Character Profiles
Antiochus
This is the King of Antioch and his riddle reveals that he is having an incestuous relationship with his daughter. They are both punished by the gods for this sin.
Cerimon
This is a Lord of Ephesus and he helps Thaisa recover after finding her in a chest.
Cleon
Cleon, the Governor of Tharsus, and his wife Dionyza agree to care for Marina (the daughter of Pericles). He remains silent when his wife attempts to murder her and for this he, as well as her, is punished by the gods.
Dionyza
Her envy of Marina leads her to plan her murder.
Gower
Gower acts as the narrator and presents the events before they unfold. He is a fictional representation of John Gower, the author of the fourteenth-century Confessio Amantis (which also contains a re-telling of the romance of Apollonius of Tyre from which Pericles derives).
Helicanus
Helicanus is a Lord of Tyre and a faithful friend to Pericles.
Lychorida
The nurse of Marina.
Lysimachus
Lysimachus is the Governor of Mytilene and first appears in the play when he visits the brothel where Marina has been taken. He turns to the path of righteousness after she talks to him and by the end of the play it is evident they are to marry.
Marina
The daughter of Pericles and Thaisa. She is characterized by the strength of her virtue.
Pericles
As the eponymous hero, his adventures are integral to the play. He is depicted as virtuous and prone to fits of sadness, and his reunification with his wife and daughter at the end is seen to be connected to his goodness.
Simonides
This is the father of Thaisa and is referred to as ‘good King Simonides’.
Thaisa
Thaisa is the wife of Pericles and she is thrown overboard in a chest when it is thought that she has died after giving birth to Marina. When she recovers, she decides to become a nun at the Temple of Diana.
Our Networks