οὗτος: 71. Αἴας. When a proper name of the 3rd declension comes from a stem ending in “αντ” (as “Αἰαντ”), the Attic vocative ends in “α_ς”: so “Θόας, ἄκουσον”, I. T. 1436. The Homeric vocative of “Αἴας” is always “Αἶαν” (“α^”) —formed on the analogy of the voc from stems in “οντ”, as “Κρέον” (stem “Κρεοντ”). The vocatives “Πουλυδάμα” ( Il. 12. 231), “Λαοδάμα” ( Od. 8. 141) are exceptions, due perhaps to a sense that here the ending “-αν” might suggest an accusative. τῆς συμμάχου: there is a terrible irony in this, since he had angered her by rejecting her aid in battle (774).
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Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Part VII: The Ajax. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1907.
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