An editor When Neoptolemus came to the Greeks’ camp he demanded to give him his father’s arms, but the Greeks had already given the Achilles’s arms to Odysseus. “O strangers!” he exclaims, “Who can you be, and from what country, that you have put into this harborless and desolate land? Neoptolemus says that the Greeks will kill him if he does, but Philoctetes promises to keep him safe with his unerring bow and arrows, so Neoptolemus agrees to sail Philoctetes home to Greece. He claims to be a wine trader on his way back from Troy, and he has heard word concerning Neoptolemus.

(Critical Survey of Literature for Students). “In no other Greek play does character count for so much,” write Ian Storey and Arlene Allan. Philoctetes’s wound had been “oozing with pus,” Odysseus says, and his cries of pain disrupted the crew’s prayers and sacrifices to the gods, so they left him on the island. The men can hear the sounds of crying, and Philoctetes approaches. He has gone against his “true nature,” Neoptolemus says, and Philoctetes begins to worry that he won’t really be going on Neoptolemus’s ship. Lines 1-729 (Prologue-Stasimon) Lines 730-1472 (Second Episode-Exodos) Character Analysis. Philoctetes is thankful and claims he now considers Neoptolemus a friend, so he invites him into his cave. Odysseus coaxes Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles, to use deception and get Philoctetes to agree to come with them.

Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. He promises to send Asclepius to heal Philoctetes’ wounds and informs him that it is his duty before the supreme god to head to Troy. Summary. As Odysseus departs to the ship, Neoptolemus heads to Philoctetes’ cave. You can help us out by revising, improving and updating As soon as Philoctetes steps outside of his cave with Neoptolemus, he is seized with pain so unbearable that he is all but sure that his hour has come. Neoptolemos, the young son of Achilles, and Odysseus are sent to fetch him.

Not affiliated with Harvard College. No one comes to the island unless they are forced, Philoctetes says, and he begs the men not to be scared by his “wild appearance,” as he is but a “miserable wretch” with no one to look after him.

Since he has suffered for a decade precisely because of this attitude, Torn between these two radical views, sits. The two enter Philoctetes’ cave to obtain some necessities.

Neoptolemus recounts the story Odysseus has ordered him to tell, and Philoctetes in turn tells Neoptolemus that he was marooned on Lemnos by Odysseus and his men after he was bitten by a snake on the island of Chryse. The first and second actors play only one role each, and the third three very similar parts (Odysseus, Merchant, Herakles), and it is with difficulty that we accept Herakles as a true deus ex machina, as opposed to being Odysseus’ last and final scheme.

will review the submission and either publish your submission or provide feedback. They will take the bow and the arrows, though. There are many translations of Philoctetes available online, both in verse and in prose; if you are a fan of the latter, you can read Richard Claverhouse Jebb’s translation for Cambridge University Press here. Not only was Odysseus the instigator behind marooning Philoctetes in the first place, but he heads back determined to get the bow of Herakles not through honest exchange and negotiation, but by devising a crafty trick to lure it out of the possession of its rightful owner. Neoptolemus begs Philoctetes to go with them to Troy, but the man does not agree, his deep insult against the Greeks does not let him go. It won yet another first prize for Sophocles, who, according to tradition, should have been no less than eighty-seven years old at the time. Neoptolemus does not want to deceive Philoctetes, but Odysseus persuades him that it is the only way and gives instructions what to say and how to act. Neoptolemus approaches Philoctetes and manages to win over his confidence by faking hatred for Odysseus. The war-weary Greeks send a contingent to get Philoctetes to Troy, but it's a difficult task. The story takes place during the Trojan War (after the majority of the events of the Iliad, but before the Trojan Horse).

Disguised as a merchant, a sailor sent by Odysseus arrives and tells another lie: Odysseus and Diomedes are on their way to Lemnos to get Philoctetes by force. PHILOCTETES steps into the cave, and brings out his bow and arrows.

At this juncture, Hercules appears and tells them that if Philoctetes were to sail for Troy, then not only would he play an important role in a significant victory, he would also be cured. Since he realizes that Philoctetes is one of these great men, for Neoptolemus, lying to him is not an option.

These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Philoctetes by Sophocles.

CHARACTERS: Odysseus, Neoptolemos, Philoctetes, Merchant, Herakles .

Undeniably, . Neoptolemus orders the chorus to stay with Philoctetes as he goes with Odysseus back to the ship—still holding Philoctetes’s bow and arrows. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.

The supreme god orders them all go to Troy as it is destined to fall from the arrows shot from the Philoctetes’s bow. Important Quotes. The story is meant to scare Philoctetes and incite him to leave to Greece with Neoptolemus (which is actually, once again, Troy). “Let me bear the sufferings that are fated me,” he says to Neoptolemus after a brief hesitation.

The attendants seize him just on time, and Odysseus, who has had it just about enough, says to him that, if he doesn’t want to leave, he is free to stay in Lemnos.

Philoctetes: A Man of Strength Through Vulnerability. Philoctetes refuses (“it is not the past I fear but the future”), and it seems that Neoptolemos will take him back to Greece; at this point Herakles appears, promising healing for Philoctetes and success for the Greeks. It describes the attempt by Neoptolemus and Odysseus to bring the disabled Philoctetes, the master archer, …

What would I rightly say is your city or your ancestry?” Philoctetes is glad to learn that the strangers are, in fact, Greeks, and even gladder to find out that their leader is the son of a man he lov… Odysseus and Neoptolemus have just landed on the deserted island of Lemnos where they have been sent by the Atreides to fetch Philoctetes and bring him back to Troy. Scene 1 (Lines 1 – 134) Odysseus arrives on the island of Lemnos with Neoptolemus, the son of the late hero Achilles. But there is no time now for long stories, Odysseus tells Neoptolemus, and he needs Neoptolemus’s help. “In no other Greek play does character count for so much,” write Ian Storey and Arlene Allan.
On hearing this, Philoctetes heads to the cliffs determined to throw himself to his death, if that is the only way to prevent his arch-nemesis from successfully completing his mission. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Why should they win? Odysseus intervenes a second too late: the weapon is now in the hands of his rival who is about to shoot an arrow at him if not for Neoptolemus’ intervention. Instructed by Odysseus, Neoptolemus is to lure Philoctetes on board with his bow by declaring that he, too, hates Odysseus because the king deprived him of the weapons of his father, Achilles.

What would I rightly say is your city or your ancestry?”, They are preparing to leave when two men arrive from the coast: it is evidently time for the second part of, In the second kommos (which stands in place of the third stasimon), the sailors remind the grieving, All of a sudden, a divine shape appears on the sky above the two: it is the specter of.

this section. thou art … He asks Neoptolemus to keep the bow and arrows safe until his acute attack of pain passes, but Neoptolemus must agree not to give them to Odysseus if he arrives while Philoctetes is delirious with pain.
In the second kommos (which stands in place of the third stasimon), the sailors remind the grieving Philoctetes that he is not entitled to so much sorrow over his destiny because it is he who has chosen to endure his pain in Lemnos rather than sail away to Troy and earn glory.

These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Philoctetes by Sophocles.

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