# Lydia — The Decameron character guide

> Lydia in The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Pyrrhus, Pyrrhus Lydia

**First appearance:** 0069-the-sixth-story

## Snapshot

An Argive noblewoman so consumed by desire for her husband's servant that she sets him three impossible proofs — and performs them all.

## Who they are

Lydia is young, high-spirited, and married to the aging, trusting Nicostratus, a mismatch that fuels her restless scheming. Her passion for the servant Pyrrhus drives her to feats of audacity that scandalize even as they astonish, and her willingness to deceive her husband in plain sight makes her one of Boccaccio's boldest portraits of female desire. Her story tests how far wit and will can bend a household's order before it breaks.

## Relationships

### [Nicostratus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_decameron_se/characters/nicostratus)

_romantic_

Lydia, married to Nicostratus, deceives him to carry on an affair with his servant, showing a manipulative and adulterous dynamic.

### [Nicostratus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_decameron_se/characters/nicostratus)

_romantic_

Lydia, married to Nicostratus, deceives him to carry on an affair with his servant, showing a manipulative and adulterous dynamic.

### [Nicostratus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_decameron_se/characters/nicostratus)

_romantic_

Lydia, married to Nicostratus, deceives him to carry on an affair with his servant, showing a manipulative and adulterous dynamic.

## In the story

### [The Ninth Story](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_decameron_se/chapters/the-ninth-story)

Wife of Nicostratus, she passionately pursues Pyrrhus and performs three daring acts to prove her love.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_decameron_se/characters/lydia
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_decameron_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_decameron_se/characters