Thersites, the “Jack Sparrow” of the Trojan War, was a soldier depicted in Homer’s “Iliad” as an anti-heroic figure.
Ancient Greek philosophers like Plato, perceived Thersites as a buffoon, while modern thinkers such as Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Karl Marx view him as a social critic of his time.
Thersites: The one who provokes with audacity
The name Thersites literally translates to “the one who provokes with audacity.” According to a tradition mentioned in the Iliad, Thersites took part in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar, but when he saw the beast, he “abandoned the hunt, the salvation, being hunted.” Homer presents him in the Iliad as a parasitic element – a coward who only cursed, quarreled and constantly provoked the nobles and kings with insults and insolent behavior.
Homer describes Thersites as the physically ugliest man in the Trojan War. He says Thersites was lopsided, was crippling in one of his legs, and had curved shoulders that touched his chest. His face was also oblong, and he had few hairs on his scalp (baldness).
For the ancient Greeks, physical beauty translated to virtuous souls. On the other hand, ugliness in bodily appearance reflected one’s evil soul. The ancient Romans shared similar beliefs, thinking that a deviant face also indicated a deviant soul (Monstrum in fronte, monstrum in animo). Thus, by starting with a description of his physical ugliness, Homer leads his audience to presuppose the vicious nature of Thersites’ soul.
The scene takes place in the assembly of the Achaeans. Agamemnon, wanting to test the endurance of the Greeks, announces that the war against Troy is futile and suggests they board their ships and return to Greece. “We are leaving with my friend, the homeland of Gaia” (B140).
The reaction of the Achaeans contradicted Agamemnon’s expectations, as they all rushed to the ships, eager to leave. Then, Odysseus, with the guidance of Athena, took the initiative and advised the Achaeans – sometimes not in the most polite way – to turn back.
He often threatened, beat and insulted them, defending the necessity of authority with the emblematic phrase: “Polyarchy is not a good thing. One will be the leader, the king.”
The Achaean crowd “obeyed” Odysseus’ commands, with the exception of the immoderate Thersites, who began hurling insults at Agamemnon and his authority. Thersites said, “Son of Atreus, what do you complain about and desire again? It does not suit you, a ruler, to tyrannize the Achaeans.”
Thersites’ defiance and ridicule of Agamemnon
Most ancient Greek writers, like Plato, viewed Thersites as an audacious and evil man for his actions. However, many modern writers, like Seth Benardete, tend to have a more positive interpretation of his stance.
Benardete argues that Thersites, with his audacity, expresses “what everyone is thinking” but is too afraid to say. He is seen as a symbol of verbal resistance to blind obedience to authority.
Homer mentions that Thersites would ridicule the kings, making the people laugh at them. During his tirade against Agamemnon, he used the following words:
“Atreides, what is it you seek again? Tell us what you lack. You have plenty of bronze in your tents, and many women, whom we give to you – the best among us – always to you first, every time we sack a city of the enemy. Or do you yearn for gold, to have it brought to you, perhaps as ransom for some beloved child of the Trojans, whom I or another Achaean has bound in chains?
Or, is it a young woman you desire to sleep with, to enjoy her alone? And you, who are their leader, should not be causing so much suffering to the Achaeans. You scoundrels! No longer are you Achaeans, but Achaean women! Let us return home, and let him stay here in Troy, feasting on his treasures, to see whether we ever helped him or not. And now, he has dishonored a man far better than him – Achilles – by unjustly taking the Achaeans’ prize from him. If he had any blood or spirit in him, this would be the last time you wronged him, Atreides!”
Ancient and modern interpretations of Thersites
In this rebuke, Thersites criticizes the slavish stance of the Achaeans during the Trojan war. He criticizes the tolerance of the humiliations inflicted by Agamemnon. He attributed a feminine trait to their submission by calling them women.
At the same time, he argues that there is no point for the soldiers to continue fighting for Agamemnon’s interests. He proposes that the Achaeans abandon Troy, so their king would realize how important those he wronged are to him.
Such a proposal would certainly have sounded too “cowardly” and dishonorable to the Greeks of the heroic age. As Isocrates mentions, these people cared so much for their posthumous fame and glory that they would rather die than abandon a battle. This explains why they viewed Odysseus’ defense of Agamemnon positively, as Odysseus threatened to strip Thersites naked and flog him, attacking him on the basis of his actions and calling him useless as a fighter.
However, from a modern perspective, Thersites could be seen as a brave, individualistic utilitarian who was capable of separating his own interests from those of the authority figures above him.
Thersites, the ”Jack Sparrow” of the Trojan War as a symbol of resistance in modern popular culture
In modern popular culture, many antiheroic figures share viewpoints similar to those of Thersites. An example is Jack Sparrow, whom we can see in Disney’s fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, “On Stranger Tides.”
Captain Barbossa and his crew track Blackbeard to the Temple of the Fountain of Youth. The men from both parties prepare for battle, as Barbossa wants to exact revenge on Blackbeard. Before the final fight begins, the protagonist, Jack Sparrow, interrupts, saying, “Hang on a minute. I just need to understand something. Right, so, you will fight against them, and they will fight against you, only because he (Barbossa) wants to kill him (Blackbeard)? Where’s the sense? I say, let them fight each other while we lay back, watch, have a drink, and place some wagers.”
In this scene, Jack Sparrow reflects the stance of Thersites. Both question the eternal loyalty of the masses to their leaders, even at the expense of their own personal interests, and despite the danger of suffering death and humiliation.
In the lost work Aethiopis, Achilles is said to have killed Thersites by striking him hard for having torn out the eyes of the Amazon Penthesilea, whom Achilles had just killed in combat.
