Character guide

Augustine

major

Also known as Hippo, Compare Augustine, Augustine De Genesi, Augustine of Hippo

Augustine begins this work in AD 413, the year after Rome was sacked, addressing cultivated Romans like Volusian whose doubts are political and social, not merely speculative. He carries the weight of a task he suspects may exceed even his own learning and eloquence, yet he refuses to offer the threadbare arguments of earlier apologists. His answer will reframe all of history as the slow, hidden growth of two cities, and that ambition is what makes the early books so urgent.

Jesus Christ

major

Also known as Christ, the Lord Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus, Jesus, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Man Christ Jesus, Man, Christ Jesus, the Saviour, Saviour, the same Mediator

Christ stands at the center of Augustine's counter-history: not a rival emperor but the founder of a city whose builder is God, growing silently alongside the kingdoms of this world. Against pagan philosophers' contradictory theorizings and Rome's unhinged morals, Augustine points to this city's superior morality and heavenly origin as the true cause of history's unfolding. The whole arc of the work, from creation and the fall to the last judgment, is arranged to show why Christ's kingdom endures when empires do not.

Abraham

major

Also known as Abram

Abraham is the hinge of Augustine's sacred chronology, the man whose departure from Haran at seventy-five anchors the timeline from promise to exodus. His household is messy and human: Sarah's barrenness, Hagar's pregnancy and contempt, the jealousy that follows, and later Keturah after Sarah's death. Augustine reads each union carefully, insisting Abraham used Hagar for progeny rather than lust, obedient to his wife rather than enslaved to appetite, and in that discipline finds a model of faith that predates the law.

Marcus Varro

supporting

Also known as the same Varro, Varro, Mark

Varro is the pagan scholar Augustine most respects and most enjoys cornering, a man who disbelieves the scandalous myths about the gods yet still records them as civic history. He gives Athens its name through a contest between Neptune and Minerva, and traces Aeneas into Italy with the same sober precision he applies to divine genealogies. That tension, between Varro's private skepticism and his public defense of Roman religion, is exactly the crack Augustine widens to show that even Rome's best minds could not believe what they asked others to worship.

Plato

supporting

Also known as the good Plato

Plato is granted real insight: his wise men, momentarily freed from the body, catch the supreme God's presence like a flash of lightning in darkness. But Augustine presses the gap, asking why Plato's lesser gods must remain so sublimely remote from human contact, as if men would pollute them. If the stars are visible gods and are not contaminated by our gaze, the excuse collapses, and with it the need for demons as mediators. Plato's philosophy, admirable as it is, cannot bridge the distance it describes.

Jupiter

supporting

Also known as god Jupiter

Jupiter presides over a divine order Augustine finds morally incoherent: he sends the three goddesses to Paris for judgment, yet the contest ends in votes, punishments, and quarrels among gods who should be above such things. Varro himself disbelieves these tales as incompatible with the nature of the gods, and yet they are sung and danced in the theatres meant to please them. That contradiction, between what Rome's gods are said to do and what Romans insist they are, is one of Augustine's sharpest early weapons.

Romulus

supporting

Also known as Numa Pompilius, who succeeded Romulus in the kingdom, Numa, Numa Pompilius, Pompilius, King Numa Pompilius

Augustine pairs Romulus with his successor Numa to expose the moral poverty of Rome's founding legends: the sanctuary that stocked the city with fugitives foreshadows the churches that sheltered Rome's own destroyers. His deification, granted because Romans could claim him as their own, becomes Augustine's prime exhibit that vanity, not reason, built the pagan pantheon. He matters because Rome's self-image as a sacred city rests on him.

Cicero

supporting

Also known as M. Tullius Cicero, Tully

Cicero stands in Augustine's argument as the pagan thinker who came closest to glimpsing a moral order beyond the empire, yet whose eloquence never earned him a shrine while Romulus did. Augustine turns him into an unwitting ally, using his writings to show that even Rome's finest mind found the old religion hollow. He matters because he proves the critique of paganism comes from within Rome's own intellectual tradition.

Jacob

supporting

Also known as Joseph, the sons of Joseph, whom Jacob blessed, prophetically changing his hands

Jacob belongs to Augustine's genealogy of the city of God, the line running from Abraham through David to Christ, where divine election repeatedly overturns natural birth order. His prophetic crossing of hands over Ephraim and Manasseh becomes a type of the gospel's reversal of worldly priority. He matters because he shows that God's city advances not by inheritance or power but by hidden, often baffling, choice.

