Miles Gloriosus

Miles Gloriosus is a fictional character from the play A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum by Stephen Sondheim, Burt Shevelove, Larry Gelbart. His name is the Latin for "Swaggering Soldier" or "Vainglorious Soldier." Miles is based on Pyrgopolynices, the central character from a lost Greek play which survives in its Roman adaptation by Plautus, also entitled "Miles Gloriosus."

In Sondheim's play, Miles is a Roman military commander during the reign of Nero in the mid 1st century CE. Returning in triumph from a victory over the Turks (an obvious anachronism), Miles becomes a romantic rival to a naive young man named Hero. While Miles appears to be the villain for much of the play, he ultimately emerges as a sympathetic character. Ron Holgate played Miles in the original 1962 Broadway production, and Leon Greene played him in the West End version and the 1966 film.

Miles Gloriosus in "The Great White Way"
Miles Gloriosus was an important Sondhead champion in the Sondheim-Webber battle. His forces triumphed over another Roman contingent from the Webberite play Jesus Christ Superstar. However, Miles and his men soon fell to the 20th-century weaponry of Juan Perón's Argentinian guards.

Miles' Funny Forum costar Pseudolus also played a crucial role in the battle.