Aside from Fidelio, he is the only Servant to continue to follow the
usurped King of Lydia in Act One. In the next Act, he helps to rescue
Lapyrus from the trap, and continues to search for the distressed Lydian
Queen and her children. In Act Five, he assists with Lydia's counter-coup
of the usurping tyrant, Armatrites.
AMPHRODITE, THE DAUGHTER OF THE KING OF CICILIA
In Act One, she deplores the tyranny of her Father, Armatrites. She
pledges love to Tymethes, the Son of the King that Armatrites has deposed.
In Act Two, she confers with Tymethes, dismissing his worry that she will
succumb to the advances of the parasite, Mazeres. In Act Four, she demands
and receives the jewel that Tymethes has removed from her veiled Mother at
the banquet. She is coerced into giving the jewel to Armatrites, who
realizes that it is the Queen's, and that Tymethes has had access to his
Queen. Now, she dismisses the disgraced Tymethes, and pledges her hand to
Mazeres. In Act Five, she is outraged when her Brother tells her that he
has precipitated the downfall of her newly-favored suitor, Mazeres. She
poisons her brother's wine, successfully killing him. She also poisons her
own wine, ruing that her brother acted to 'divide love'.
ARMATRITES, THE TYRANNICAL KING OF CICILIA
By the end of Act One, he has helped Lydia repel the Lycians, but he seizes
the Lydian throne. Accepting the hawkish cajoling of Mazeres, he ignores
the moderating influence of his son, Zenarchus. He tells us that he
doesn't trust women, including his "fair-framed" wife. In Act Four, he
sees Aphrodite kiss and receive a ring from Tymethes (the one that Tymethes
has stolen from Armatrites' cheating wife), to his rage. He believes
Mazeres' claim that the couple have been meeting secretly at lavish
events. He rages at Amphrodite and seizes the jewel. Realising that it is
actually his Queen's ring, he hears from Mazeres (who is disguised as the
Queen's Keeper) that Tymethes has cuckolded him. He finds the Queen with
her now-dead lover, promising death to her. Firstly, though, he orders
that Tymethes' body be cut up and displayed. In Act Five, he reasons that
Mazeres has facilitated the progression of the Queen and Tymethes'
adultery; he demands that Mazeres be tortured and killed. He makes the
"pilgrims" (the disguised Lydians) observe the eating of Tymethes' flesh by
the Queen. Realising that he has been outmaneuvered by the King of Lydia,
he faces up to his inevitable slaying, which is briskly carried out by
Lydia's King and his followers.
CHORUS
At the start of the play, the Chorus verbalizes the action of the Dumb
Show. The King of Lydia and the King of Lycia attempt an uneasy truce.
Lapyrus, a nephew of the Lydian King, courts Eurimone, the daughter of the
Lycian King; so, he rejects his own country. Lydia goes to the King of
Cicilia for help; having defeated the Lycians, the tyrannical Cicilian
King, Armatrites, subjugates Lydia and takes the throne. The Queen of
Lydia flees with her two infants. At the end of Act Two, the Chorus
reappears, again giving words to explain the significance of a Dumb Show.
This time, the death of one of the Queen of Lydia's children is dramatized;
the other infant is lost, but is found and returned by the two Shepherds.
The King of Lydia, and his faithful helpers, continue to look for their
Queen.
CORIDON, the CLOWN
In Act Two, he helps the Shepherds dig the wolf-trap. He tells bawdy
jokes, and comments on the parallels between the wolves and the savage,
wolf-like habits of some humans. He finds Lapyrus in the wolf-pit, and
celebrates, because he has found the "wolvish rascal" that has betrayed
Lydia.
FIDELIO
A faithful Servant of the King of Lydia. In Act One, together with
Amorpho, he follows his deposed King. In Act Two, he helps to rescue
Lapyrus from the wolf-pit, and then searches for the Queen of Lydia and her
two infants. In Act Five, he helps to slay the tyrannical King of Cicilia,
Armatrites.
INFANTS, CHILDREN OF THE KING OF LYDIA
In Act One, hidden in a forest, they are protected by their wronged Mother,
the Queen of Lydia. By the end of Act Two, one of the two has died. The
other survives, being presented in Act Five, named as Manophes, as the
rightful heir to the throne of Lydia.
THE KING OF LYCIA
Appears only in the first Dumb Show, giving the hand of his daughter to
Lapyrus, the nephew of the Lydian King, ruining the tentative peace between
the two realms. The renewed conflict results in the opportunistic
usurpation of Lydia by Cicilia.
