The Logos of Ajax
You were not present upon the field
and so you have no right to speak of it.
When the walls fell I took what was mine by right
and you have no right to speak of it.
Who are you to judge me? A soldier, the greatest.
For I was the one who spared Achilles body from
the cruel revenge of the Trojans. I was the one
who stood glorious on the field, showing my courage,
Had I not stood proudly at the front of my fellows,
they would have rightly thought me a true coward,
and for that reason my arms shine like the sun
and my shield stands as a wall against all fear.
No coward would dare show his true strength
in full view of the enemy. No man would stand
against the betrayers and sycophants that
infest our host, mewling as to their wit and grace.
And no true god would praise such blasphemy
as the thefts that take place by night.
And when I took the bitch of Athena by the neck,
and reminded her of her place, you condemn me.
I demand that the Arms of Achilles be granted into my care
For they are mine by right. I was in all ways his greatest
confidant, his greatest sparring partner, and his rival
in all ways save the gifts of a god. Grant me those gifts
and I shall never fear to walk again upon the field,
and it is only your will that holds back my might.
Leave the blame, for it matters not. Grant me the power
the shining spear, the burnished shield, the plate upon the breast.
Let me gird myself and affix my ox hides to Achilles foundation.
For I have learned so much from his glorious example.
Let me strike my enemy while he flees from me,
Let the weight of his own arms drag him into the dirt
Let him cower before me and offer false promises
as to the honorable disposal of my corpse.
Which I shall ignore with a laugh, for I shall never fall
I shall keep an eye for adders on the ramparts.
And if you cannot understand the truth of what war is,
then you are a fool. War is to always be, and to pretend
that times of peace are anything but preparation for war,
is the greatest hubris of them all. Be not Fools.
Comments
Ok, and again, heading down some dark paths here...
Ajax's speech owes a great deal to Antisthenes. While I have changed a great deal from the original Logos, the spirit of this speech is modeled off of the feel of the original.
Ajax, to me is a prime example of everything wrong with the US military. I thank him for casting our flaws into sharp relief. I thank the Muses for letting him do so. May we learn from his lesson, even if it isn't the lesson he wants us to accept.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
Thanks, detroit. That video is a great reprise/continuation.
It's also completely unknown t me, so thanks for that too.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Glad you liked it!
Sabaton tweeted it out a few days ago, and I was amazed how well it fit with the piece I was writing today.
Thank you for reading, and we're in the last three of the Play.
Two left. Odysseus and Helen.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.