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Zenocrate
Theridamaswas originally the Persian king Mycetes’s military commander, but one brief meeting with Tamburlaine convinces him to switch sides. From then on, he serves as one of Tamburlaine’s closest confidants and a crucial commander and right-hand man in the Scythian’s military campaigns. His early defection serves to illuminate the power and charisma that Tamburlaine impresses upon all he meets. Tamburlaine promises Theridamas power and glory, and he eventually delivers on this by making him the new king of Argier. Theridamas occasionally reigns in his boss’s madness, suggesting that he spare the Soldan of Egypt’s life, or take mercy on Calyphas. During his siege of Balsera in Part 2, Theridamas comes upon the newly widowed Olympia, whose beauty stuns him. He takes her with him, hoping to win her heart, but she merely wants to join her husband and son in death. To this end, she dupes Theridamas into killing her himself. The episode brings out a previously unseen romantic side of his personality, as well as the uncharacteristic foolishness to which love makes him subject.
Theridamas Quotes in Tamburlaine
The Tamburlaine quotes below are all either spoken by Theridamas or refer to Theridamas . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 1 Quotes
Art thou but captain of a thousand horse,
That by characters graven in thy brows
And by thy martial face and stout aspect
Deservest to have the leading of an host?
Forsake thy king and do but join with me
And we will triumph over all the world.
I hold the Fates bound fast in iron chains
And with my hand turn Fortune’s wheel about,
And sooner shall the sun fall from his sphere
Than Tamburlaine be slain or overcome.
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A god is not so glorious as a king.
I think the pleasure they enjoy in heaven
Cannot compare with kingly joys in earth.
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Part 2 Quotes
Ah, good my lord, be patient, she is dead,
And all this raging cannot make her live.
If words might serve, our voice hath rent the air,
If tears, our eyes have watered all the earth,
If grief, our murdered hearts have strained forth blood.
Nothing prevails, for she is dead, my lord.
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Theridamas Character Timeline in Tamburlaine
The timeline below shows where the character Theridamas appears in Tamburlaine. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1
...a Scythian bandit named Tamburlaine, who’s said to have vast ambitions. Mycetes dispatches the commander Theridamas to thwart Tamburlaine. Meanwhile, the king’s brother Cosroe criticizes him to his face for his...
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Theridamas arrives, surprised to discover the mighty, impressive Tamburlaine is the lowly bandit he was told...
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...word returns to Cosroe of Tamburlaine’s overwhelming, almost godlike presence, and of his alliance with Theridamas. This excites Cosroe, who plans to ally with them in his coup against Mycetes for...
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...precedent for seizing the crown and claims that nature has designed man for unceasing ambition. Theridamas, Techelles, and Usumcasane declare that this ambition is what has won their fealty to Tamburlaine....
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...has fallen to them, and that the Soldan and King of Arabia are approaching. Upon Theridamas’s recommendation, Tamburlaine agrees to spare the Soldan when he defeats him, for Zenocrate’s sake.
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Part 2
Act 1, Scenes 5-6. Theridamas, Techelles, and Usumcasane arrive to report the vast armies they have gathered for assaulting Natolia....
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...to patience and love as she dies. Her death sends Tamburlaine into a rage, but Theridamas urges him to be patient and accept it. A crazed Tamburlaine decides to burn down...
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Act 3, Scenes 3-4. At a town near the Natolian frontier, Theridamas and Techelles fail to convince a Captain inside to surrender and thus commence laying deadly...
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...kill herself and settles on a vial, presumably of poison. Before she can swallow it, Theridamas comes wooing. She dupes him into thinking it is an invincibility potion, putting it on...
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Act 5, Scene 3. Theridamas, Techelles, and Usumcasane lament and curse the heavens: Tamburlaine is seriously ill. Tamburlaine ragingly challenges...
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