Editing Trojan War (section)

====Judgment of Arms====
[[File:Exekias Suicide d Ajax 01.jpg|thumb|The suicide of Ajax depicted on [[Pottery of ancient Greece|Greek pottery]] by [[Exekias]], now on display at the {{lang|fr|italic=no|Château-musée de [[Boulogne-sur-Mer]]}}]]
A great battle raged around the dead Achilles. Ajax held back the Trojans, while Odysseus carried the body away.<ref>Argument of Sophocles' ''Ajax''</ref> When Achilles' armour was offered to the smartest warrior, the two that had saved his body came forward as competitors. Agamemnon, unwilling to undertake the invidious duty of deciding between the two competitors, referred the dispute to the decision of the Trojan prisoners, inquiring of them which of the two heroes had done most harm to the Trojans.<ref>Scholiast on Homer's ''Odyssey'' λ.547.</ref> Alternatively, the Trojans and Pallas Athena were the judges<ref>Homer, ''Odyssey'' λ 542.</ref><ref name=PC3LI>Proclus, ''Chrestomathy'' 3, ''Little Iliad''.</ref> in that, following Nestor's advice, spies were sent to the walls to overhear what was said. A girl said that Ajax was braver:

{{poemquote|For Aias took up and carried out of the strife the hero, Peleus'
son: this great Odysseus cared not to do.
To this another replied by Athena's contrivance:
Why, what is this you say? A thing against reason and untrue!
Even a woman could carry a load once a man had put it on her
shoulder; but she could not fight. For she would fail with fear
if she should fight.|Scholiast on Aristophanes, Knights 1056 and Aristophanes ib)}}

According to [[Pindar]], the decision was made by secret ballot among the Achaeans.<ref>Pindar, ''Nemean Odes'' 8.46(25).</ref> In all story versions, the arms were awarded to Odysseus. Driven mad with grief, Ajax desired to kill his comrades, but Athena caused him to mistake for the Achaean warriors the cattle and their herdsmen.<ref>Apollodorus, ''Epitome'' 5.6.</ref> In his frenzy he scourged two rams, believing them to be Agamemnon and Menelaus.<ref>Zenobius, ''Cent.'' i.43.</ref> In the morning, he came to his senses and killed himself by jumping on the sword that had been given to him by Hector, so that it pierced his armpit, his only vulnerable part.<ref>Sophocles, ''Ajax'' 42, 277, 852.</ref> According to an older tradition, he was killed by the Trojans who, seeing he was invulnerable, attacked him with clay until he was covered by it and could no longer move, thus dying of starvation.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}