Ajax

Ajax is a young man from the colonial town of Tomis. He is both provincial and immature, but he has the spark of greatness—the spark that Greeks thought was god-given, or even suggested descent from a god.

Tomis was a small town founded in the late 7^th or early 6^th century BC, probably by Greeks, although the 6^th century AD historian Jordanes claimed that the town was founded by Queen Tomyris of the Massagetae after her victory over Cyrus the Great. Modern historians suspect that the town was founded by the Getae to trade with the Greek cities on the Black Sea, and taken over by Greeks, possibly from Heraclea. Ancient Tomis has become modern Constanta, the largest port on the Black Sea.

Ajax’s father is Isokles, a native of the town, and his sister is Penelope. Many Greek parents named their children after characters in Homer, and I felt free to use those familiar Homeric names in my books to alleviate the confusion of Greek names.

Greeks of the Euxine were very rich compared to their counterparts at home, at least in the mercantile classes. However, Greece, and Attica, continued to be the home of culture and learning, and a young man of Ajax’s age would probably be sent to Athens or Corinth or Thebes (or even Sparta) for finishing. In addition, the cities of the Euxine usually avoided conflict with their neighbors (although not always) and opportunities to test oneself in combat were probably fewer than in Greece. Isokles has no intention that his son follow a career in arms, but he wants him to understand war before he goes back to the family grain trade.