Philoctetes: Scene 3 (Lines 730 – 1080) Summary & Analysis

As Neoptolemus enters the cave, Philoctetes begins to moan loudly. Neoptolemus asks if his wound is causing him pain, and Philoctetes confirms it is. He screams and prays to the gods, no longer able to keep his immense pain hidden. He begs Neoptolemus to cut his foot off with his sword and not spare his life. Neoptolemus acknowledges that the pain must be unbearable, and Philoctetes says it is indeed indescribable, but Neoptolemus can still show compassion. “What can I do?” Neoptolemus asks. Philoctetes says he can stay with him until the pain has passed.  

Philoctetes hands Neoptolemus the bow and arrows and asks him to keep them safe until his acute attack of pain subsides. Once the attack is over, Philoctetes will fall into a deep sleep. After he wakes, his pain will be better and more manageable. He warns Neoptolemus not to let Odysseus have the bow if he arrives while Philoctetes sleeps. If he does, Odysseus will surely kill them both. Neoptolemus takes the bow and promises to keep it safe. No one else will touch the bow, Neoptolemus tells Philoctetes. 

Neoptolemus prays to the gods to ease Philoctetes’s pain, but Philoctetes says it is no use. The blood has begun to flow, and it will only get worse. As Philoctetes cries out in pain, he begs Neoptolemus not to leave him and curses Atreus’s sons and Odysseus. Philoctetes calls to death and asks why it never comes. He looks to Neoptolemus and pleads with him to burn him in the volcano on Lemnos, just as Philoctetes did for Heracles.

Neoptolemus promises Philoctetes that he won’t leave him, just as Philoctetes falls into a delirium. Neoptolemus notices that a 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 move is. Neoptolemus already has the bow and arrows, the men say, and it is the perfect time to flee. Neoptolemus agrees but refuses to leave. If they sail without Philoctetes, taking the bow will mean nothing. The gods have decreed that they must bring both the bow and Philoctetes to Troy. Plus, they have already lied to Philoctetes, Neoptolemus says, and it would be shameful to make it worse by leaving him.

The chorus again tries to convince Neoptolemus to leave Philoctetes. He refuses and tells the men to keep quiet as Philoctetes begins to wake. Philoctetes opens his eyes and can’t believe that Neoptolemus hasn’t left him. He asks Neoptolemus to help him to his feet and Neoptolemus offers the help of the chorus, but Philoctetes declines. He doesn’t want to offend the men with the terrible smell of his wound, since living on the ship with him will be difficult enough. Neoptolemus helps Philoctetes to his feet and begins to cry.

Neoptolemus tells Philoctetes that he is “torn apart” but cannot tell him why. He is disgusted with himself for acting against his “true nature,” and he is sure that the whole of Greece will consider him awful. Philoctetes is confused. Neoptolemus’s actions have not been awful, but Philoctetes isn’t so sure about his words, and he begins to worry that Neoptolemus doesn’t really plan to take him on the ship. Neoptolemus reassures Philoctetes that he will take him, but Philoctetes will regret going.

Neoptolemus tells Philoctetes that he must sail to Troy to help the Greeks win the Trojan War, which is where they will be going when they leave Lemnos. Philoctetes claims that Neoptolemus has deceived him and swears that he will never go to Troy, not after the Greeks have treated him so badly. Neoptolemus tells Philoctetes that he had no choice, but Philoctetes refuses to listen and demands to have his bow and arrows back.

Neoptolemus refuses to return the bow and arrows. “Right and interest alike demand it,” he says to Philoctetes. Philoctetes curses Neoptolemus and asks if he has any shame. Without the bow and arrows, Philoctetes won’t be able to sustain life on Lemnos. He cries to the wild beasts that inhabit the island to hear what dishonorable thing Neoptolemus has done to him. He promised to take Philoctetes home but was deceiving him the entire time. Philoctetes wishes that he had come across Neoptolemus before his wound, saying that then Neoptolemus wouldn’t have had the courage to perpetrate such a “cowardly trick.”

Philoctetes 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 is torn between his orders and his terrible pity for Philoctetes, and he wishes that he had never left Scyros for Troy. Philoctetes tells Neoptolemus that Neoptolemus isn’t a bad man; he has simply allowed bad men to lead him. He tells Neoptolemus to go home while he still has the chance—he just needs to give Philoctetes the bow and arrows first. 

Odysseus suddenly appears and tells Philoctetes that he has been on Lemnos all along. In a panic, Philoctetes again begs Neoptolemus to give him the bow and arrows. Odysseus tells Philoctetes that he is not getting the bow, and adds that if he doesn’t come with them to Troy, they will force him. Odysseus says that the gods have determined that Philoctetes must go to Troy and there is nothing to be done about it. Philoctetes again refuses and tries to throw himself from a cliff, but the chorus stops him and holds him down.

Philoctetes curses Odysseus, but he can see that Neoptolemus is feeling remorseful. Philoctetes asks Odysseus why he must go to Troy. He is, after all, a “stinking cripple” and is sure to disturb their prayers again. Odysseus tells Philoctetes 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 of other Greek marksmen who can shoot the bow and arrows. As Odysseus heads back to the ship, he tells Neoptolemus not let his morals get in the way.

The chorus tells Philoctetes that Odysseus is their superior and they must obey him, but Neoptolemus orders the chorus to stay with Philoctetes anyway. It will take a while to ready the ship and say their prayers and Philoctetes may change his mind in the meantime, Neoptolemus says, as he runs toward the ship with the bow and arrows.