Thersites

American  

[ther-sahy-teez] / θərˈsaɪ tiz /

noun

1. (in theIliad ) a Greek who accused Agamemnon of greed and Achilles of cowardice during the Trojan War.

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Thersites British  

/ θəˈsaɪtiːz /

noun

1. the ugliest and most evil-tongued fighter on the Greek side in the Trojan War, killed by Achilles when he mocked him

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Example Sentences

The “scabrous” Thersites in Troilus and Cressida speaks with relentless, scene-stealing venom.

From The Guardian • Feb. 9, 2017

Whatever his source, he found in Thersites an ideal foil to the great lords of “Troilus and Cressida,” his deeply satiric, nearly parodic remake of the Trojan War story.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 9, 2016

In Troilus and Cressida, the strangely comic character Thersites announces Ajax by saying “for, whosoever you take him to be, he is Ajax.”

From Time • Sep. 20, 2013

Simon Russell Beale makes the central character more coherent than ever before, and more vital, more important, more all-encompassing – part Thersites, part corporation smoothie, part Lear.

From The Guardian • Jul. 21, 2012

With so many skeletons piled together, all as like as could be, eyes glaring ghastly and vacant, teeth gleaming bare, I knew not to tell Thersites from Nireus the fair....

From The Conflict of Religions in the Early Roman Empire by Glover, T. R. (Terrot Reaveley)