Final answer:
Great Ajax is presented as a strong and tense warrior with a sense of honor that eventually leads to his tragic downfall, reflecting a dynamic character. Little Ajax, while not as prominent, accompanies the contrast between heroic qualities and tragic flaws. The amphora by Exekias provides visual cues to their characters and fates.
Step-by-step explanation:
The characters of Little Ajax and Great Ajax from Homer's Iliad are represented with distinctive qualities that set them apart. Great Ajax, known for his strength and stature, is depicted as a tense and focused warrior on the amphora by Exekias. His character shows both strength and stubbornness, which can be inferred from the way he is holding his spears tightly and the subtlety of his elevated heel, indicating a readiness and latent aggression. On the other hand, Little Ajax is not as prominently featured, but through Great Ajax's fate after the Trojan War, where he eventually falls to his own sword over the humiliation of losing Achilles' armor to Odysseus, we can glean a tragic hero's journey from honor to despair.
Great Ajax's character portrays a mix of heroic qualities and tragic flaws. He is a dynamic character whose strong sense of honor and duty towards Achilles becomes his downfall—a transition from a revered warrior to a tragic figure. Comparatively, Little Ajax's character does not undergo a transformation as dramatic as that of Great Ajax within the texts of the Iliad.
Through Exekias' depiction on the amphora, viewers are presented with subtle visual cues of the characters' temperaments and potential foreshadowing of their fates, which helps us reflect on the broader question of what defines a hero and the line between positive attributes and tragic flaws.