THERSITES (achean warrior in the Trojan War)
Figure of myth · son of Agrius, Achean warrior in the Trojan War
- Parents
- Agrius
- Siblings
- Prothous, Lycopeus, Onchestus, Melanippus, Celeutor
- In the sources
- 13 ancient passages
Thersites, son of Agrius, was considered the ugliest man among those who came before Troy.1,2,3 His head ran up to a point with little hair on top, while his shoulders remained rounded and hunched over his chest.4,3 He had bandy legs and was lame in one foot, a physical deformity that marked him as the vilest creature among the Achaean warriors according to Odysseus.3,5 A man of many words, Thersites spoke unseemly and spread sedition with a shrill squeaky voice that grated on the ears of the camp.3
He constantly mocked those in authority to make the Acheans laugh, caring little for what he said as long as he could provoke their mirth.3 He frequently wrangled with Achilles and Odysseus, who hated him more than anyone else, and he brawled constantly against Agamemnon.3 In the assembly, he criticized Agamemnon's rewards and the king's possession of many wives, arguing that lust for women was more ruinous than the toil of war.5,6,7,8 Odysseus sternly rebuked him for this speech, threatening to strip him naked and whip him out of the gathering.5
Along with his brothers Prothous, Lycopeus, Onchestus, Melanippus, and Celeutor, he helped seize the kingdom from Oeneus, his father's brother.2,1 They imprisoned and tormented Oeneus during his lifetime, and Thersites later joined Onchestus in ambushing and killing him at Telephus's hearth.1 He was known for speaking excessively even when no one wanted him to talk.9
Thersites was killed by Achilles after mocking him for pitying an Amazon, accusing the hero of being driven by lust for a woman.10,7 Thersites claimed that such desire ruined his prowess and wit, a taunt that Achilles answered with lethal force.10,7 Achilles killed Thersites, and the Achaean warriors argued amongst themselves regarding the killing.10,7,11 Diomedes raised his hands in vengeance against Achilles for the killing, but other warriors held him back.2
Thersites fled to Peloponnese to escape Diomedes and Alcmaeon.1 The Achaeans had felt angry and disgusted by his continued brawling, yet his fate remained a source of contention among the warriors.11,3 In the underworld, Thersites approved of the democratic arrangement where all were equal.12 Philoctetes claimed the gods protected Thersites by keeping him away from Hades.9
The codex facts behind this entry
Thersites is the son of Agrius. Apollodorus 1.8.6 +1
Appearance
His head was pointed with little hair on top. Athenaeus 11.61 +1
In the myths
Thersites was killed by Achilles after mocking him for pitying an Amazon, accusing him of being driven by lust for a woman and claiming that such desire ruined his prowess and wit. Apollodorus, Epitome 5.1 +3 Thersites made impudent remarks against the kings and spoke against the Achaean princes, criticizing Agamemnon's rewards. Iliad 2 ¶20 +1
