Troilus and Cressida · Character

Thersites

Deformed, venomous, and gloriously unfireable, Thersites is the Greek camp's licensed fool — the only man who tells the truth because no one can stop him.

supporting

Also known as rank Thersites, Thersites Agamemnon, Thersites Mars, Thersites Ajax, Enter Thersites

First appearance: Scene I

As a supporting figure in Troilus and Cressida, Thersites is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Rails against Ajax and Achilles, exposing their folly and the Greeks' internal strife.

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Thersites serves 'voluntary' in the Greek camp, which is to say he attaches himself to Ajax and Achilles and abuses them both, cataloguing every commander's stupidity in a running commentary no one can silence. He is beaten, threatened, and dismissed, yet he keeps talking — 'I shall speak as much as thou afterwards' — because his deformity and low status make him useless to punish and impossible to ignore. He matters because he is the play's cynical chorus: when Thersites calls Ajax a 'thing of no bowels' or predicts the whole war is lechery and appetite, the audience has to decide whether the ugliest voice in the camp is also the most honest.

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See Thersites in Scene I

Character Web

9 connections

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Relationship types

Other

Character groups

Greek camp and Trojan family
Diplomatic and command figures
Trojan political and romantic figures

+4 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This scene is the dramatic climax because it marks the emotional and psychological peak of Troilus’s rage and…

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In the story

Thersites appears across 7 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Scene I
Rails against Ajax and Achilles, exposing their folly and the Greeks' internal strife.
Scene III
Soliloquizes about his fury, rails against Ajax and Achilles, and engages in witty banter with Patroclus and Achilles.
Scene III
Provides a comic and cynical commentary on Ajax's behavior and is sent as Achilles' ambassador.
Scene I
Delivers a letter to Achilles and delivers cynical commentary on Diomedes, Menelaus, and others.
Scene II
Provides cynical commentary on the lechery and deceit he observes.
Scene IV
Observes the battle, mocks Diomedes and the Greek commanders, and is spared by Hector.
Scene VII
Mocks the fight between Menelaus and Paris, then refuses to fight Margarelon.

Chapter companion notes

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See Thersites in Scene I