Ajax the Greater/Bio & Battles

"No plan, no cleverness can serve us now but this: to close with them and fight with all we have. Better to win life or to lose it fighting now, once and for all, than to be bled to death by slow degrees in grinding war against these ships, by lesser men than we."

- Ajax the Greater

Ajax the Greater, known in Etruscan mythology as Aivas Tlamunus, was the son of the hero Telamon, and one of the greatest warriors in the Achaean army during the Trojan War. He was trained by the centaur Chiron in his youth, alongside his cousin (and future fellow Achaean soldier) Achilles.

Ajax had incredible strength for a mortal, which he demonstrated in combat. When Achilles withdrew from the fighting, Ajax was chosen to fight Hector in his place. Ajax overcame his opponent, first wounding the Trojan with his spear and then knocking him down with a large stone. The fight was ended by Zeus, and the two warriors gave each other gifts out of respect. Hector received Ajax's sash, and Ajax received Hector's sword.

Later, he defends the Achaean ships almost single-handedly, fighting off the Trojans while wielding a massive spear. However, he is disarmed by Hector (whom Zeus favors) and forced to retreat.

When Achilles fell in battle to Paris's arrows, Ajax and fellow soldier Odysseus fought through the Trojan lines to retrieve his body. Upon returning to the camps, it was decided that Ajax and Odysseus would compete to determine who would receive Achilles's god-forged armor. The physical tests ended in a draw, but Odysseus proved himself the better speaker, and he received the armor.

Infuriated by the lack of respect he was shown after all his efforts, Ajax went mad. He slaughtered the Achaeans' livestock, believing them to be his fellow soldiers in his madness. When he came to his senses, he committed suicide with Hector's sword.