Apollo, the god of the sun and of prophecy, serves as a member of the tribunal hearing the charges brought against the Trojan prince Paris by the disaffected goddesses Pallas and Juno. It is Apollo who suggests that Diana make a final decision about the fate of the golden apple because she is the goddess in whose territory on Mount Ida the contention over the prize first began. And he adds that only a female deity is likely to have the impartiality necessary to make a satisfactory determination in a dispute involving three of the chief goddesses in the pantheon.
ATE
Ate, the goddess of discord and retribution, recites the prologue to the play, predicting the fall of Troy. When Juno, Pallas, and Venus take shelter from a storm in the Bower of Diana, she sets the tragedy of Troy in motion by delivering to the goddesses a golden apple upon which is inscribed Detur pulcherrimae, "Let this be given to the most fair." The subsequent contention for the prize among Juno, Pallas, and Venus, and its being granted temporarily to Venus by the Trojan prince Paris, will lead directly to the war between the Greeks and the Trojans. Helen, wife of the Greek king Menelaus, is promised to Paris by Venus as a reward for the golden apple, and Helen's subsequent removal to Troy is the occasion for the conflict.
ATROPOS
One of the "Fates," Atropos wields the shears that sever the cord of life produced by her companions Clotho and Lachesis. With them and the other goddesses present at the play's end, she defers to Queen Elizabeth.
BACCHUS
Bacchus is the god of wine and a member of the Olympian tribunal hearing the case against Paris.
CHURL
The Churl is an ill-favored rustic. Because the maid Thestylis has rejected the love of the swain Colin and caused his death from unrequited love, Venus takes revenge by arranging for Thestylis to dote upon the Churl and for him to reject her just as she had her earlier lover.
CLOTHO
Clotho, with her fellow Fates Lachesis and Atrops, pays homage to Queen Elizabeth when the golden apple is offered to the monarch at the end of the play by tendering the distaff upon which is wound the thread of life.
COLIN
A typical lovesick swain from the pastoral tradition, Colin is inconsolable when his beloved Thestylis rejects him, and after singing of his pain, he dies of a broken heart. Because his name appears with those of the shepherds Diggon, Hobbinol, and Thenot in Spenser's Shepherds' Calendar (1579), the assumption is that Peele has borrowed these pastoral figures from Spenser's work.
CYCLOPS
A group of Cyclopes, mythical giants marked by one eye placed in the middle of the forehead, accompany Vulcan, the god of fire, as he seeks to arrest the Trojan prince Paris.
DIANA
Goddess of chastity and the hunt, Diana controls the location where Paris's affront to Juno and Pallas has occurred, and it is she that Apollo argues should be called upon to make a final determination about the golden apple. Diana is also addressed as Phoebe in the play.
DIGGON
Like his friends Hobbinol and Thenot, Diggon is a shepherd. After Colin's death, they discuss the trials and pains often caused by love that goes awry. When the nymph Oenone arrives complaining that Paris has deserted her and that no males are finally to be trusted in love, Diggon counters that she should not libel all men because of the betrayal of one. As with Colin, Hobbinol, and Thenot, Diggon seems to be patterned after the characters of Spenser's Shepherds' Calendar.
ELIZA
One name (the other being Zabeta) of a peerless nymph and follower of Diana. The contention over the golden apple is resolved when Diana describes for the gods and goddesses how this queen matches Juno in majesty, Pallas in martial prowess and virtues of the mind, and Venus in loveliness. When Diana adds that additionally Eliza matches even "Dian" herself in chaste desires, the Olympians immediately agree that the golden prize obviously was meant for Eliza, and the play ends with the golden orb being offered (in the play's performance at court) to Queen Elizabeth herself.
FAUNUS
Faunus, like Pan and Silvanus, is one of the "country gods" who prepares a welcome to Ida for the goddesses Juno, Pallas, and Venus. He brings a fawn as his gift for the visiting Olympians.
FLORA
Flora, goddess of flowers, joins Pomona, goddess of fruits, in decorating the bower prepared for the visit of the goddesses Juno, Pallas, and Venus to Ida.
HELEN OF TROY
Helen, reputedly the world's most beautiful woman, is summoned briefly by Venus, just as Paris is about to make a decision about the golden apple. The brief glimpse he gets of her as she sings (in Italian) prompts him immediately to award Venus the prize, thereby arousing the implacable hatred of Juno and Pallas for him and all things Trojan.
HOBBINOL
A friend of the lovesick shepherd Colin, Hobbinol joins his companions Diggon and Thenot in commenting upon love's fickleness. His name suggests that Peele is borrowing from the pastoral characters of the Shepherds' Calendar by Edmund Spenser.
JUNO
Termed the Queen of Heaven, Juno is the wife of the chief god Jupiter and one of the goddesses claiming the golden apple. In her attempt to influence Paris, she offers him great political power and great riches.
JUPITER
Husband to Juno and chief of the gods, Jupiter convenes and presides over the arraignment of Paris on the charge of "partiality" in favoring Venus over Juno and Pallas.
LACHESIS
With Atropos and Clotho, the fate Lachesis defers to the glorious Eliza at the play's end, surrendering to the queen a spindle and reel.
MARS
Mars, the god of war, attends the arraignment of Paris as a member of the Olympian panel hearing the case.
MERCURY
The messenger god Mercury, accompanied by several Cyclopes, arrests Paris on the charge of "partiality" and during the arraignment itself is given the task of formally charging the Trojan prince.
