Sophocles’ Philoctetes
Student’s Guide | Classical Reference Library
Richer Resources Editorial Team
About This Guide
In Sophocles’ Philoctetes, a young warrior must choose between following orders and telling the truth. The Greeks need the wounded Philoctetes and his powerful bow to win the Trojan War, but they once abandoned him on an island.
This guide will help you follow the story and consider its questions about honesty, loyalty, suffering, and trust.
Before You Read
The play takes place on Lemnos, an island where Philoctetes has lived alone for years. He suffers from a painful wound caused by a snakebite. The Greek army left him there on its way to Troy.
Philoctetes possesses the bow of the hero Heracles, and a prophecy has made his participation important to the Greek victory.
The play was first performed in Athens in 409 BCE.
The Story at a Glance
Odysseus arrives on Lemnos with Neoptolemus, the young son of Achilles.
Odysseus orders him to trick Philoctetes into trusting him so they can obtain the bow.
Neoptolemus pretends that he, too, has been mistreated by the Greek commanders. Philoctetes believes him and begins to trust him.
During a severe attack of pain, he places the bow in Neoptolemus’s care.
Neoptolemus struggles with the deception and eventually admits the plan. He returns the bow, even though Odysseus objects.
Philoctetes still refuses to go to Troy, and Neoptolemus offers to take him home instead.
Finally, Heracles appears and directs Philoctetes to go to Troy, where he will be healed and help the Greeks achieve victory.
Meet the Characters
Philoctetes — A skilled archer abandoned because of his painful wound. He longs for home and finds it difficult to trust the Greeks.
Neoptolemus — The son of Achilles. He wants to succeed in his mission but becomes troubled by the dishonesty it requires.
Odysseus — An experienced Greek commander who believes deception is justified if it helps win the war.
Heracles — A hero who appears as a divine figure at the end and gives Philoctetes instructions.
Chorus — Sailors accompanying Neoptolemus, who react to Philoctetes’s suffering and the unfolding plan.
Important Themes
Honesty and Deception
Can a lie be justified if it helps achieve an important goal?
Trust and Betrayal
Philoctetes’s willingness to trust Neoptolemus makes the deception especially painful.
Suffering and Abandonment
Philoctetes experiences not only physical pain but also the loneliness of being left behind.
Duty and Conscience
Neoptolemus must decide whether obeying orders is more important than doing what he believes is right.
Power and Independence
Philoctetes’s bow helps him survive; losing it leaves him dependent on others.
What to Notice as You Read
Watch how Neoptolemus speaks about honesty at the beginning and how his actions change.
Notice the difference between what Odysseus says is necessary and what Neoptolemus comes to believe.
Pay attention to Philoctetes’s pain: it affects his ability to act and makes his trust in others especially important.
Think about why the bow matters beyond its usefulness as a weapon.
A Literary Feature: Dramatic Irony
Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something a character does not.
At first, the audience knows Neoptolemus is pretending to be Philoctetes’s friend, while Philoctetes believes the story.
This makes their growing friendship tense: we can see both Philoctetes’s trust and Neoptolemus’s discomfort.
Questions to Think About
- Why does Odysseus want Neoptolemus to deceive Philoctetes?
- Why is Philoctetes willing to trust Neoptolemus?
- What changes Neoptolemus’s mind about the plan?
- Why is returning the bow such an important decision?
- Is Philoctetes right to refuse to go to Troy?
- Does Heracles’s appearance make the earlier deception acceptable? Why or why not?
After You Finish
Consider this question:
When loyalty to a group conflicts with honesty toward an individual, which should come first?
Choose two moments from the play that support your answer. Explain what Neoptolemus risks by changing his mind.
A Final Thought
Philoctetes asks whether winning is enough if the method used to win destroys someone’s trust.
Neoptolemus’s struggle reminds us that doing the right thing may require questioning instructions—even when the goal seems important.
Note to the Reader
This guide accompanies the Richer Resources Publications edition of Sophocles’ Philoctetes, translated by Ian Johnston.
A printable PDF version of this resource is available by email.
