# Callimachus — Plays character guide

> Callimachus in Plays by Roswitha of Gandersheim.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Callimachus, Callimachus Drusiana, Callimachus Woman

**First appearance:** 0053-callimachus

## Snapshot

A young man consumed by a passion for Drusiana that has the heat of Romeo in it — a desire Roswitha's century was not supposed to know how to write.

## Who they are

Callimachus loves Drusiana with a feverish, absorbing intensity that the play's own preface singles out as startling for its era — the kind of love that leads to sin, madness, or self-slaughter. His pursuit collides with her Christian chastity and with the Apostle John's authority, setting up the play's central confrontation between erotic obsession and sacred restraint. He matters because his passion is the most human, most dangerous thing in the collection, and the reader watches to see whether it destroys him or is transformed.

## In the story

### [The Plays of Roswitha](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se/chapters/the-plays-of-roswitha)

A lover whose passion for Drusiana leads to tragedy, echoing themes of Romeo and Juliet.

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

Listed as a main character in the chapter.

### [Callimachus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se/chapters/callimachus)

Confesses his love for Drusiana, attempts to violate her corpse, dies, is resurrected by John, and repents.

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

Initiates a private conversation with his friends.

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

Confesses his love for Drusiana to his friends, ignoring their warnings.

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

Declares his love for Drusiana and threatens to use cunning and force to win her.

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

Referenced as the man whose love for Drusiana causes her distress, though he does not appear in this scene.

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

Desperate and willing to pay for access to Drusiana's body.

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

Approaches Drusiana's body with lust, then is struck by terror and remorse, cursing Fortunatus before dying.

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

The man lying outside the tomb who will also be raised.

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

Raised from the dead, confesses his sinful love for Drusiana, and repents, converting to Christianity.

### [A Note on the Acting of the Plays](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se/chapters/a-note-on-the-acting-of-the-plays)

Mentioned as the subject of a modern stage production that was criticized for its childish interpretation and burlesque of Roswitha's piety.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se/chapters/endnotes)

His play was translated by Arthur Waley and produced by the Art Theatre.

## Links

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