Isaac

supporting

Also known as Isaac Taylor

Isaac occupies the hinge of Augustine's sacred history, the child through whom the promise to Abraham passes and the figure whose near-sacrifice prefigures the cross. His story lets Augustine argue that the city of God was never built on human strength but on faith in a promise that looked absurd. He matters because he anchors the claim that Scripture's deepest meanings were planted long before Christ arrived.

Apuleius

minor

Also known as the Platonist Apuleius, Apuleius

Platonist philosopher and author, cited for his views on demons and magic.

Cain

supporting

Also known as Tubal-Cain

Cain is Augustine's founding citizen of the earthly city, the counterpart to Abel's pilgrim people, and his lineage runs through Tubal-Cain into every kingdom built on domination. His rejected sacrifice and fratricide dramatize the primal split between love of self and love of God that Augustine traces through all of history. He matters because Rome itself, in Augustine's reading, is Cain's city writ large.

Adam

supporting

Also known as XV That Adam

Adam stands at the origin of Augustine's whole scheme: one man's sin transmitted to all his descendants, making the human race a massa damnata in need of grace. His fall is not just a moral anecdote but the historical hinge that explains why the earthly city and the city of God coexist in conflict. He matters because every argument in the book about sin, death, and redemption runs back through him.

John

supporting

Also known as the blessed Apostle John, the Apostle John, Apostle John, John Damascene

John stands among Augustine's scriptural witnesses, the evangelist whose words on Christ's divinity and on God's prior knowledge of His people anchor the argument against pagan philosophers. His authority is invoked to show that God is said to know those He causes to know, not because He learns late but because He acts first. For readers entering the middle books, John is the quiet proof-text that keeps grace and incarnation at the center of the city of God.

Minerva

minor

Also known as the Greeks, The Greeks, Homer, the Minerva of Homer, who interposed in the ranks of the Greeks

Roman goddess of wisdom, often identified with Athena, and a subject of pagan worship critique.

Noah

supporting

Also known as righteous Noah

Noah belongs to the early genealogy of the city of God, the man through whom humanity and the covenant were carried past the waters. In Augustine's scheme he marks the age of infancy, before Abraham's call and the law, when the Hebrew tongue was first learned and the family of God was still small. His survival is not just rescue but a template: the city of God persists alongside the world's kingdoms, silent and growing.

Felicity

minor

Also known as felicity, the god Father Catius, who should make men cautious, that is, acute, when Felicity, Father Catius, goddess Felicity

Roman goddess of good fortune, discussed in the context of pagan worship of abstractions.

Aaron

minor

Brother of Moses and first high priest of Israel, representing the Levitical priesthood.

Sarah

minor

Wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac, a figure of faith and the promise of offspring.

Cyrus

minor

Also known as the Assyrians, the Jews, Chaldeans, the Chaldeans, Cyrus king of Persia, who also ruled the Chaldeans and Assyrians, having somewhat relaxed the captivity of the Jews, Jews

Persian king who allowed the Jews to return from exile, fulfilling prophecy.

Peter

supporting

Also known as the Apostle Peter

Peter stands in the book as a witness to the apostles' teaching, invoked alongside John and Paul when Augustine untangles how God is said to will what He causes His people to will. The tension is not Peter's own but the reader's: saints pray piously for things that never happen, and yet God is said to have wrought that very will in them. His presence keeps the discussion anchored in the church's lived experience of prayer and foreknowledge.

Juno

minor

Also known as Lucina, Juno Lucina

Roman queen of the gods, associated with marriage and childbirth, criticized as false.

Saturn

minor

Also known as Good Saturn, The father Saturn

Roman god of agriculture and time, often identified with the Greek Cronus.

Sylla

minor

Roman dictator and general, used as an example of cruelty and civil war.

Scipio Nasica

minor

Also known as the famous Scipio Nasica, Scipio, Scipio Nasica, Nasica

Roman senator praised for his virtue and opposition to the destruction of Carthage.

