poems about the Trojan War. He is also referred to as Telamonian Ajax, Greater Ajax, or Ajax the Great, which distinguishes him from Ajax, son of Oileus.
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, and is the elder half-brother of Teucer.
His given name is derived from the root of to lament, translating to one who laments; mourner. Hesiod, however includes a story in The Great Eoiae that indicates Aias received his name when Heracles prayed to Zeus that a son might be born to Telemon and Eriboea.
Zeus sent an eagle as a sign. Heracles then bade the parents call their son Aias after the eagle. Many illustrious Athenians, including Cimon, Miltiades, Alcibiades and the historian Thucydides, traced their descent from Ajax. On an Etruscan tomb dedicated to Racvi Satlnei in Bologna there is an inscription that says, aivastelmunsl which means of Telamonian Ajax. In Homer's Iliad he is described as of great stature, colossal frame and strongest of all the Achaeans. Known as thebulwark of the Achaeans, he was trained by the centaur Chi
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