# Kallikrates — She character guide

> Kallikrates in She by H. Rider Haggard.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the Priest Kallikrates, The Kallikrates, This Kallikrates, my Kallikrates

**First appearance:** 0005-iii-the-sherd-of-amenartas

## Snapshot

The dead Greek priest whose face Ayesha has mourned for two thousand years, and whose likeness in Leo drags her out of immortality's long patience.

## Who they are

Kallikrates exists in the novel first as a name Ayesha breathes over Leo — her lost love, her vow, her excuse for everything she has become. He was a priest of Isis who fled with her and then, by her account, betrayed her among a thousand veiled women, a wound she has nursed into an empire. His shadow shapes the early-middle arc: every glance Ayesha gives Leo is partly aimed at a man two millennia dead, and the question of whether Leo is Kallikrates reborn — or merely resembles him — becomes the hinge on which her hopes and the travelers' fates turn.

## Relationships

### [Ayesha](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/she_se/characters/ayesha)

_romantic_

Ayesha's undying love for the long-dead Kallikrates drives her entire quest for immortality and reunion.

### [Leo Vincey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/she_se/characters/leo_vincey)

_psychological_

Leo is believed to be the reincarnation of Kallikrates, creating a mystical identity link between them.

### [Ustane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/she_se/characters/ustane)

_social_

Kallikrates and Ustane have no direct interaction, but Ustane's fate is tied to his legacy through Leo.

### [Ayesha](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/she_se/characters/ayesha)

_romantic_

Ayesha's undying love for the long-dead Kallikrates drives her entire quest for immortality and reunion.

### [Leo Vincey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/she_se/characters/leo_vincey)

_psychological_

Leo is believed to be the reincarnation of Kallikrates, creating a mystical identity link between them.

### [Ayesha](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/she_se/characters/ayesha)

_romantic_

Ayesha's undying love for the long-dead Kallikrates drives her entire quest for immortality and reunion.

### [Ustane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/she_se/characters/ustane)

_social_

Kallikrates and Ustane have no direct interaction, but Ustane's fate is tied to his legacy through Leo.

### [Ustane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/she_se/characters/ustane)

_social_

Kallikrates and Ustane have no direct interaction, but Ustane's fate is tied to his legacy through Leo.

## In the story

### [My Visitor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/she_se/chapters/i-my-visitor)

An Egyptian priest of Isis and ancestor of Leo, who fled Egypt with a princess and was later murdered by a white queen.

### [The Sherd of Amenartas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/she_se/chapters/iii-the-sherd-of-amenartas)

Amenartas's husband, a priest of Isis, who was killed by Ayesha after refusing her love.

### [XIV: A Soul in Hell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/she_se/chapters/xiv-a-soul-in-hell)

Kallikrates' preserved body is the focus of Ayesha's ritual and mourning.

### [XVIII: “Go, Woman!”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/she_se/chapters/xviii-go-woman)

Referenced as the past lover of Ayesha and the reincarnation of Leo. Ayesha calls Leo by this name.

### [XXI: The Dead and Living Meet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/she_se/chapters/xxi-the-dead-and-living-meet)

The preserved corpse of Leo's past incarnation, identical to Leo, with a spear wound over the heart.

### [XXV: The Spirit of Life](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/she_se/chapters/xxv-the-spirit-of-life)

Referenced as the past love of Ayesha whom she killed in jealousy; Leo is believed to be his reincarnation.

### [Over the Mountain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/she_se/chapters/xxviii-over-the-mountain)

Referenced in Holly's final reflections as the ancient priest whom Leo may be a reincarnation of.

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

His death is discussed, with a discrepancy between Ayesha's account and the potsherd inscription.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/she_se/characters/kallikrates
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/she_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/she_se/characters