# Antiochus — Plays character guide

> Antiochus in Plays by Roswitha of Gandersheim.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Antiochus, Hadrian Antiochus, Antiochus Sapientia

**First appearance:** 0096-sapientia

## Snapshot

A Roman emperor whose persecution of Sapientia and her daughters turns a family into a public test of faith under imperial pressure.

## Who they are

Antiochus wields the machinery of empire against Christians, and in Sapientia's story he becomes the face of a power that cannot tolerate a woman's unshaken conviction. His tension is the classic persecutor's: he wants submission, and the more he demands it, the more he exposes his own inability to command the soul. He matters to the early arc because he defines the stakes — what it costs, socially and bodily, to hold to belief when the state itself is the adversary.

## In the story

### [Characters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se/chapters/characters)

Listed as a character in the chapter.

### [Sapientia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se/chapters/sapientia)

Hadrian's advisor who carries out the tortures and reports the miraculous failures.

### [Scene I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se/chapters/scene-i)

Advisor who denounces the Christian woman and her daughters to Emperor Hadrian.

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se/chapters/scene-ii)

Delivers the Emperor's order to Sapientia, accusing Christians of defying authority.

### [Scene III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se/chapters/scene-iii)

Advises Hadrian and oversees the arrest of Sapientia and her daughters.

### [Scene V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se/chapters/scene-v)

Advisor who urges harsh punishments and mocks the Christians.

### [Scene VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se/chapters/scene-vi)

The official who reports the failed tortures and suggests execution by sword.

### [Scene VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se/chapters/scene-vii)

Commands Charity to prepare for execution.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se/characters/antiochus
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se/characters