Aristotle

For the moment setting aside this minor quibble - which more often than not merely results in unintentional comedy - what are the characters actually like? Well, not to bandy about the word 'Machiavellian' or anything, but these simply aren't nice people. As befits the kind of political machinations you'd expect during that period of history, almost everyone we meet: 1, has an angle of some sort; 2, has dirt on someone else; 3, is scheming to advance their station by some (generally) unpleasant means.