The Frogs Character Analysis

Dionysus

Dionysus is the god of theater and is the play’s protagonist. Unhappy with the present state of Athenian drama, politics, and culture, Dionysus, accompanied by Xanthias, a man he has enslaved, journeys to Hades… read analysis of Dionysus

Xanthias

Although Xanthias is a man Dionysus has enslaved (and thus, he is socially inferior to Dionysus, a god), he’s wittier and braver than Dionysus, and he undermines, complains about, and outwits Dionysus at every opportunity… read analysis of Xanthias

Euripides

One of the great Greek tragic playwrights, Euripides died in 406 B.C.E., the year before The Frogs’s first performance. In the play, Dionysus, longing for the poetry of the late tragedian (and finding… read analysis of Euripides

Aeschylus

One of the great Greek tragic playwrights, Aeschylus died around 456 B.C.E., roughly 50 years before The Frogs’s first performance in 405 B.C.E. In the play, conflict arises between Aeschylus and Euripides when Euripides… read analysis of Aeschylus

Pluto

Pluto is the ruler of Hades. He organizes a contest to determine whether Euripides or Aeschylus is the superior poet; the winner will take over Aeschylus’s chair in Pluto’s Great Hall, and he’ll also journey… read analysis of Pluto

Alcibiades

Alcibiades doesn’t appear in the play, but he’s referenced in passing. He was an important (but controversial) Athenian general who was arrested in 415 B.C.E. for profaning the Mysteries. After his arrest, he joined the… read analysis of Alcibiades

Sophocles

One of the great Greek tragic playwrights, Sophocles died around 405 or 406 B.C.E., around the same time as Euripides. For decades, he was the most celebrated playwright of Athens. Sophocles doesn’t appear as… read analysis of Sophocles

Frog-Chorus

As Dionysus rows Charon’s ferry across a large lake to Hades, he encounters a chorus of singing, croaking frogs whose song serves as the play’s first choral interlude. Growing steadily more annoyed with the… read analysis of Frog-Chorus

Initiate-Chorus

On their way to Hades, Dionysus and Xanthias encounter a group of Initiates engaged in a sacrificial feast and procession to honor “Iacchus” (a deity associated with Dionysus). The Initiates perform the parodos that comprises… read analysis of Initiate-Chorus

Minor Characters

Chorus

Throughout the play, the Chorus assumes numerous roles, including the Frog-Chorus and the Initiate-Chorus. In their various roles, the Chorus comments on events of the play and presents Aristophanes’s views on political, cultural, and social arguments of the day.

Aeacus

Aeacus is the intimidating gatekeeper of Hades. When Dionysus and Xanthias arrive at Pluto’s palace, Aeacus mistakes Dionysus for Heracles (Dionysus is disguised as Heracles) and berates him for stealing Cerberus the hell hound. Aeacus threatens to torture Dionysus (whom he thinks is Heracles) in retaliation.

Heracles

Heracles is Dionysus’s half-brother and a divine hero in Greek mythology. Knowing that Heracles successfully traveled to and returned from Hades, Dionysus approaches Heracles at the beginning of the play for advice on how to get to Hades.

Pluto’s Slave

Pluto’s slave bonds with Xanthias over their mutual love of complaining about and spreading rumors about their masters.

Charon

Charon is the ferryman who transports Dionysus across the big lake to Hades.

Two Landladies

When Dionysus and Xanthias arrive at Pluto’s palace, they encounter two landladies who, having mistaken Dionysus for Heracles (Dionysus is disguised as Heracles), berate him for the rude acts Heracles apparently committed when he was in Hades.

The Frogs Characters