Pericles, Prince of Tyre Power Quotes

Not only is Antiochus a terrible father for having an incestuous affair with his own daughter, he's also a lousy ruler for lopping off the heads of all his daughter's suitors who can't guess his riddle. The play seems to go out of its way to tell us that Antiochus's behavior is not only damaging to his family; it also has some serious political consequences. Instead of planning for his kingdom's future and trying to make sure there's an heir to rule when he's gone, he spends all his time trying to prevent his daughter from getting married. 

So, technically, Pericles is a king, but he's often referred to as a "prince." What's up with that? Is Shakespeare trying to tell us that he's still a young pup and still has a lot of growing up to do? Here, Antiochus calls him a "young prince," which is pretty condescending. Clearly, Antiochus doesn't want this kid to marry his daughter and would be happy to mount Pericles's head on his wall. 

No doubt about it, there's a whole lot of corruption at Antiochus's court. Here, Antiochus offers to "advance" one of his lords if he kills Pericles without asking any questions. (Kind of like King Richard having his little nephews murdered in the play Richard III).