Goethe derives the Three Mighty Men from the Bible, where they assist the Biblical hero David defeat the Philistines. In Goethe’s drama, one of the Three Mighty Men is young and eager for bloodshed, one is mature and eager for treasure, while the last is old and conservative. Together, they work for Faust in assisting the Emperor to quell the Anti-Emperor’s rebellion. Later, the brutes go against Faust’s gentler orders by killing Baucis and Philemon.