MUSES
The Muses, minor goddesses who inspire artistic endeavors, appear in company with the forest and woodland deities (Pan, Faunus, Silvanus, Flora, and Pomona). They greet Pallas, Venus, and Juno upon their arrival on Ida with a song.
NEPTUNE
The god of the sea, Neptune serves on the Olympian panel hearing the charge against Paris.
NYMPH OF VENUS
A nymph of Venus appears shortly before the arraignment begins and is wooed by both Bacchus, the god of wine, and Vulcan, the god of fire. She makes her escape by blowing a horn in Vulcan's ear.
OENONE
Oenone in some ways serves as a female equivalent of the love-destroyed shepherd Colin, for she is a mountain nymph in love with and then forsaken by the Trojan prince Paris when he sees and is promised. After his betrayal, she charges males generally of infidelity, expresses her shattered feelings in a song of complaint, and then directs Mercury to the place where he may arrest Paris.
PALLAS
Pallas is an alternative name for Athena, the goddess of wisdom, weaving, and the city of Athens. Favorite daughter of Jupiter, she claims the golden orb as hers and attempts to bribe Paris with the gift of wisdom and martial victories. When the award goes to Venus, Pallas joins with Juno to take revenge upon the Trojan prince.
PAN
Called the god of shepherds, Pan is one of the woodland gods who helps to greet Juno, Pallas, and Venus when they visit Ida. His contribution to their welcome is to bring a lamb and to play his pipe as the Olympians arrive.
PARIS
Subject of the arraignment before the gods for showing "partiality" in awarding the golden apple to Venus, Paris is a young son of the Trojan king Priam. He is approached by the goddesses Venus, Juno, and Pallas on the slopes of Mount Ida where he has been living the pastoral life of a shepherd and is required to award the golden apple to one of them. His selection of Venus enrages Juno and Pallas, and it leads both to the goddesses' hatred for all things Trojan and to his arraignment before an Olympian tribunal on charges of "partiality." His oration defending himself is masterful. He argues that as a mere human his fallibility (and poor eyesight) must be allowed as points in his favor. The various bribes offered by the contending goddesses were taxing for someone adhering to the simple life of a shepherd, and he argues that the inscription on the golden apple indicated its destination was "the fairest," not the goddess most associated with political sway or with wisdom. His argument is convincing, and because the Olympian panel is already aware that his fate is to bring about the destruction of his native city (by refusing to return Helen to her husband Menelaus), the gods are willing to free the young man from the charges. His departure ends his role in the play, but the gods are still left with the problem of awarding the golden prize to someone, a problem that will finally be solved by Apollo's suggestion that Diana should decide. Her decision is that only her follower Eliza (also known as Zabeta), the fictive equivalent of Queen Elizabeth herself, qualifies in all ways to receive the golden apple.
PHOEBE
Phoebe is the alternative name for Diana, the goddess of chastity and the hunt, who is asked to make a final determination about the golden apple and who opts to nominate Eliza, also called Zabeta (fictive representations of Queen Elizabeth), as the only fit recipient for the golden prize.
PLUTO
Youngest brother of Jupiter and ruler of the Underworld, Pluto is a member of the divine panel hearing the charges against the Trojan prince Paris.
POMONA
Pomona is the goddess of fruits. She assists Flora, the goddess of flowers, in preparing an appropriate welcome for Venus, Pallas, and Juno when those powerful Olympians visit Ida.
QUEEN ELIZABETH I
The title page of the 1584 quarto indicates that the Children of the Chapel presented Peele's play before Queen Elizabeth I. Because this group performed at court in January and in February of 1584, it is possible that the queen herself was present on one of these occasions and personally accepted the "golden apple" at the end of the play.
RHANIS
Rhanis conducts the goddesses Juno, Pallas, and Venus to their welcome on Ida. He calls himself a servant of Diana, although it is not clear if he is to be understood as a minor god or a human devotee of the goddess.
SATURN
Saturn is described as the god of time, and he appears as a member of the Olympian court that attends to the arraignment of Paris.
SILVANUS
Along with his companion gods Pan and Faunus, Silvanus welcomes the visiting Olympian goddesses Juno, Pallas, and Venus to Ida. His particular contribution to the local greeting is a gift of oak branches loaded with acorns.
THENOT
Like his fellows Colin, Diggon, and Hobbinol, Thenot is a typical figure from the pastoral tradition: a rural worker who is allowed to comment on the vicissitudes of love. His name appears also in Spenser's 1579 work The Shepherds' Calendar, and that may indicate Peele's borrowing from that important work.
THESTYLIS
Thestylis is the haughty country lass whose rejection of Colin leads to his death from the pain of unrequited love. Her punishment, devised personally by the love goddess Venus, is to fall madly in love with an ugly Churl who spurns her affection, thus treating her to the pain she inflicted upon the shepherd Colin when she spurned his love.
VENUS
Along with the goddesses Juno and Pallas, Venus, the goddess of love, claims the golden apple that Ate delivers because it is inscribed as meant for the "fairest one." She offers the Trojan prince Paris the most beautiful woman in the world if he gives her the prize, and she does arrange his meeting with Helen, already married to King Menelaus of Sparta. Helen's running away with the young Trojan is the immediate cause of the Trojan War.
VULCAN
Vulcan is described as the god of fire and the husband of Venus. He serves as a member of the Olympian panel that charges the young prince Paris with "partiality" for having granted the golden apple to Venus.
ZABETA
Zabeta is the alternative name Diana, goddess of chastity and hunting, gives to
her follower Eliza. Both names indicate Peele's effort to engage the historical monarch Elizabeth I in his pastoral play and his design to flatter her as being nearly godlike.