User:BreadBrekker/sandbox

The Greek tragedies written by Euripedes and Sophocles originated the narrative role of the tritagonist. These characters would typically serve as complements or foils to the protagonist, either by contrasting the protagonist's traits, or by guiding them as an advisor or confidant. Historically, the protagonist, deuteragonist, and tritagonist would appear in order: that is, chorus first, then the protagonist, then the deuteragonist, and finally the antagonist.

A tritagonist will also often complement the protagonist with a set of skills or traits that harmonize with the protagonist's strengths and weaknesses. Because of this, the tritagonist will sometimes act as a narrative foil to the protagonist, though that role is typically reserved for the antagonist.

Examples
As the narrative role of a tritagonist originated in early Greek theatre, some of the first examples of tritagonists can be found in Greek tragedies. In the play Antigone, the protagonist of the same name has a sister, Ismene, who acts as the tritagonist. She acts as an agent to move Antigone's journey forward through conversations with him.

More modern pieces of media, especially fantasy and sci-fi, tend to have a trio of main characters comprised of the protagonist, deuteragonist, and antagonist. For example, in Harry Potter, the protagonist is Harry Potter, the deuteragonist is Ron Weasley, and the tritagonist is Hermione Granger. Similarly, in the original Star Wars trilogy, Luke Skywalker is the protagonist, Han Solo is the deuteragonist, and Princess Leia Organa is the tritagonist. Both Hermione and Princess Leia fulfill the tritagonist's role of supporting the protagonist's journey with complementary skills and traits. Peeta Mellark is the tritagonist in The Hunger Games, which also features a trio of main characters. He acts in a similar capacity of advising and supporting the protagonist, that being Katniss Everdeen.