THE KING OF LYDIA
In Act One, he is usurped by Armatrites, the King of Cicilia. His nephew
has betrayed him, leaving to seek matrimony with the daughter of Lydia's
enemy, the King of Lycia. His Queen has fled for fear of her life and the
lives of her two infants. Only two servants remain loyal to Lydia. In Act
Two, Lydia helps to rescue Lapyrus from the Shepherd's wolf-trap. He
forgives his treacherous nephew, recruiting him in the search for the Queen
and the two children. In Act Five, he enters Armatrites' castle, disguised
as a pilgrim, together with his followers. He endures the sight of his own
son's flesh being eaten by the disgraced Queen of Cicilia. He reveals
himself to Armatrites, and, with the assistance of his followers, slays
him. Restored to his throne, his joy is complete when his Queen and
surviving son, Manophes, are presented to him.
LAPYRUS, THE NEPHEW OF THE KING OF LYDIA
In Act One, while in disguise and in disgrace for accepting the kinship of
the Lycians, he rescues his Aunt, the Queen of Lydia, from the ravishes of
two soldiers. He reveals his identity, shows penitence for his treachery,
and agrees to protect the stricken Queen. In Act Three, when seeking
victuals for the Queen, her infants, and himself, he falls into the trap
that the Clown and Shepherds have set for the sheep-killing wolves. He is
rescued by the small train of his Uncle, the King of Lydia. He determines
to relocate the missing Queen and her infants. In Act Five, fully
integrated again into the family of the Lydian King, he assists with the
removal of the tyrant, Armatrites from his unlawfully-taken throne of
Lydia.
LODOVICUS
Like Sextorio, he betrays the usurped King of Lydia in Act One. In Act
Four, Armatrites declares that as Lodovicus was once a lawyer, he cannot be
trusted to obey an instruction. However, he is ordered to take part in the
quartering of Tymethes' body and display it to the Queen of Cicilia. He
duly carries out these grisly orders.
MANOPHES
See Infants, Children of the King of Lydia.
MAZERES
Mazeres is constructed as a parasite - the "Court flye." In Act One, he
urges Armatrites to proceed with his usurpation of the Lydian throne. He
is jealous of Tymethes, as he himself seeks the hand of the Cicilian
Princess, Amphrodite. In Act Two, he jealously observes Tymethes'
discourse with Amphrodite. In Act Three, he bribes Roxona to assist in the
killing of Tymethes. He tries to kill Tymethes with poisoned wine, but
fails. Seeing the lushness of the banquet, he resolves to bring down
Tymethes. He thinks that the veiled women is Amphrodite (it is actually
her Mother, the Queen of Cicilia). In Act Four, he informs the infuriated
Armatrites that Tymethes and Amphrodite have been having open and secret
meetings. It then becomes apparent to Mazeres that the Queen has been
having an adulterous relationship with Tymethes. He is joyous when the
disgusted Amphrodite places him in her affections in place of the shamed
Tymethes. In disguise as Roxona, he tells the incensed Armatrites of his
Queen's adultery with Tymethes. He then kills the real Roxona, to the
consolation of the Queen. In Act Five, his downfall comes after he
narrates the tale of the banquet - Armatrites realizes that Mazeres could
have prevented the adulterous affair from escalating.
THE QUEEN OF CICILIA
Her name, Tephis, is mentioned once in the play. See TEPHIS.
THE QUEEN OF CICILIA'S MAID
This character may be one of the Four Servants from Act Three. In Act
Four, the Maid attends to the Queen.
THE QUEEN OF LYDIA
In Act One, in effective asylum, she guards her young children in a forest,
cursing her treacherous nephew, Lapyrus, who has sided with the Lycians.
She vows to kill Layprus, but accepts him into her service when he rescues
her from rapine by two soldiers, and after he expresses remorse for his
disloyalty. In Act Two, she buries the child that has expired. She
briefly loses the other child; she is relived to find the child again, but
is still immersed in exiled wretchedness. In Act Five, she enters the
castle of the now-vanquished Armatrites, bringing with her Manophes, her
surviving Son and rightful heir to the Lydian throne.
ROXONA (or Roxano)
Roxona is charged with guarding the Queen of Cicilia. In Act One, he
accepts his Queen's request to organize a dangerous meeting between her and
Tymethes. He boasts to us that he receives gold because of this "Pander"
role. In Act Two, when disguised as a beggar, he seduces Tymethes into
accepting an offer to meet an anonymous, delectable lady (the Queen in
disguise). In Act Three, he accepts gold from Mazeres - a bribe to kill
Mazeres. He attempts but fails to poison Tymethes. In Act Four, he again
leads Tymethes to the Queen. This time, however, she is surprised and her
identity becomes apparent to Tymethes. Roxona is then impersonated by
Mazeres - the latter kills him, with the Queen thinking that it is Roxona
who has informed her husband of her adulterous conduct.
