Chorus Character Analysis in Philoctetes

The chorus is a group of Greek sailors under the command of Odysseus. The chorus largely functions to advance and enrich the plot, and they are exceedingly sympathetic to Philoctetes’s pain and suffering; however, the chorus also serves to underscore Philoctetes’s isolation. Sophocles’s contemporaries, Aeschylus and Euripides, both wrote plays about the myth of Philoctetes, but the chorus in their plays consisted of native Lemnians, not Greek sailors. With his chorus of Greek sailors, Sophocles is able to portray the island Lemnos as completely deserted and Philoctetes as utterly alone.

Chorus Quotes in Philoctetes

The Philoctetes quotes below are all either spoken by Chorus or refer to Chorus. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Disability and Discrimination Theme Icon

His dreadful fate’s no wonder to me.
If I have an inkling, his sufferings first
Were sent by the gods, when he entered the shrine
Of cruel Chryse, who dealt him his wound.
So what he endures now, far from his friends.
Must also be due to the will of some god:
He may not aim those god-given shafts,
Which none can resist, at the towers of Troy,
Till the time has come when the prophet declares
Those arrows will prove her destruction.

Related Characters: Neoptolemus (speaker), Chorus, Philoctetes, Chryse

Related Symbols: Philoctetes’s Wound , Philoctetes’s Bow and Arrows

Page Number and Citation: 210

Explanation and Analysis:

This quote appears as Neoptolemus explains to the chorus the cause of Philoctetes’s pain and suffering, and it is important because it portrays Philoctetes as an innocent victim whose suffering has been ordered by the gods, which makes the discrimination against him all the worse. Here, Neoptolemus claims that Philoctetes entered the shrine of Chryse, which is famously guarded by a snake. Philoctetes meant no disrespect and didn’t even know he was trespassing, but it was decided by “cruel” Chryse that Philoctetes should suffer. As Philoctetes’s suffering has been ordered by the gods, it seems even more unfair that the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempor

You only have yourself to blame, unhappy man.
Nothing has struck you with force irresistible.
Where was your better judgement?
Fate would have been kinder, but you
Chose to accept a worse life.

Related Characters: Chorus (speaker), Philoctetes

Page Number and Citation: 242

Explanation and Analysis:

This passage occurs after Philoctetes has refused to go to Troy, even though his wound will be healed if he does. It is important because it implies that Philoctetes no longer deserves any sympathy because he has now chosen to stay on Lemnos and suffer. As the chorus says, “nothing has struck [Philoctetes] with force irresistible,” and he has an unprecedented opportunity to ease his discomfort. However, to do so would mean letting go of his hatred for Atreus’s sons and Odysseus and fighting for the Greek army, and Philoctetes can’t bring himself to do that. The chorus also implies Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos.

True men always will plead their causes justly.
Yet once they’ve spoken, they say no more.
Curb their spite and withdraw their sting.
Our young master was chosen.
Under Odysseus’ orders he came.
Helping friends and doing his public duty.

Related Characters: Chorus (speaker), Neoptolemus, Philoctetes, Odysseus

Page Number and Citation: 243

Explanation and Analysis:

This passage occurs as the Chorus defends Neoptolemus’s decision to deceive Philoctetes, and it is significant because it further implies that Philoctetes is behaving foolishly by staying on the island. It also highlights Neoptolemus’s obligation to Odysseus and the Greek army. The chorus is not excusing Philoctetes’s ill treatment at the hands of Atreus’s sons and Odysseus. On the contrary, they claim a “true” man, or a good man, will always “plead their causes justly,” or speak up when something is wrong, but according to the chorus, once one has made their feelings known, “they say no more.” In this Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint ape

Chorus Character Timeline in Philoctetes

The timeline below shows where the character Chorus appears in Philoctetes. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

The chorus, a group of Greek sailors, arrives and asks Neoptolemus for their orders. He tells the... (full context)

The chorus laments Philoctetes’s miserable plight. Philoctetes is all alone without anyone to care for him, and... (full context)

Neoptolemus informs the chorus that Philoctetes’s suffering has been ordered by the gods. Philoctetes was bitten by a poisonous... (full context)

Philoctetes approaches his cave and the strange sailors, and he immediately asks the chorus and Neoptolemus who they are and why they are there. Lemnos doesn’t have a harbor,... (full context)

Neoptolemus confirms that he and the chorus are indeed Greeks, and Philoctetes, excited to hear this, asks them why they have come... (full context)

Philoctetes is distraught. The gods must despise him, Philoctetes says to Neoptolemus and the chorus, if no word or rumors of him have reached the Greeks. Philoctetes tells the men... (full context)

When Philoctetes woke and found himself alone on Lemnos, he tells Neoptolemus and the chorus, he was devastated. He had cried when he saw the Greek ship sailing away toward... (full context)

No one comes to Lemnos because they want to, Philoctetes tells Neoptolemus and the chorus. Only if they are “forced,” he says. There have been a few people over the... (full context)

The chorus implores Neoptolemus to agree to take Philoctetes and not leave him alone on Lemnos. Neoptolemus... (full context)

Neoptolemus tells Philoctetes and the chorus that they must sail at once, and Philoctetes goes to his cave to fetch his... (full context)

The chorus continues to lament Philoctetes’s plight. He has never hurt a soul and has always lived... (full context)

Decisions, Obligation, and the Greater Good Theme Icon

...river of infected blood has begun to drain from Philoctetes’s wound, and he tells the chorus to leave him to sleep. As Philoctetes sleeps, the chorus asks Neoptolemus what their next... (full context)

The chorus again tries to convince Neoptolemus to leave Philoctetes. He refuses and tells the men to... (full context)

...returns to his cave without the bow and arrows, resolved to die on Lemnos. The chorus looks to Neoptolemus and again asks what they should do, but Neoptolemus doesn’t know. He... (full context)

...about it. Philoctetes again refuses and tries to throw himself from a cliff, but the chorus stops him and holds him down. (full context)

...that he likes winning, but he is happy lose in this case. He tells the chorus to let go of Philoctetes and allow him to stay on Lemnos. There are plenty... (full context)

The chorus tells Philoctetes that Odysseus is their superior and they must obey him, but Neoptolemus orders... (full context)

...animals will now witness his death. Philoctetes has no one to blame but himself, the chorus tells him. It is his own bad decision that is keeping him here, they say,... (full context)

Philoctetes imagines Neoptolemus mocking him as he holds the bow and arrows, but the chorus says that Neoptolemus was merely following orders. The chorus is only trying to help Philoctetes,... (full context)

Philoctetes again apologizes to the chorus, but he can never agree to go to Troy and help the same men who... (full context)

...agree to go. Heracles disappears, and Philoctetes bids the island of Lemnos farewell as the chorus prays for their safe passage to Troy. (full context)

Chorus Character Analysis

Chorus Quotes in Philoctetes

Entry of the Chorus (Lines 135 – 218) Quotes

Lament (Lines 1081 – 1218) Quotes

Chorus Character Timeline in Philoctetes