Ajax: famous hero of the Trojan War

Ajax. The most famous hero of the Trojan War after Achilles; King of Salamis, a man of giant stature, daring, and self-confident, son of Telamon. When the armor of Hector was awarded to Ulysses instead of to himself, he turned mad from vexation and stabbed himself. His deeds are narrated by Homer and later poets.

Sophocles has a tragedy called Ajax, in which "the madman" scourges a ram he mistakes for Ulysses. His encounter with a flock of sheep, which he fancied in his madness to be the sons of Atreus, has been mentioned at greater or less length by several Greek and Roman poets. This Ajax is introduced by Shakespeare in his drama called Troilus and Cressida.