Paul

supporting

Also known as the Corinthians the Apostle Paul, the Apostle Paul, the Corinthians

Paul is Augustine's most quoted authority for the argument that the promise to Abraham about all nations is fulfilled not by the old law but by the advent of Christ and the faith of the gospel. He is the counterweight to Moses in the book's scheme: the law was given through Moses, but the land of promise and the gathering of the nations come through Joshua and through Christ. For the early-middle arc, Paul supplies the theological engine that keeps the two cities distinct.

Virgil

supporting

Virgil stands on the pagan side of Augustine's ledger, the poet whose Aeneid gave Rome its sense of divine mission and whose lines Augustine turns against the philosophers. The tension is that Rome's own best poet cannot deliver the city from its unhinged morals or its contradictory theorizings about the gods. His presence matters because Augustine needs a worthy opponent: to show that even Rome's finest imagination falls short of the city whose builder and maker is God.

Socrates

minor

Also known as Socrates the Athenian

Greek philosopher, mentor of Plato, known for his method and opposition to pagan myths.

Jove

minor

Also known as supreme Jove, the same Jove, Almighty Jove, Almighty

Another name for Jupiter, chief Roman god, often used in poetic and philosophical contexts.

Jeremiah

minor

Also known as holy Jeremiah, Zephaniah, the prophet Zephaniah, who prophesied with Jeremiah, Zephaniah

Old Testament prophet who foretold the destruction of Jerusalem and the new covenant.

Moses

supporting

Also known as the Israelites, the Israelites Moses, Israelites, Moses carnally

Moses dominates the giving of the law, the passover, and the fifty days to Pentecost, but Augustine makes his exclusion from Canaan theologically pointed: the law cannot bring the promise to fulfillment. The tension is that Israel's greatest leader is also the sign that the old covenant is not the end. His death and Joshua's succession mark the transition from the age of the law to the age of the promise, which the book's middle books trace toward Christ.

Hermes Trismegistus

minor

Also known as Trismegistus, Hermes

Legendary Hellenistic figure associated with wisdom and occult philosophy, cited on idolatry.

Mars

minor

Also known as Venus, Venus or Mars

Roman god of war, often paired with Venus in discussions of pagan morality.

Apollo

minor

Also known as the Cuman Apollo

Roman god of prophecy, music, and healing, associated with the Sibyl and oracles.

Marcus Attilius Regulus

minor

Also known as Regulus, Marcus Regulus

Roman general and consul, famous for his stoic return to Carthage and death.

Sallust

minor

Roman historian whose works on the Catilinarian conspiracy and Jugurthine War are cited.

Shem

minor

Son of Noah, ancestor of the Semitic peoples, through whom the line of Abraham descends.

Aeneas

minor

Trojan hero and legendary founder of Rome, central figure in Virgil's Aeneid.

Lot

minor

Nephew of Abraham, rescued from Sodom, an example of righteous living among the wicked.

Antichrist

minor

Figure of end-times opposition to Christ, discussed in the context of prophecy and judgment.

Terah

minor

Father of Abraham, who set out for Canaan but settled in Haran.

Job

minor

Also known as Cato, Cato the saintly Job, who endured dreadful evils in his body rather than deliver himself from all torment by self-inflicted death, conquered Cato

Patient sufferer from the Old Testament, an example of endurance and faith in trials.

Janus

minor

Two-faced Roman god of beginnings and transitions, keeper of gates and doors.

Seth

minor

Third son of Adam, ancestor of the line leading to Noah and the patriarchs.

Brutus

minor

Also known as Junius Brutus

Founder of the Roman Republic, who expelled the Tarquins and established liberty.

Heber

minor

Also known as Salah, Salah begat Heber

Ancestor of Abraham, from whom the term 'Hebrew' is derived.

Marius

minor

Roman general and consul, known for his military reforms and rivalry with Sulla.

Mercury

minor

Also known as Trismegistus, Mercury Trismegistus

Roman messenger god, also identified with the Egyptian Thoth and Hermes Trismegistus.

Samuel

minor

Also known as holy Samuel

Prophet and last judge of Israel, who anointed Saul and David as kings.

Hercules

minor

Also known as This Hercules, whose great deeds are reckoned as twelve (not including the slaughter of Antaeus the African, because that affair pertains to another Hercules), Antaeus the African, Antaeus

Legendary hero known for his twelve labors, often cited in pagan mythology.

