Chiron

Also known as: Rapine · Family: Goths · Role: son of Tamora · First appears: Titus Andronicus · Act I, Scene I

Chiron, also known as Rapine, is a Goth and a son of Tamora, alongside his brother Demetrius. In Act I, he survives the death of Alarbus with Demetrius; by Act II, the brothers draw swords over their shared desire for Lavinia, with Chiron declaring himself equally fit to win her. Their rivalry extends to Bassianus, though Aaron warns them that pursuing Lavinia may bring about their deaths.

During the hunt, Aaron devises a scheme for Chiron and Demetrius to assault Lavinia. They stab Bassianus to death, hide his body in a pit, and carry off Lavinia; after Tamora permits them to use her, they ravish her and leave her mutilated and tongueless. Later, Lavinia identifies them as the perpetrators, while Chiron remains allied with Aaron, who protects the newborn child from them as his brother.

When Titus Andronicus sends weapons marked with lines revealing that the guilt of Chiron and Demetrius has been discovered, the brothers are drawn into Titus Andronicus’s revenge. Titus Andronicus has them bound, cuts their throats, and prepares their bodies for the banquet; he then reveals that they have been baked into the pie eaten by their mother, Tamora. Lucius publicly names Chiron and Demetrius as the murderers of Bassianus and the ravishers of Lavinia.