Neoptolemus

on the island of Lemnos his anger built up for the person responsible of leaving him there to suffer: Odysseus. The story begins with Odysseus speaking to Neoptolemus about what he must say and act when they arrive to the Island which Philoctetes was stranded on. Believing that it is best to use trickery to get Philoctetes to join their side. At first Neoptolemus believes it is better to succeed without using this he follows the orders given by Odysseus by stating that Odysseus had Achilles armor and would not give it to him even though he is Achilles son. Philoctetes hatred for Odysseus won out and he began to trust Neoptolemus even going so far as to show him the bow of Hercules. While Philoctetes is filled with discomfort and misery and merits human kindness but unfortunately he does not receive this treatment. Neoptolemus feeling the guilt of what he had done wants to give the bow back to Philoctetes and after an argument with Odysseus he gives it back. After Odysseus flees, Neoptolemus tries to coax Philoctetes to come back and help in the Trojan war. Philoctetes arrogance and superiority is like a virus that spreads throughout everyone in…

Through analysis of major characters in Sophocles’ Philocetes, one can see that an individual’s needs, feelings, or behaviors do not always align with the values of society. The values upheld by society are often times contradictory to those of a certain individual. Our society is flawed and unfortunately, faulty values exist. It is also important to keep in mind whether the individual acts for good or evil. This often times non existing reflection between individual and societal values…

form of laws, traditions, and needs for the greater good. Not to mention, often times the needs and demands of the individual come in conflict with those of society. With this being said, it raises problems for both the individual and society. There are 3 characters, Odysseus, Neoptolemus, and Philoctetes. Each of these characters show examples of these problems. Odysseus was one of the great heroes of Greek mythology. However, in the text of Sophocles’…

solitary existence and return to civilization. Except for Neoptolemus. He becomes friends with Philoctetes, at first to steal the bow of Heracles, but later due to his friendly feelings towards Philoctetes. Philoctetes too, has friendly feelings towards Neoptolemus, which survive even after Neoptolemus has seemingly betrayed him. What it is about Philoctetes and Neoptolemus that allows them to become friends, even though they spend most of the play at cross-purposes? Neoptolemus and Philoctetes…

Although he accepts the mission, Neoptolemus is not thrilled with the plan at hand, stating, “Son of Laertes(Odysseus), what I dislike to hear. I hate to put in execution….. I would prefer to fail with honor than win by cheating.”[86-96] Nevertheless, he follows Odysseus orders to the end. However, feeling a sense of pity and guilt for deceiving Philoctetes he discloses his true mission. Neoptolemus feels he has betrayed his father and all he stands for. Neoptolemus states “I shall be seen to be…

Culturally the truth value of honesty has changed from history compared to this century. Philoctetes a 12th century story showed the value of honesty in different way than the 21st century of the curious incident of the dog in the night-time. Both story showed characters who understand the true value of honesty different. Both story showed a different perspective of knowing how to tell the truth and when to tell the truth as of for Philoctetes the main character Neoptolemus believed it shows…

The audience sees Odysseus’ naiveté when he implicitly trusts Neoptolemus to retrieve Heracles’ bow and not betray him and the Greek army. However, the audience also witnesses Odysseus’ growth and wisdom in The Odyssey when he finally arrives home and does not immediately trust Athena or Eumaeus because they could betray him to the suitors. Throughout both the tragedy and epic though, Odysseus is consistently shown to have a clever tongue that can convince others to go against their own personal…

The Bow of Herakles is a powerful symbol in Sophocles’ Philoctetes. It is used both as a visual and verbal motif throughout the play. Copious references to the Bow convey important themes that ultimately prepares the play’s audience for the events that transpire in the exodos. Some of these points include ___. The significance of the Bow is made evident in the play with several references to the prophecy within which it is invoked. The first of these references was an indirect allusion to the…

path of conjuring the power of the gods!” half-shouted, half-laughed, the determined Orpheus. Deimos led them out of the forest, in the shadow of the full moon. As they returned from their venture, they ran into one of the priests from the village church. The priests asked a bunch of pointless questions, most of which Deimos and Orpheus answered together. The priests seemed to accept all their answers, but then asked something that either of them couldn’t answer. “Why are you two boys up so…

into disaster at every tragic turn. Almost all the releases which tragic characters ask for are misunderstood by themselves. The pattern analyzed above is limited in terms of narrative. Another pattern of release is further proposed by Goldhill in his examination into Philoctetes: to release through deeds, which means, by Goldhill, to undo all former mistakes. “Undoing” the former mistakes is what Neoptolemus hopes to get relief at the turning point of Philoctetes. Unlike the former characters…