# A Princess of Mars — Character guide

> Key figures in A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

- [John Carter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_princess_of_mars_se/characters/john_carter.md): Thrown onto Barsoom with no way home, Carter survives by strength and instinct, rising from captive to chieftain among the Tharks. His blunt Earth honesty collides with Martian custom at every turn — most painfully when 
- [Dejah Thoris](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_princess_of_mars_se/characters/dejah_thoris.md): Captured by Tharks and later pledged to a Zodangan prince to halt a war, Dejah Thoris moves through the story as both prize and political weapon. Proud, learned, and bound by Barsoomian honor, she cannot unsay a promise 
- [Tars Tarkas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_princess_of_mars_se/characters/tars_tarkas.md): Among the savage Tharks, Tars Tarkas stands apart — formal, courtly, and capable of loyalty no other green warrior shows. He shelters Carter, fights beside him, and quietly nurses a hatred for Tal Hajus that has smoldere
- [Sola](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_princess_of_mars_se/characters/sola.md): Assigned to watch over Carter, Sola instead becomes his ally, feeding him, warning him, and revealing a compassion rare among the green Martians. She despises the barbarity around her, and her quiet kindness — toward Car
- [Kantos Kan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_princess_of_mars_se/characters/kantos_kan.md): Kantos Kan moves easily between courts and battle lines, equally at home greeting Helium's nobles and charging Zodangan entrenchments. His loyalty to Carter is immediate and unshowy, and he serves as the bridge between t
- [Tal Hajus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_princess_of_mars_se/characters/tal_hajus.md): Tal Hajus embodies everything savage in green Martian rule: he threatens Dejah Thoris with torture and violation, and his cruelty has already destroyed the woman Tars Tarkas loved. His presence makes the Thark city a pla
- [Sarkoja](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_princess_of_mars_se/characters/sarkoja.md): Sarkoja wields what power green Martian women possess through cruelty and intrigue, chaining the captive Dejah Thoris by the ankle and pocketing the key. Her loathing for John Carter curdles into conspiracy when she is s
- [Woola](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_princess_of_mars_se/characters/woola.md): Assigned by Tars Tarkas to guard the prisoner, Woola instead becomes John Carter's devoted slave the moment laughter and a rubbed head break through his training. His loyalty creates a quiet tension: he is bound by duty 
- [Tardos Mors](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_princess_of_mars_se/characters/tardos_mors.md): As Jeddak of Helium and grandfather to Dejah Thoris, Tardos Mors presides over the red Martians' proudest nation, pacing his throne room with a tense-drawn face when crisis strikes. When word comes that the atmosphere pl
- [Than Kosis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_princess_of_mars_se/characters/than_kosis.md): Than Kosis rules Zodanga, the warlike red Martian power locked in rivalry with Helium, and his court is the political world into which Dejah Thoris's forced betrothal intrudes. His authority shapes the pressures bearing 
- [Lorquas Ptomel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_princess_of_mars_se/characters/lorquas_ptomel.md): A Thark chieftain who initially holds John Carter captive.
- [Sab Than](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_princess_of_mars_se/characters/sab_than.md): Sab Than is heir to Zodanga's throne and the suitor whose claim on Dejah Thoris drives the marriage plot that shadows John Carter's arrival on Barsoom. His desire for the princess is bound up with his father's ambitions,
- [Bar Comas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_princess_of_mars_se/characters/bar_comas.md): A Thark warrior who participates in the arena battles.
- [Dak Kova](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_princess_of_mars_se/characters/dak_kova.md): A Warhoon chieftain who captures John Carter and Sola.
- [Mors Kajak](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_princess_of_mars_se/characters/mors_kajak.md): Father of Dejah Thoris and a prince of Helium.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_princess_of_mars_se/characters