Sophocles’ Philoctetes: Disease and Needs in the Body Politic

• In Event: Duty and Care in Human Development

Abstract

Often interpreted as a dramatization of the tension between individual and group needs, Sophocles’ Philoctetes retells the story of the Thessalian archer who was the only hero willing to end Heracles’ mortal suffering. For this great favor, Philoctetes inherited Heracles’ bow. Accompanying the Greek army on its way to Troy, Philoctetes develops a festering wound and is abandoned on a deserted island. The Greek army returns to retrieve him only after learning that Heracles’ bow is required to defeat Troy. In his most wily appearance, Odysseus attempts to convince Achilles’ son Neoptolemus first to lie, and then to steal, the bow when Philoctetes is incapacitated with pain. Recognizing the injustice of such actions, Neoptolemus defies the will of the Greek army and agrees to take Philoctetes home. The now divine Heracles arrives deus ex machina to save the day by convincing Philoctetes to accompany the Greeks to victory in Troy. Focusing on how disease illuminates the tension between the public and private, this paper explores the idea of obligation of care and reveals that individual and group needs are not contradictory, but interconnected and unified. The final part of the paper applies Sophocles’ lessons to the contemporary political debates arising from the Covid-19 crises, such as mask wearing, social distancing, and mandatory quarantines.

Author

• Marlene K. Sokolon, Concordia University