S/LI/48. What is Sophocles saying about 'heroic values' in Ajax? Does he endorse the traditional 'code', or problematize or reject it?

This paper considers the demise of the heroic Ajax - a figure lauded in the great Homeric tales - from war hero to broken man. How does Sophocles treat Ajax's path to self destruction and does he manage to maintain sympathy for this desolate figure? Despite the fact that Ajax purposely deceives his wife, abandoning her and his son in committing suicide, the entire play is designed to rehabilitate a broken man, a man who stands isolated from the gods and one who is at their mercy.