Protagonists by role

thumb|Achilles during the [[Trojan War, as depicted in an ancient Greek polychromatic pottery painting (dating to ).]] thumb|upright|Joan of Arc is considered a medieval Christian heroine of France for her role in the [[Hundred Years' War, and was canonized as a Roman Catholic saint]] thumb|upright|William Tell, a popular [[folk hero of Switzerland.]] thumb|upright|Giuseppe Garibaldi, celebrated as one of the greatest generals of modern times, is considered an Italian national hero for his role in the [[Italian unification, and is known as the "Hero of the Two Worlds" because of his military e

thumb|200px|William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's [[Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. William Morris Hunt, oil on canvas, ]]

thumb|right|Revisionist Western films commonly feature antiheroes as lead characters whose actions are morally ambiguous. [[Clint Eastwood, pictured here in A Fistful of Dollars (1964), portrayed the archetypal antihero called the "Man with No Name" in the Italian Dollars Trilogy of Spaghetti Westerns.]]

In literature, the deuteragonist ( ; ) or secondary main character is the second most important character of a narrative, after the protagonist and before the tritagonist. The deuteragonist often acts as a constant companion to the protagonist or as someone who continues actively aiding a protagonist. The deuteragonist may switch between supporting and opposing the protagonist, depending on their own conflict or plot.

thumb | right | Marble bust of Aeschines. Greek, 4th - 2nd century BC. Found in ʽHeraclea Lyncestisʼ, today in the Republic of Macedonia. On display in the British Museum, London. In literature, the tritagonist () or tertiary main character is the third most important character of a narrative, after the protagonist and deuteragonist. In ancient Greek drama, the tritagonist was the third member of the acting troupe.