Philoctetes, Greek Philoktētēs, play by Sophocles, first performed in 409 bce. The play opens after the Troy-bound Greeks have cast away the title character on the desert island of Lemnos because of a foul-smelling and incurable ulcer on his foot.

What is the name of the island Philoctetes has been abandoned on?

Philoctetes was stranded on the island of Lemnos by the Greeks on the way to Troy.

Who killed Philoctetes?

In the end, Philoctetes stepped up and lit the fire, thus gaining the deified hero's favour. Before his death, Heracles offered him his fabled bow and poisoned arrows as a gift.

What is the story of Philoctetes?

Philoctetes is a mythological character from the Greek tragedy by Sophocles, a warrior who was on his way to the Trojan War when a serpent bit him. The smell of his wound was so noxious that he was left on the island of Lemnos and ostracized by his countrymen.

Why do the Greeks have to seek out Philoctetes?

Having been bitten by a snake, the Greek archer Philoctetes has an incurable wound on his foot. ... As the war progresses, the Greeks are told of a prophecy stating they need Philoctetes to win against the Trojans for he has in his possession the bow and arrows of Heracles.

SOPHOCLES' Philoctetes - On Pity and Conscience

Does neoptolemus ever actually lie to Philoctetes?

He learns from him the story of his life: it is a story full of heroism and abandonment, a tale of loneliness and excruciating pain. Even though touched by the story, Neoptolemus, as per plan, lies to Philoctetes that he has reached his island after fleeing Troy and that he is now headed back to Greece.

What does the name Philoctetes mean?

In Greek Baby Names the meaning of the name Philoctetes is: Killed Paris.

What event caused Philoctetes to finally give the bow over to neoptolemus?

Neoptolemus is expected now to chum up to Philoctetes so that they can get the bow of Heracles from him. Philoctetes had received the bow as a reward for lighting Heracles' funeral pyre; a prophecy claims it is needed against Troy now.

What happened to Helen of Troy?

According to a variant of the story, Helen, in widowhood, was driven out by her stepsons and fled to Rhodes, where she was hanged by the Rhodian queen Polyxo in revenge for the death of her husband, Tlepolemus, in the Trojan War.

Who is the protagonist of Philoctetes?

Philoctetes Character Analysis. Philoctetes is a famous Greek archer, Poeas's son, and the protagonist of Sophocles's Philoctetes.

What happened to Philoctetes on the journey to Troy?

There he was healed of his wound and killed Paris (son of Priam, king of Troy), by which action he paved the way for the city's fall. He subsequently returned home but later wandered as a colonist to southern Italy, where he ultimately died in battle.

Who was the real Achilles?

There is no proof that Achilles existed or that any of Homer's other characters did. The long answer is that Homer's Achilles may have been based, at least in part, on a historical character; the same is true of the rest of Homer's characters.

Who was the only son of Achilles?

NEOPTOLEMUS Neoptolemus, son of Achilles and Deidamia, begat Amphialus by captive Andromache, daughter of Ēëtion. But after he heard that Hermione his betrothed had been given to Orestes in marriage, he went to Lacedaemon and demanded her from Menelaus.

What killed Hercules?

Hercules was killed by one of his most powerful weapons, itself a relic of one of his most famous adventures. The venom of the Lernean Hydra was used to poison the arrows he used in later adventures, and eventually led to his death.

Who stole the Palladium?

Odysseus and Diomedes steal the Palladium from Troy.

Did Philoctetes train heroes?

Philoctetes was the wisecracking trainer of heroes, having done it before with miscellany of legends including Jason, Odysseus, Perseus, Theseus, and Achilles, all of them didn't work out despite's Phil's efforts.

Did Achilles have a child?

Neoptolemus, in Greek legend, the son of Achilles, the hero of the Greek army at Troy, and of Deïdamia, daughter of King Lycomedes of Scyros; he was sometimes called Pyrrhus, meaning “Red-haired.” In the last year of the Trojan War the Greek hero Odysseus brought him to Troy after the Trojan seer Helenus had declared ...

What happened to Paris after Troy fell?

Later in the war, after Philoctetes mortally wounds Paris, Helen makes her way to Mount Ida where she begs Paris's first wife, the nymph Oenone, to heal him. ... Helen returns alone to Troy, where Paris dies later the same day.

What happened Hector's wife?

Andromache, in Greek legend, the daughter of Eëtion (prince of Thebe in Mysia) and wife of Hector (son of King Priam of Troy). All her relations perished when Troy was taken by Achilles.

Why did Philoctetes finally go to Troy with his men?

The story takes place towards the end of the Trojan War, after the events recounted in Homer's “Iliad”, and describes the attempt by Neoptolemus and Odysseus to persuade or trick the disabled Philoctetes into accompanying them to Troy, in order to fulfill a prophecy and finally bring the ten-year war to a close.

Why does Neoptolemus agree to deceive Philoctetes at the beginning of the play?

Odysseus is faced with the task of convincing Neoptolemus that he must deceive Philoctetes in order to get him and his invincible bow to Troy. ... It is thus only natural that Odysseus should anticipate difficulty in convincing Achilles' son to carry out his plan.

What is the relationship between Odysseus and Philoctetes?

Odysseus is portrayed as a despicable man who abandoned Philoctetes on the island Lemnos simply because Philoctetes's wound and cries of pain disrupted the crew's prayers and sacrifices to the gods aboard the ship to Troy.

Who did Phil train before Hercules?

This however, seems to be a confusion with the myth of Chiron, the immortal centaur that gained his wish from Zeus to teach forever, as Phil states that he trained Achilles and Jason of the Argonauts, both disciples of Chiron. He also says that he trained Odysseus, Perseus, Theseus and a lot of "yeuseus.".