Problius

Problius of Berytus is one of the antagonists who appears in Chris Heimerdinger's Tennis Shoes Adventure Series. He appears as a minor antagonist in The Sacred Quest and the secondary antagonist of The Golden Crown.

The Sacred Quest
Problius appears towards the end of the book, acting as Marcos and Gidgiddonihah's slave driver. He watches as Kumarcaah goads Marcos into fighting several gladiators, only for Marcos to win every fight. Kumarcaah issues an order to set the lions on Marcos, which Problius attempts to carry out. However, Harry Hawkins sneaks in and frees the lions before they enter the arena. As the lions go on a rampage, Gidgiddonihah steals Problius' sword and escapes with Harry and Marcos.

The Lost Scrolls
Problius' name is mentioned in the sixth book, though he does not physically appear. While entering Jerusalem, Gidgiddonihah poses as Problius in order to gain respect from the native people.

The Golden Crown
As Harry Hawkins, Meagan Sorenson, Garth Plimpton, and Gidgiddonihah are preparing to travel back to their own times, Problius comes across Harry and Gidgiddonihah browsing around for supplies. Problius and his men beat up Harry and Gidgiddonihah and take them to the Roman authorities. Problius tells the Roman officials that Harry had been the cause of the chaos in the arena, as he had freed the lions. The Romans send Harry into slavery as punishment.

After dealing with Harry, Problius buys Gidgiddonihah to use as his own personal slave again. As he brings Gidgiddonihah with him to Berytus, Gidgiddonihah feigns having a broken leg. Because of this, Problius and his men are neglectful and leave Gidgiddonihah's shackles unchained one night. Gidgiddonihah takes his chance to strangle Problius with his own chains.