Holy Scripture

supporting

Also known as Scripture, divine Scripture

Scripture functions in The City of God less as a book than as a witness: Augustine sets its prophecies beside Rome's fall and finds them already fulfilled before his eyes. Its authority is total, yet it must be defended, interpreted, and harmonized against pagan critics who mock the faith. The tension lies in reading rightly—shadow versus light, prophecy versus history—and it is on this reading that the whole argument for the two cities rests.

Isaiah

minor

Also known as Isaiah

Major prophet who foretold the coming of the Messiah and the suffering servant.

Enoch

minor

Also known as Enoch begat

Righteous man who walked with God and was taken up without dying.

Marcus Cato

minor

Also known as Cato

Roman statesman and moralist, known for his strict virtue and opposition to luxury.

Lamech

minor

Also known as Methusael begat Lamech, the fifth Methusael, the sixth Lamech, Methusael begat

Descendant of Cain, father of Noah, and a figure in the genealogy of the patriarchs.

Ninus

minor

Also known as King Ninus

Legendary founder of Nineveh and the Assyrian empire, mentioned in historical chronology.

Judah

minor

Son of Jacob, ancestor of the tribe from which King David and Jesus descended.

Annaeus Seneca

minor

Also known as Seneca

Roman Stoic philosopher and playwright, cited on ethics and the nature of the gods.

Manasseh

minor

Also known as Joseph, Machir, Machir the son of Manasseh, grandson of Joseph

Son of Joseph, patriarch of one of the tribes of Israel, blessed by Jacob.

Egyptians

minor

Also known as the Egyptians, the oppressive Egyptians, Apis, Apis king of Argos, whom the Egyptians called Serapis, Serapis, V Of Apis king of Argos, whom the Egyptians called Serapis, and worshipped with divine honours

Ancient people and their gods, often used as examples of idolatry and oppression of Israel.

Lucretia

minor

Roman noblewoman whose rape and suicide led to the overthrow of the monarchy.

Alexander of Macedon

minor

Also known as Alexander

Macedonian conqueror who created a vast empire, discussed in historical examples.

Mucius Scaevola

minor

Also known as Mucius, Scaevola

Roman hero who demonstrated courage by burning his hand to prove his resolve.

Methuselah

minor

Patriarch known for his extreme longevity, son of Enoch and grandfather of Noah.

King Tarquin

minor

Also known as Tarquin, king Tarquin

Last king of Rome, whose tyranny led to the establishment of the Republic.

Liber

minor

Also known as Father, the Father, The Father, Father Liber

Roman god of wine and fertility, often identified with Dionysus or Bacchus.

Theodosius

minor

Also known as Theodosius Augustus, Augustus

Christian Roman emperor who made Christianity the state religion and opposed paganism.

Nero Caesar

minor

Also known as Nero

Infamous Roman emperor, persecutor of Christians, used as an example of tyranny.

Abel

minor

Second son of Adam, murdered by his brother Cain, a type of the righteous sufferer.

Rehoboam

minor

Also known as Israel, Rehoboam, O Israel

Son of Solomon, whose harsh rule caused the division of the kingdom of Israel.

Neptune

minor

Roman god of the sea, often invoked in discussions of pagan mythology.

Plotinus

minor

Also known as The Platonist Plotinus

Neoplatonist philosopher whose ideas on the One and the soul are discussed.

Radagaisus

minor

Gothic king who invaded Italy and was defeated, an example of divine judgment.

Ham

minor

Son of Noah, father of Canaan, whose descendants were cursed for his disrespect.

Augustus

minor

Also known as Caesar, Caesar Augustus

First Roman emperor, under whose reign Christ was born, a figure of political order.

Vesta

minor

Also known as Venus, Vesta Venus

Roman goddess of the hearth, often paired with Venus in discussions of domestic virtue.

Lactantius

minor

Early Christian author and apologist, cited on the errors of paganism.

Aesculapius

minor

Also known as O Aesculapius

Roman god of medicine and healing, son of Apollo, worshipped for cures.

Tellus

minor

Also known as mother Tellus

Roman earth goddess, personification of the fertile land, worshipped in agriculture.

Hesperius

minor

A contemporary Christian layman mentioned in a miracle story about relics.