PANDARUS

in Greek legend, son of Lycaon, a Lycian. In Homer's epic poem the Iliad, Pandarus broke the truce between the Trojans and the Greeks by treacherously wounding Menelaus, the king of Sparta; he was finally slain by the warrior Diomedes. In the medieval tale of Troilus and Cressida, as well as in William Shakespeare's play by the same name, Pandarus acted as the lovers' go-between; hence the word pander. the uncle of Cressida in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida. A bawdy and unscrupulous fellow, Pandarus acts the go-between for his niece and her lover, Troilus; hence the word pander. Pandarus also serves as a voyeuristic commentator on the action. He speaks the bitter epilogue of this bitter play, which he closes by wishing diseases upon the audience.