Weapons of Friendship
Props in Sophocles’ Philoctetes and Ajax
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20053795 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Judith Fletcher (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2013 |
| Pages | 199-215 |
| Publication date | 2013-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | CHAPTER |
| Venue | Performance in Greek and Roman theatre (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | Brill (PUBLISHER • NL) |
| DOI | 10.1163/9789004245457_012 |
| OpenAlex | W2499938072 |
| ISBN | 9789004245457 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
This chapter focuses on the dynamic network linking objects, bodies, text and audience in two Sophoclean dramas that accord great importance to stage properties, specifically the bow of Philoctetes and the sword of Ajax. It is significant not only that both these props are weapons, but also that these weapons are, rather paradoxically, gifts that evoke the protocols of ritual friendship. Philoctetes’ bow is certainly one of the most significant stage properties in extant Greek drama: as Taplin observes, it is the “most integrally incorporated material object” in tragedy. The sword that Hector gives to Ajax is a more sinister object than the bow that Heracles bequeaths to Philoctetes. The ghostly presences of Heracles and Hector seem to share the bodies of the actors representing Philoctetes and Ajax, and to guide the stage properties on their journeys. Keywords:Ajax; Philoctetes; Sophoclean dramas
Ajax · Art · Drama · Extant taxon · Friendship · Linguistics · Literature · Object (grammar) · Sociology · SWORD · Tragedy (event) · World Wide Web · Classical Antiquity Studies · Computer Science · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,57 |
| Citation span | 2019 - 2025 (7) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |