Philoctetes (translation)

Almost one of the all-time great dramatizations of the wounded heart and psyche. Philoctetes is rejected by his fellows for the stinking wound that he incurs committing an act of kindness that no one else will (lighting Heracles’s funeral pyre); he is exiled to an island, Homo sacer, anti-sirene, to writhe alone and scream and hear his screams echo from the cliffs, mocking his solitude, his lost humanity. But then they need him! And he can speak to people again! And then he’s a person again! And he weeps when Neoptolemus finds him and just sits with him for a while. But it's all a trick—sleazy Odysseus wants his mighty bow for the war effort; and while that hurts, it also puts him in the position fantasized about by everyone who show more ever felt alone and unloved: the one who can tell them to fuck off and have them beg him to come back and say a hundred times how sorry they are. But just like in real life, they don’t give any more of a shit than they ever did; rather than beg, they trick him again, hurt him once more, compound his trauma. It’s an unresolvable knot, and the play shows that so well—which is why it’s such a shame when Heracles deus ex machinates in to tell Mr Moral High Ground to fucking get in the boat and go kill Paris already. Cheap, I mean by “a shame.” Probably there’s some Greek drama rule why that ending is better and not worse that Aristotle could explain to us, but Aristotle’s not here right now and so this play gets a perhaps unnecessarily punitive four stars. show less

A rather late play by Sophocles, performed when he was already a sprightly 80-year-old, and perhaps because of that, there are a few loose ends. Philoctetes is a Greek warrior who was part of the army that went to war with Troy, but along the way he sustained a festering wound and was left behind on an island; however, it turns out that now, years later, the Greeks need him after all, for according to an oracle, his bow can force a breakthrough against the Trojans.
The play deals mainly with Odysseus's ruse to get Philoctetes to come along again. Two things stand out. Philoctetes's particularly sharp reproaches directed at the Greek leaders, and especially Agamemnon and Odysseus; naturally, one would be angry for les, after beint left show more completely abandoned on an uninhabited island. In terms of sharpness, the reproaches can rival those of Ajax in the play of the same name, also by Sophocles.
A second striking point: Odysseus is truly portrayed as a villain, a man of cunning and lies, and a brutal power-hungry individual as well. This corresponds to the bad reputation Odysseus held for most of antiquity, with the only, yet notorious, exception being the works of Homer. Sophocles' focus is actually on Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles, whom Odysseus cleverly enlists to bring Philoctetes along. And he is a typical Sophocles protagonist: constantly wavering between integrity, compassion, compliance, vanity, and lust for fame, and so on. This wavering occurs to such an extent that it eventually starts to get on one's nerves, and Sophocles ultimately has to make do with a literal ‘deus ex machina’: Heracles, who comes to resolve everything at the very end.
In my opinion, the central theme of the choice between individual and collective salvation is therefore less effectively conveyed. In terms of content, this play is clearly weaker than *Antigone* and *Oedipus Rex*, but formally it is characterized as particularly dynamic, with many dialogues and arguments, and only very short choral parts. And it is precisely in that dynamism that the historical importance of this play lies; for this, see my review in my History account on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8633585273
Disclaimer: I'm reading and reviewing all classic ancient Greek plays, more or less in chronological order. But I'm not giving a rating. How could I, given their age? I'll make an exception only when a play is exceptional and still strikes an emotional and/or intellectual chord. show less

surprisingly decent. the cavernous atmosphere is palpable, and the dramatic irony is on point. while i understand why he resorted to a deus ex machina, it is lame regardless

A new translation of the old play, this is rendered in modern English, including modern slang. While keeping the basic storyline intact, it loses most of its original poetry. The goal here was plainly to make it more accessible to modern readers who don't want to work too hard at their literature. The ease of reading does not make up for the loss of the ancient sound. The story is another stage in the Trojan war, of a Greek hero left by his shipmates to die of his wounds on a deserted island; now the Greeks want his weapons, which were left with him, and they determine to get them back by deceit or force. A concise telling, not a lot of wasted time, and an interesting legend.

Philoctetes is the story of the moaning hero that Odysseus left on an island but has returned to with Neoptolemus (son of Achilles) to retrieve the bow. In convincing Neoptolemus to take part in his ploy: "I well know, my son, that by nature thou are not apt to utter or contrive such guile; yet, seeing that victory is a sweet prize to gain, bend they will thereto; our honesty shall be shown forth another time. Son of brave sire, time was when I too, in my youth, had a slow tongue and a ready hand: but now, when I come forth to the proof, I see that words, not deeds, are ever the masters among men."

Philoktetes'i okudum. Böylece Sophokles'İn günümüze ulaşan 7 tragedyasının tamamını okumuş oldum.

Philoktetes mitolojide önemli bir figür. Herakles'in dinmeyen acılarını sona erdirmesi karşılığında Herakles tarafından Herakles'in hedefinden şaşmayan yay ve oklarıyla ödüllendirilmiştir. Philoktetes Troya Savaşı'na katılmak için Akhalara katılır ama yolculuk sırasında bir yılan tarafından ısırılır ve feci ıstıraplar çeker. Akhalar Philoktetes'den çığlıklarından ve yarasından akan irin nedeniyle oluşan kokudan bıkıp onu bir adaya bırakıp kaçarlar. Daha sonra bir kahin Philoktetes olmadan Troya'nın fethedilemeyeceğini söyleyince Philoktetes'i adadan getirmek için birilerini show more yollarlar.

Bu kitapta da Akhaların Philoktetes'i savaşa katılması için ikna etmeye çalışmalarını konu alıyor.

Oyun çok güzeldi. Çeviri ve editörlük açısından bir soruna rastlamadım. Herkese tavsiye ederim. show less

This short play did not really do it for me. The themes expressed, as well as the plot and character development, were not to my liking and seemed to be sorely lacking. These reasons are why I give it it's low ranking.

2 stars.