Philoctetes: A Man of Strength Through Vulnerability Anonymous College

During his greatest time of need, Philoctetes is cast away by the people he trusted the most. He becomes unbearable as his snake bite serves as a barrier between him and his people and is left to be forgotten on the island of Lemnos. Although Philoctetes loses everything familiar to him, his vulnerability becomes his newfound strength as he escapes the corruption of the Greeks, allowing him to discover his humanity and share it with others.

Initially, Philoctetes’ isolation drags him to his lowest point: He is deserted by his own army and “stricken with a grievous disease” that worsens as time passes (Phillips 44.264). Later on in the text, it becomes obvious that his unfortunate condition encompasses not only his injured foot, but his loneliness upon discovering that Lemnos consisted of “nothing…except suffering” (44.281). As a result, his physical and mental state are equally as mangled and at first, it appears his vulnerability is his downfall. Despite its initial perception, his situation ultimately leads to his liberation from his old life as a part of the Greek army, who immorally stood behind Odysseus—a man notorious for trickery.

In the moment, isolation destroyed Philoctetes’ spirit, however, his solitude created room...