Decisions, Obligation, and the Greater Good Theme Analysis

Throughout Sophocles’s Philoctetes, both Philoctetes and Neoptolemus are faced with difficult decisions and extreme consequences. After Philoctetes was bitten by a snake and a festering, putrid wound developed, Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, along with a fleet of Greek warriors, marooned Philoctetes on a deserted island. Now, Philoctetes is expected to help the same men who abandoned him by going with the Greek army to Troy to sack the city and finally win the Trojan War. Prophecy states that Heracles’s legendary bow and arrows, which now belong to Philoctetes, will guarantee a Greek victory; however, in his deep hatred for Odysseus and the Greek army, Philoctetes is not inclined to help them. Neoptolemus, the Greek warrior enlisted by Odysseus to deceive Philoctetes and trick him into going to Troy, likewise struggles with the decision to abandon his morals and deceive an unwitting man. Neoptolemus is not deceitful or malicious by nature, and he is reluctant to lure Philoctetes to Troy using dishonesty, but Neoptolemus knows that if he does not do what is expected of him, he will be severely punished by Odysseus and the army. With the difficult decision-making portrayed in Philoctetes, Sophocles effectively argues that people often grapple with balancing their own desires against what is best for the greater good of society, and he ultimately argues that the struggle is a lose-lose situation, as there is likely to be some sacrifice involved in either choice.       

Philoctetes adamantly refuses to go to Troy and help the Greeks win the war, and instead chooses to honor his grudge and selfish desires over the needs of the Greeks. While Sophocles implies that Philoctetes has definitely been mistreated by the Greeks and has every right to hold a grudge, it would be nobler of him if he pushed beyond his hatred to help the Greeks at large, who have nothing to do with his hatred for Odysseus. When the Greek sailor approaches Philoctetes and Neoptolemus disguised as a merchant and tells Philoctetes of Odysseus’s plan to force him to Troy, Philoctetes can’t be persuaded. “I’d rather obey my bitterest foe, / The deadly snake which turned me into a cripple,” Philoctetes says. His hate for Odysseus is so strong, Philoctetes cannot bring himself to fight on his behalf, even if it is necessary to win the war. As the chorus, made up of Greek sailors, tries to encourage Philoctetes to go to Troy for his own good, Philoctetes refuses. “I’ll never agree to it, never, believe me,” Philoctetes says, “Not if the lord of the fire and the lightning / Comes to set me ablaze with his thunderbolts!” In other words, not even Zeus himself, the king of the Olympian gods, can force Philoctetes to Troy with his powerful thunderbolt. Even after Neoptolemus tells Philoctetes that Helenus, the prophet, has said his wound will be healed if he goes to Troy, Philoctetes still won’t agree. “To hell with you all,” Philoctetes says to Neoptolemus, “The Atridae first, then with Laertes’s son, / And finally you!” Philoctetes will not fight for Menelaus or Agamemnon, the brother kings of Greece, nor will he fight for Odysseus or Neoptolemus. He stubbornly chooses to endanger all of the Greeks to satisfy his own selfish need to hold a grudge.

Neoptolemus, too, decides to act on behalf of his personal moral compass instead of acting in the best interest of the Greeks. Sophocles suggests that Neoptolemus’s desire to remain true to his morals is commendable, but as with Philoctetes’s grudge, Sophocles implies it would be nobler if Neoptolemus instead acted on behalf of the greater good. After Neoptolemus gains Philoctetes’s trust and wins possession of the bow and arrows under false pretenses, he decides to return the weapon to its rightful owner, regardless of the risk to the Greeks and their cause. He believes they have obtained the bow “in vain” and that “shame and disgrace” are sure to follow. Again, Neoptolemus’s decisions are guided by his desire to uphold his own beliefs, not what is best for the Greeks. As Neoptolemus admits his deception to Philoctetes, he refers to himself as “base” and is convinced all of Greece will consider him low as well. “The thought’s been dogging me all along,” Neoptolemus admits. He is so ashamed of his dishonesty, he can’t go on with Odysseus’s plan. After Neoptolemus tells Odysseus that he can no longer be part of his deception and is giving back the bow and arrow, Odysseus reminds Neoptolemus that the Greek army will seek vengeance for his leniency. “Aren’t you afraid of the Greeks?” Odysseus asks. “I’m not, with right on my side,” Neoptolemus answers. Neoptolemus is more worried about satisfying his obligation to himself and his morals than he is about satisfying his obligation to the Greeks. While Sophocles certainly implies that deception is never ethical, he also suggests that Neoptolemus has an obligation to find some way to get Philoctetes to Troy for the good of the Greeks; after all, the entire war depends on him.   

Philoctetes convinces Neoptolemus to take him home to Greece instead of forcing him to go to Troy to fight in the war, despite the danger this choice poses to both Neoptolemus and Philoctetes. If Neoptolemus refuses to follow Odysseus’s orders and instead helps Philoctetes to go home, Neoptolemus will likely be killed for neglecting his duty as a soldier. At the close of the play, just as Philoctetes and Neoptolemus leave the island to head back to Greece, Heracles appears and stops them on behalf of Zeus. He claims that Philoctetes’s wound will be healed and both Philoctetes and Neoptolemus will forever be regarded as heroes if they go to Troy. Philoctetes and Neoptolemus both agree immediately and make their way toward the ship headed for Troy. Without the sudden and fortuitous appearance of Heracles, both Neoptolemus and Philoctetes would have neglected their duty to the Greeks, which would have led to disastrous consequence for everyone involved. In this vein, Sophocles implies that one has an obligation to the greater good, such as one’s country and gods, before one’s self, even though sacrificing one’s own interests is challenging.