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SophoclesPhiloctetes
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Lines 730-1472 (Second Episode-Exodos)Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Second Episode Summary
After the chorus sings the Stasimon, the play’s second episode begins as Philoctetes and Neoptolemus come out of the cave and Philoctetes is struck by pain and cries out in agony. He tells Neoptolemus to take his bow to “keep it safe […] until the pain subsides” (37), but asks him first to swear that he will never give it to Odysseus and the other men looking for him. Neoptolemus agrees and takes the bow as Philoctetes continues to cry out in pain, and Neoptolemus assures him that they will not leave without him.
After cursing his pain and begging for death, Philoctetes soon drifts off to sleep, and in a Greek lyrical exchange known as a Kommos, the chorus asks the gods for Philoctetes to sleep peacefully and tells Neoptolemus that he should now take the opportunity to leave with Philoctetes’ bow. Neoptolemus refuses, saying that “the bow/ Is worthless if we sail away without him,” and that “the shame would be on us if we succeeded through treachery” (42).
Third Episode Summary
Philoctetes wakes up and Neoptolemus struggles with what he should do next. He decides to tell Philoctetes of his deception and that he is planning to bring him to Troy, where they both “will lay waste to the plains of Troy” (45). Philoctetes lashes out against Neoptolemus and says he has been betrayed. Neoptolemus expresses sympathy for him, and Philoctetes tells him that he is “not a bad lad, but I think you’ve been trained/ By bad men to come here and act ruthlessly” (48).
Philoctetes asks for his bow back, and as Neoptolemus contemplates what to do, Odysseus enters with his men, calling Neoptolemus a “traitor” for wavering and ordering him to give Odysseus the bow (48). Odysseus tells Philoctetes that Neoptolemus will not give him the bow back and tries to force Philoctetes to go with them to Troy: “This was decreed—you must follow this path,” Odysseus says (49). Philoctetes refuses and threatens to kill himself instead, and Odysseus has his men grab Philoctetes and stop him. Philoctetes delivers a long speech lamenting his situation and calls on the gods to punish the men who have been so cruel to him, saying “to see them annihilated, that would be my cure” (51): “His suffering has not softened his resolve” (51), the chorus tells Odysseus. Odysseus says that he and his men will just go with the bow and leave Philoctetes, and he exits. As Philoctetes begs for his friends to not abandon him, the chorus prepares to leave, but Neoptolemus stops them, saying they can stay with Philoctetes and come to the ship when he sends word.
Philoctetes laments his fate and the chorus chides him in a second Kommos passage, saying that Philoctetes “cursed yourself” and “had your chance/ To make the prudent choice” by agreeing to go to Troy (53): “It is destiny, heaven-sent destiny,/ Not a trick” (54), the chorus tells Philoctetes about the plot to send him to Troy. Feeling abandoned after finding out it was always their plan to bring him to Troy, Philoctetes tells them to leave him and they begin to do so, when he begs them to stay. Philoctetes’ foot pain “rises up” and he gets upset, and asks the chorus to give him a weapon like a sword or an axe, so that he can “hack up this body, limb by limb!” (57).
Exodos Summary
The play’s final scene, the Exodos, starts as Neoptolemus and Odysseus enter and Neoptolemus tells Odysseus he “need[s] to put right what I did wrong” by returning the bow to Philoctetes (58). Odysseus argues with him, and threatens to have the Greek army fight Neoptolemus if he disobeys him by giving back the bow: “I will inform/ The army of this, and they will deal with you” (61), Odysseus tells Neoptolemus. Odysseus exits and Neoptolemus gives Philoctetes back his bow, insisting that his actions are not another act of trickery. As he gives the bow back, Odysseus reenters, saying, “I will not allow this” (63) and that he will take Philoctetes back to Troy by force. Philoctetes responds by aiming his bow at Odysseus, but Neoptolemus stops him, saying it “would not be honorable for either of us” (64).
Odysseus exits, “fleeing for his life” (64), and Philoctetes recognizes that Neoptolemus is honorable for giving back the bow: “You have shown your true nature, my boy,/ […] You are the son of Achilles” (64), he tells Neoptolemus. Neoptolemus thanks Philoctetes, but tells him that he still believes Philoctetes should go to Troy, as their allies in Troy “will treat you and administer a cure” for his foot pain and he will win “unparalleled fame” (65). Philoctetes still resists, saying that he “wonder[s] […] about your motives” for wanting to take him to Troy (66), and requesting again that Neoptolemus take him home.
The two continue to argue, and when Philoctetes once again insists, “You said you’d take me home. Fulfill your oath” (68), Neoptolemus acquiesces: “If that is what you want, we will go” (68), he says. The two are preparing to leave when the demigod Heracles, who was friends with Philoctetes and bestowed the bow on him, enters and tells him not to go home “until you have heard my words” (69). Heracles urges Philoctetes to go to Troy to “be cured of this vicious wound” and “then as the army’s champion,/ kill Paris, cause of the harm, with my bow” (69-70). After he wins in battle, he tells Philoctetes to make an offering at his pyre “in recompense for my bow” (70).
