The Clouds

Strepsiades is the main character of the play. He would have been played by the actor known as the Protagonist, the lead actor in Old Comedy. Further speaking roles would have been divided by up to three more actors, known by such names as the “deuteragonist,” or “second actor,” and “tritagonist,” or “third actor.”

Strepsiades is aging and unsophisticated without any notable intellectual gifts. His desire to evade his son’s debts motivates his actions throughout the play. He is unscrupulous, which we see when he decides to cheat his creditors by becoming an orator. His actions reflect the ignominy of those who disregarded traditional values in Aristophanes’s time.

When Strepsiades proves himself too forgetful and ignorant to learn—Socrates characterizes him as a “clueless stupid forgetful bumpkin” (629-30)—he forces his son Pheidippides to enroll in the Thinkery and learn from Socrates in his stead. Strepsiades soon gets exactly what he wanted: Pheidippides returns from the Thinkery a capable orator, allowing Strepsiades to cheat his creditors using dishonest arguments. But When Pheidippides beats his father and convinces him that he is justified in doing so, Strepsiades regrets his actions. Spurred on by the Clouds, he decides to punish Socrates by burning the Thinkery to the ground.