39 pages • 1 hour read
SophoclesPhiloctetes
Fiction | Play | AdultA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Philoctetes’ Bow
One of the central symbols of Philoctetes is Philoctetes’ powerful bow, which was given to him by the demigod Heracles after Philoctetes lit his funeral pyre. Its demigod origins and extraordinary properties help the bow to represent power and strength. As the prophesied key to the Greek army winning at Troy, Neoptolemus and Odysseus also view the bow as representing their eventual victory and glory.
To Philoctetes, however, the bow represents survival, as the power his bow gives him has been the thing keeping him alive as he’s been stranded on the island of Lemnos: “By stealing my bow,/ You take away my means to survive” (46), Philoctetes tells Neoptolemus. Philoctetes’ initial decision to hand Neoptolemus the bow while he sleeps, expecting him to return it, is also a symbolic act, as it illustrates Philoctetes’ trust in Neoptolemus and their friendship. Neoptolemus’ subsequent withholding of the bow signifies his betrayal and deception of Philoctetes, while his later decision to bring the bow back and return it to Philoctetes represents the warrior’s ultimate sense of honor and morality, despite his initial trickery.
Deception and Disguise
Deception and disguise are recurring motifs throughout the entirety of Philoctetes, as the plot is based on Odysseus’ need to persuade Philoctetes through deception and trickery to come back with him to Troy. Odysseus is deceptive through his use of getting Neoptolemus to do his bidding, urging him to “maneuver the mind/ Of Philoctetes and deceive him with beguiling words” (6). Neoptolemus then engages in deception and trickery himself, as he lies to Philoctetes about his lack of allegiance to the Greek army in order to gain his trust and possession of his bow.
The play also portrays deception through disguise, such as when a trader appears to tell Philoctetes of the prophecy. As Odysseus tells Neoptolemus at the start of the play, this is Neoptolemus’ sentry in disguise: “If I think you are taking too long,/ I’ll send him back disguised/ As the master of a trading vessel” (9-10), Odysseus says. Heracles’ appearance at the end of the play, the textual notes suggest, is thought to potentially be Odysseus in disguise; Greek plays of the time only used three actors, making it likely that the actor playing Odysseus would also be playing Heracles, and it is open to interpretation whether Heracles is the demigod himself or Odysseus engaging in a final act of deception.
The Prophecy
The recurring motif of the prophecy, which predicts that Neoptolemus and the Greeks will win at Troy only with the help of Philoctetes and his bow, guides much of the action of the play. It is what inspires Odysseus to go to Lemnos, and why Neoptolemus is persuaded to engage in deception and trickery despite his strong moral character. When Odysseus tells Neoptolemus that according to the prophecy, he can only “take Troy” with Philoctetes’ bow—“Neither you without the bow, nor the bow without you,” Odysseus says—Neoptolemus responds, “Then if that’s the way it’s to be, I should hunt him down” (9). The prophecy motif also enables the play’s conclusion, as Heracles persuades Philoctetes to go to Troy by telling him it’s prophesied that he will be a victor at Troy and his wound will be healed.
Rhetoric
Another recurring motif in the play is the use of rhetoric and speech to achieve characters’ goals, rather than direct action. Odysseus tells Neoptolemus that his mission is to persuade Philoctetes through “beguiling words” (6), and Neoptolemus’ befriending of Philoctetes, and the wrestling over whether he will come to Troy, is largely done through language and verbal argument rather than force or performed actions. (The exception being the decision to take, and subsequently give back, Philoctetes’ bow.) The importance of language to the show’s plot is indicative of the outsized role of rhetoric in ancient Greece, where it was widely taught by Sophists and was seen as a key part of the society’s democracy and politics.
Related Titles
By Sophocles