Addressing Neoptolemus, Heracles tells the soldier that “you will not take Troy without [Philoctetes],/ Nor he without you” (70). Heracles says that the men must “protect each other” and warns that when they’re in battle, Neoptolemus must “show true respect for the things of the gods” (70): “Reverence does not die when men do;/ In life as in death it is immortal” (70). A note in the text points out that this statement would have added meaning for Greek audiences, as Neoptolemus was well known for savagely killing Priam, the King of Troy, at the altar of Zeus, thus defying this warning.
Philoctetes vows to listen to Heracles, saying, “I will not go against your word” (70); Neoptolemus also consents. Heracles tells them not to delay and exits, and Philoctetes bids farewell to Lemnos: “A friend’s good thoughts and the invincible/ Demigod brought fulfillment” (71), he says. The two men exit and the chorus prays to the gods “to send us safely on this voyage” as they all travel before exiting (71).
Lines 730-1472 (Second Episode-Exodos) Analysis
The second half of the play both dismantles and accomplishes the action set forth in the first, as Neoptolemus breaks with Odysseus’ plan before the prophecy wins out in the end, persuading Philoctetes to go to Troy. While Philoctetes and Odysseus’ characters remain mostly the same in this act—Odysseus still believes in the power of persuasion through deception, and Philoctetes remains stubborn in his sense of self-determination until the very end—Neoptolemus becomes a more nuanced character here, as the sense of honor and morality that is only referenced in the first act is shown here in action. Neoptolemus’ decision to give back the bow reinforces that despite his deception, he is actually honorable and moral at heart. Even when Neoptolemus is refusing the bow, though, Philoctetes never seems to believe that Neoptolemus is inherently wicked or deceitful.
Yet it is left ambiguous whether Neoptolemus is as good as his actions suggest. As scholars have pointed out, Neoptolemus’ seeming agreement to bring Philoctetes home rather than to Troy does not explicitly say he will be bringing him home, leaving open the possibility that Neoptolemus is still intending to trick him and bring him to Troy under the guise of sailing to Lemnos. This less-charitable interpretation also leaves the possibility open that Neoptolemus was actually deceiving Philoctetes again by giving him his bow back, doing so in order to once again gain his trust and get him on a ship to Troy under false pretenses. This struggle between glory through deception and virtue is ongoing throughout the play, and though Sophocles appears to resolve it by giving back the bow, the debate is ultimately left open-ended. Compounding this sense of distrust in Neoptolemus is the character’s subsequent actions after the play, which would be well known to Greek audiences, in which he acted dishonorably by killing the King of Troy at the altar of Zeus.
The importance of fate and following the prophecy is emphasized even further here, particularly as Neoptolemus appeals to it to persuade Philoctetes to go to Troy with him even after giving back the bow: “Mortals must accept whatever the gods give” (64), Neoptolemus tells Philoctetes. That Philoctetes resists the prophecy, Neoptolemus says, has caused his “self-inflicted misery,” and resisting the gods means “no one will ever feel remorse or pity” (64). This sentiment is echoed by the chorus, who, after showing sympathy and friendship for Philoctetes in the first half, here prove themselves to be firmly on the side of the Greek army: “You cursed yourself,/ You poor, deluded man” (53), they tell Philoctetes.
Ultimately, the importance of fate and prophecy is emphasized through the play’s deus ex machina ending, as the demigod Heracles appears and tells Philoctetes that he must follow the prophecy. This ending is convenient for the plot, allowing Philoctetes to be quickly persuaded to follow the prophecy in its final moments, and provides a last-minute surprising plot twist. It also reinforces the show’s themes, showing both the importance of fate and following the gods and the importance of friendship, as it is ultimately his long history and closeness with Heracles that inspires Philoctetes to finally go to Troy.
As with Neoptolemus’ motives, though, it’s also left somewhat ambiguous whether the ending, too, is a final act of trickery. Greek dramas were typically performed using only three actors, meaning that the actor who portrayed Odysseus likely would have also portrayed Heracles. Because of this, it’s left up to interpretation whether Heracles’ appearance is actually made by the demigod himself, or if it’s meant to be Odysseus in disguise, making one final effort to deceive Philoctetes in order to succeed in his mission.
Despite Philoctetes’ status as a Greek tragedy, it ends on a seemingly positive note, as the mission has been accomplished and they all sail off contented to Troy, fulfilled and with victory seemingly imminent. The play’s status as a tragedy is instead reflected through the outsized emotions demonstrated in the play, particularly Philoctetes’ tremendous trauma and suffering. While the ending seems to be happy, it is also tinged with a sense of impending doom, as though the Greeks will win at Troy, the process of getting there will be a terrible bloodbath. The play’s status as a tragedy also raises the question of whether the characters have actually improved as people over the course of the play: Neoptolemus has freely betrayed his moral code to act deceptively; Philoctetes hasn’t actually become more trusting or less stubborn, just willing to listen to a demigod; and Odysseus has consistently acted deceptively and cruelly in service of his mission. Though the play ends on a positive note, Philoctetes still brings up a lot of negativity that never gets truly resolved—and, history shows, will soon get even worse.
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