Note E401 — 64.
Reading edition
Thersites, the ugliest and most scurrilous of the Greeks before Troy. He spared in his revilings neither prince nor chief, but directed his abuse especially against Achilles and Ulysses. The name is often used to denote a calumniator. Cf.
"When rank Thersites opes his mastiff jaws, We shall hear music, wit, and oracle." —Shakspere, Troilus and Cressida, Act i. sc. 3.