Thersites- Greek FigureMortal
Also known as: Θερσίτης and Thersītēs
Description
Bandy-legged and sharp-tongued, despised by every Greek at Troy. Thersites mocked Agamemnon in open assembly and took a scepter across his back. When he taunted Achilles for mourning dead Penthesilea, Achilles killed him with a single blow.
Mythology & Lore
The Ugliest Greek at Troy
In the Iliad, Thersites is bandy-legged and lame, with a pointed head of sparse, patchy hair. He was a son of Agrius, a prince of Aetolia and kinsman of Diomedes. Every Greek at Troy despised him.
The Assembly
When Agamemnon tested the army's morale by proposing to abandon the siege, the soldiers rushed for their ships. Odysseus rallied them. Then Thersites stood and spoke. He accused Agamemnon of hoarding plunder and dishonoring Achilles. He told the Greeks to sail home and leave their king to fight alone.
Odysseus brought Agamemnon's golden scepter down across his back. A bloody welt rose. Thersites sat down in pain, wiping his eyes. The army laughed.
The Death of Thersites
After Achilles killed the Amazon queen Penthesilea, he removed her helmet and saw her face. Grief and desire struck him at once. Thersites mocked him for it. In Quintus Smyrnaeus's Posthomerica, Thersites also gouged out Penthesilea's eyes with his spear.
Achilles struck him dead with a single blow. Thersites was Diomedes' kinsman, and the killing split the Greek camp. Achilles sailed to Lesbos, sacrificed to Apollo, Artemis, and Leto, and was purified of the blood-guilt by Odysseus.
Relationships
- Enemy of
- Slain by
- Associated with