Sophocles' Ajax describes the fall of a mighty warrior denied the honour which he believed was his due. This edition of the play presents a text and critical apparatus which take full advantage of advances in our understanding of Sophoclean manuscripts and scholarship. The introduction and commentary scrutinise all important aspects of the drama - from detailed analysis of style, language, and metre to consideration of wider issues such as ethics, rhetoric, and characterisation. Notorious dramaturgical problems, including the staging of Ajax's suicide, receive particular attention; so too do questions of literary history, such as the date of the play and Sophocles' creative interaction with previous accounts of the myth. The translation which accompanies the commentary ensures that this edition will be accessible to Hellenists of all levels of experience, as well as to readers with a general interest in the history of drama.

‘This is a wonderful resource for the study of Ajax, and its author [is] clearly a force to be reckoned with in the high-level explication of Greek texts. The book has been produced with the great care we associate with the series and its editors.’

Donald Mastronarde Source: Bryn Mawr Classical Review

‘Patrick Finglass has produced a second heavyweight Sophoclean commentary with amazing rapidity, but without diminution of scholarly excellence … There are many incisive analyses in the commentary.’

Malcolm Heath Source: Greece and Rome

‘This admirable edition of Sophocles’ Ajax includes detailed and balanced consideration of most aspects of the play … This is a valuable and enjoyable new edition of an important play.’

David Carter Source: Mnemosyne

‘Scholars who have profited from the impressive learning and uncommon good sense displayed in Finglass’s 2007 commentary on Sophocles’ Electra will find his new Ajax, in the same series, equally satisfying … The text of the play is expertly edited and beautifully printed … One is almost never left feeling that more could have been said or that some aspect of the text has been ignored … There is little of substance to criticize, and much of value to learn, in the pages of this formidable volume.’

David Sansone Source: New England Classical Journal

‘Finglass has followed up his fine commentary on Sophocles’ Electra with an impressively thorough and well-informed edition of Sophocles’ Ajax. This is an authoritative and provocative piece of work … He shows a keen dramatic and literary sensibility on issues of interpretation, in each scene and line. Particularly welcome is his attention to practical details of staging, and awareness of the difference that details of staging may make to the effect of a scene … There is no disputing the enormity of his achievement. This will be the definitive English edition of the Ajax for a long time to come.’

Emily Wilson Source: Classical Review

‘This is an outstanding piece of scholarship … Scholars and students should be grateful to Finglass for this invaluable book … This commentary will stand as a milestone of Sophoclean scholarship for decades to come.’

Marco Catrambone Source: Journal of Hellenic Studies