SERVANTS OF THE QUEEN OF CICILIA
In Act Three, they agree to keep any secret that the Queen of Cicilia may
have. They serve Tymethes at the lavish banquet.
SEXTORIO
In Act One, when Armatrites, the King of Cicilia, seizes the throne of
Lydia, Sextorio immediately changes his loyalty from the deposed King to
the new usurper. In Act Four, he agrees to spread Armatrites' lie that he
is some forty miles away from the castle, so that the King can surprise his
enemies within. He follows Armatrites' orders to quarter and display the
already-dead Tymethes' body. In Acts Four and Five, he carries out various
menial tasks for Armatrites.
SHEPHERDS
In Act Two, they lay a trap for wolves that have been attacking their
sheep. They come across one of the Queen of Lydia's infants, and return
him to her.
SOLDIERS
In Act One, they seek to rape the stricken Queen of Lydia; they show
cowardice when they are both chased off by Lapyrus.
TEPHIS
The Queen of Cicilia. This name is used only once in the play.
In Act One, we learn that the Queen is locked up by her uxorious husband,
Armatrites. She is affected by the charm of Tymethes, but warns him not to
make inappropriate advances. She admits to the audience and to her keeper,
Roxona, her lust for Tymethes. The Queen puts on a servile display for her
husband's benefit, but urges Roxona to contrive a meeting between her and
Tymethes. In Act Two, she asks for and receives expressions of
secret-keeping loyalty from four Servants. At a lavish banquet, she
presents herself - initially silent and always veiled - to Tymethes. She
explains to the besotted Tymethes that she cannot possibly reveal her
identity. In Act Four, the Queen's identity is revealed to Tymethes. She
responds by shooting him to preserve the secret of their clandestine
meetings. Armatrites happens upon the scene. Lying, the Queen alleges
that Tymethes' plan had been to rape her. Disbelieved, she is accused of
fornication by Mazeres, who is pretending to be Roxona. A consolation for
the Queen is the killing of Roxona, who the Queen wrongly thinks has
betrayed her. She is forced to look upon the quartered body of her lover,
Tymethes. In Act Five, she is made to publicly eat the flesh of Tymethes.
TYMETHES, THE SON OF THE KING OF LYDIA
In Act One, Tymethes seems more interested in pursuing the daughter of the
usurping King, Armatrites, than with assisting his dethroned Father.
Later, he is awed by the Queen of Cicilia, whose movements are restricted
by her uxorious husband, Armatrites. In Act Two, the disguised Queen's
Keeper, Roxona, seduces Tymethes into agreeing to meet an unknown woman,
highlighting Tymethes' lack of self-discipline. In Act Three, he allows
himself to be led by the hand, blindfolded, by Roxona into the meeting with
the enigmatic lady (whom the audience knows to be the Cicilian Queen). He
accidentally spills some wine, which is fortunate as it has been poisoned
by Roxona, who has been bribed by Mazeres. Tymethes is mesmerized by the
lush surroundings, sweet foods, and service at the banquet, although the
prized woman remains veiled. In Act Four, he reveals to Zenarchus the
story of his experiences at the banquet; he also reveals that he has
surreptitiously removed a ring from the hidden lady's finger. He
reluctantly gives the ring to a demanding Amphrodite. Again, he is brought
hoodwinked to see the Queen. He realises who she is: fearing for her own
life, she kills him with a pistol. His body is dragged off stage and
quartered at Armatrites' command. The body parts are, for now, displayed
to the Queen. In Act Five, Tymethes' flesh is publicly eaten by the
punished Queen.
ZENARCHUS
In Act One, he urges his Father, Armatrites, not to usurp the Lydian
throne. He hopes that his Sister, Amphrodite, will accept the amorous
advances of Tymethes, the son of Lydia's King. He pays his respects to his
jealously-guarded Mother. In Act Two, he facilitates communication between
Tymethes and the disguised Roxona. In Act Four, he is bewildered by the
stories related to him by Tymethes of the elaborate banquet attended by the
mysterious, veiled lady (who is actually Zenarchus' Mother, the Queen of
Cicilia). In Act Five, he mourns Tymethes, getting some solace when he
convinces his Father that Mazeres is worthy of death. In revenge for this,
his Sister poisons his wine, killing him for precipitating the downfall of
her new paramour, Mazeres.