Sophocles’ Ajax
Quiz and Answer Key | Classical Reference Library
Richer Resources Editorial Team
Introduction
This assessment helps students demonstrate their understanding of the plot, characters, themes, and dramatic structure of Sophocles’ Ajax.
The quiz includes 15 multiple-choice questions, five short-answer questions, and two extended-response options from which students select one.
The assessment is organized into three parts:
- Part I: Multiple-Choice Questions — 15 questions
- Part II: Short-Answer Questions — 5 questions
- Part III: Extended Response — Choose one of two prompts
Students should answer using the translation assigned for their course. References to specific passages are encouraged, but fixed line numbers are not required because translations differ.
A printable student quiz is available separately from the teacher’s answer key, which contains the correct answers, suggested written responses, and assessment guidance.
Student Quiz
Name: ___________________________________________________________________________________
Class: ___________________________________________________________________________________
Date: __________________________
Part I. Multiple-Choice Questions
Choose the best answer for each question.
1. Why is Ajax angry at the beginning of the play?
A. He has been ordered to leave Troy.
B. Achilles’ armor has been awarded to Odysseus.
C. His brother has betrayed him.
D. The Greek army has refused to fight.
2. What does Athena cause Ajax to do?
A. Forget the Trojan War entirely.
B. Surrender to the Trojans.
C. Attack livestock while believing he is attacking his enemies.
D. Destroy the Greek ships.
3. How does Odysseus respond when he witnesses Ajax’s humiliation?
A. He celebrates his rival’s disgrace.
B. He demands that Ajax be executed.
C. He expresses pity and recognizes human vulnerability.
D. He refuses to believe Athena.
4. Who is Tecmessa?
A. A priestess of Athena.
B. Ajax’s partner and the mother of his son.
C. The wife of Agamemnon.
D. A Trojan messenger.
5. What is Tecmessa’s principal concern when she appeals to Ajax?
A. Winning Achilles’ armor.
B. Returning immediately to Troy.
C. Protecting herself and Eurysaces from an uncertain future.
D. Persuading Ajax to challenge Odysseus again.
6. What does Ajax fear about returning home?
A. That his father will regard him as disgraced.
B. That the Greeks will refuse to recognize him.
C. That he will be required to become king.
D. That his son will inherit Achilles’ armor.
7. Who forms the Chorus in Ajax?
A. Trojan prisoners.
B. Greek commanders.
C. Sailors from Salamis serving under Ajax.
D. Priests of Apollo.
8. What makes Ajax’s apparent change-of-mind speech difficult to interpret?
A. The speech is delivered by another character.
B. Ajax seems to accept the need to yield, but his later actions complicate that appearance.
C. Athena interrupts the speech.
D. The speech contains no reference to his circumstances.
9. What warning does the Messenger bring?
A. That Odysseus has left the Greek camp.
B. That the Trojans are approaching the tents.
C. That Ajax must be protected during a dangerous period identified by Calchas.
D. That Achilles has returned.
10. Who becomes Ajax’s principal defender in the burial dispute?
A. Teucer.
B. Athena.
C. Achilles.
D. Telamon.
11. Why does Menelaus oppose Ajax’s burial?
A. He believes Ajax was never a capable warrior.
B. He believes Ajax’s hostility toward the commanders warrants punishment and that military authority must be upheld.
C. He has promised the Trojans Ajax’s body.
D. He believes only kings may receive burial.
12. What is Odysseus’s position in the burial dispute?
A. Ajax should be denied burial permanently.
B. The decision should be left to Athena.
C. Ajax should receive burial despite his hostility toward Odysseus.
D. Ajax should be buried only if Teucer leaves the army.
13. Which theme is most clearly illustrated by Odysseus’s defense of Ajax?
A. The superiority of physical strength.
B. Compassion and justice beyond personal rivalry.
C. The necessity of revenge.
D. The importance of military prizes.
14. Why is the second half of the play important?
A. It recounts the entire Trojan War.
B. It introduces Achilles as a new protagonist.
C. It examines how the living should treat Ajax after his death.
D. It reveals that Ajax was never a Greek warrior.
15. Which statement best describes the tragedy’s treatment of Ajax?
A. Ajax is presented as entirely without admirable qualities.
B. Ajax’s actions are excused because he is a great warrior.
C. Ajax is portrayed as both distinguished and deeply limited in his judgment.
D. Ajax is unimportant once Odysseus appears.
Part II. Short-Answer Questions
Answer each question in three to five complete sentences. Support your responses with details from the play.
16. Explain why losing Achilles’ armor is so devastating to Ajax. What does the award represent to him?
17. How does Tecmessa’s understanding of responsibility differ from Ajax’s understanding of honor?
18. Why is Odysseus’s response to Ajax in the opening scene important to the play’s larger meaning?
19. Explain the disagreement between Teucer and the Greek commanders over Ajax’s burial.
20. Why does Sophocles continue the play after Ajax’s death? Identify one important question raised by the second half.
Part III. Extended Response
Choose ONE of the following prompts. Write a well-organized response using specific evidence from the play.
Option A. Two Understandings of Heroism
Compare Ajax and Odysseus as models of heroic conduct.
Consider their responses to honor, humiliation, enemies, and responsibility. Does Sophocles suggest that true greatness requires qualities beyond military courage?
Develop a clear argument supported by specific scenes or passages.
Option B. Authority and Justice
Analyze the dispute over Ajax’s burial.
Explain the arguments of Teucer, Menelaus or Agamemnon, and Odysseus. What does the dispute suggest about the relationship between authority, punishment, and justice?
Develop a clear argument supported by specific scenes or passages.
Preparing Strong Written Responses
A successful literary response should demonstrate accurate understanding of the play and explain the reasoning behind its interpretation.
When answering the short-answer and extended-response questions:
- Address the question directly.
- Support your interpretation with relevant events, speeches, or character interactions.
- Explain how your evidence supports your argument.
- Consider competing perspectives when appropriate.
- Use the wording and line numbering of your assigned translation when referring to specific passages.
Note to the Educator
The quiz may be administered as a complete assessment or divided into shorter classroom exercises. The teacher’s answer key is provided as a separate document and should be retained for instructional use rather than distributed with the student assessment. Evaluate written responses for accurate textual understanding, reasoned interpretation, and appropriate supporting evidence. Approach discussion of Ajax’s death sensitively, without presenting suicide as an honorable or inevitable response to humiliation.
A printable PDF version of this resource is available by email.
