# Short Works — Character guide

> Key figures in Short Works by Epictetus.

- [Epictetus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/epictetus_short_works_se/characters/epictetus.md): Epictetus speaks as a former slave who now trains students to prize integrity over food, dress, and reputation, urging them to live as one who wishes to be Socrates. His sharpest tension is with the reader's own softness
- [Socrates](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/epictetus_short_works_se/characters/socrates.md): Socrates appears throughout these works not as a biography but as the finished model against whom the reader is measured. Epictetus uses him as a mirror and a rebuke: you are not yet a Socrates, but you ought to live as 
- [Lycurgus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/epictetus_short_works_se/characters/lycurgus.md): Legendary lawgiver of Sparta, referenced as an example of discipline and law.
- [Agrippinus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/epictetus_short_works_se/characters/agrippinus.md): A contemporary Stoic philosopher admired by Epictetus for his character and resolve.
- [Chrysippus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/epictetus_short_works_se/characters/chrysippus.md): Influential Stoic philosopher whose works are often referenced in the discussions.
- [Plato](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/epictetus_short_works_se/characters/plato.md): Ancient Greek philosopher, mentioned in the context of philosophical ideas and dialogues.
- [Archimedes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/epictetus_short_works_se/characters/archimedes.md): Ancient Greek mathematician and inventor, cited as an example of focused expertise.
- [Simplicius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/epictetus_short_works_se/characters/simplicius.md): Later commentator on Epictetus, referenced in the editorial notes of this edition.
- [Nicias](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/epictetus_short_works_se/characters/nicias.md): Athenian general referenced in a historical or moral example.
- [M. Antoninus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/epictetus_short_works_se/characters/antoninus.md): Likely refers to Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, the Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher.
- [Polus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/epictetus_short_works_se/characters/polus.md): A character from Plato's Gorgias, referenced in a philosophical argument.
- [Oedipus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/epictetus_short_works_se/characters/oedipus.md): Mythological king of Thebes, used as an example of fate and suffering.
- [The Gods](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/epictetus_short_works_se/characters/the_gods.md): The gods function as both hosts and witnesses in Epictetus's moral world, giving humans reason, food, and the many things they never think to request. The tension is one of gratitude versus greed: guests who demand fish 

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