The Depiction of Evil in Form/Figure

In the first four scenes, evil manifests itself in the characters of Antiochus and his daughter. If Pericles wishes to court his daughter, Pericles must solve Antiochus’ riddle. If Pericles answers incorrectly, he dies. Once he solves the riddle however, Pericles keeps it to himself, and tells Antiochus he knows the answer to the riddle, but does not state it. Antiochus then vows to kill Pericles. So whether or not Pericles got the answer right, the riddle was fashioned to kill any who tried to marry his daughter.

Incest itself is an extremely foul practice. Especially between father and daughter, and the fact that it is consensual is striking. This incestuous relationship between Antiochus and his daughter is twisted and since they wish to keep the relationship a secret is obvious. Those who have tried to court Antiochus’s daughter before Pericles have fallen into an abyss where they have not known that they are doomed to die. However, before Antiochus can kill Pericles, he escapes, back to his city of Tyre.

Because Antiochus doesn’t want his dirty, sinful deed revealed, he hires an assassin named Thaliard to kill Pericles. The evil of this incest has evolved, pretty much causing a chain reaction of events, to the unease of Antiochus.  But, as we learn later in Scene 3 that Pericles escapes, thus leaving the possibility of Pericles revealing the evils of Antiochus and his daughter.