Philoctetes

hero

Φιλοκτήτης

Archer abandoned on Lemnos

Philoctetes inherited Heracles' bow and was essential to Troy's fall, yet the Greeks abandoned him for ten years because of a festering wound.

The Myth

Bitten by a serpent, his wound stank so horribly the Greeks left him on Lemnos. Ten years later, a prophecy revealed Troy needed Heracles' bow. Sophocles' play explores whether it's right to manipulate a suffering man for the greater good.

Parents

Poeas

Children

None recorded

Symbols

bow of Heraclesfestering woundserpent biteLemnos

Fun Fact

Edmund Wilson named his famous essay on the artist's wound after this hero.