
Emperor Basileus (aka the Great Emperor) is the antagonist of the Three Heroes franchise. He serves as a secondary antagonist in the cartoon "Ilya Muromets and the Robber Nightingale" and the main antagonist in the cartoon "Three Heroes and the Heir to the Throne". Emperor Basileus is the power-hungry emperor of Byzantium, who wants to capture Kievan Rus. Basileus was shown to be a cunning and treacherous man. Nevertheless, in Ilya Muromets and the Robber Nightingale, he behaved quite stupidly. In the Three Heroes and the Heir to the throne, he became more cruel and intelligent. In both films, it was shown that if Emperor Basileus understands that it is useless to fight, he tries to ingratiate himself with the heroes.