Telamon and Periboea of Megara were the parents of Ajax, the mightiest Greek warrior after Achilles. Ajax inherited his father's kingdom of Salamis and sailed from there to Troy.
Ajax took the Phrygian princess Tecmessa as his captive concubine after killing her father. She bore him a son, Eurysaces, named for Ajax's famous broad shield.
Ajax and Achilles were first cousins through their grandfather Aeacus and the two greatest Greek warriors at Troy. Ajax carried Achilles's body from the battlefield after his death.
Ajax and Diomedes fought together at Troy. In Iliad Book 23, they wrestled to a draw in the funeral games for Patroclus, and they jointly raided the Trojan camp in several traditions.
Ajax and Menelaus jointly defended the body of Patroclus in Iliad Book 17, holding off the Trojans in a desperate rearguard action until the corpse could be carried to safety.
Ajax and Odysseus fought together at Troy and jointly recovered Achilles's body. Their alliance fractured when Odysseus won the Judgment of Arms, driving Ajax to madness and suicide.
Ajax and Teucer fought as a legendary pair at Troy — Teucer shot arrows from behind Ajax's massive tower shield, then ducked back to safety like a child sheltering behind its mother, as Homer describes in the Iliad.
Ajax and Hector fought a famous single combat in the Iliad, ending in a draw and exchange of gifts.
In the Odyssey, when Odysseus visits the underworld, Ajax's shade refuses to speak to him, still bitter over the Judgment of Arms. It is the only time a shade in Hades turns away in silence.
In post-Homeric tradition, Ajax killed Glaucus during the final stages of the Trojan War, striking down the Lycian commander who had been one of Troy's staunchest defenders.
Athena struck Ajax with madness after the Judgment of Arms, turning his sword against sheep and cattle instead of the Greek chiefs he meant to murder. When sanity returned at dawn, the shame of it destroyed him.
Ajax led the defence of Patroclus's body after Hector killed him in Iliad Book 17. Ajax drove Hector back with a massive stone, then shielded the corpse while it was carried to the Greek camp.
In Pindar's Isthmian 6, Heracles visited Telamon and prayed to Zeus for a brave son. When an eagle appeared as omen, Heracles named the unborn child Ajax (Aias) after the eagle (aietos) and wrapped him in his lion-skin.
⚠ Apollodorus attributes the naming and eagle-omen to Telamon's own prayer to Zeus, without Heracles's involvement.
Ajax was one of the ambassadors Nestor selected for the embassy to Achilles in Iliad Book 9. Both served as senior Greek warriors throughout the Trojan War.
In the Little Iliad, Podalirius recognized the signs of Ajax's madness before his suicide, diagnosing his disturbed state when no other Greek understood what was happening.
Telamon prayed to Zeus for a strong son, and Zeus sent an eagle as an omen. Telamon named his son Ajax (Aias) after the eagle (aietos). Ajax grew to become the greatest Greek warrior at Troy after Achilles.
⚠ Pindar's Isthmian 6 attributes the naming and eagle-omen to Heracles visiting Telamon, rather than Telamon praying alone.
Ajax fought throughout the ten-year Trojan War as the Greeks' defensive anchor. He defended the ships from Hector's assault, recovered Achilles's body, and contested the Judgment of Arms before his death.
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