Edmond Dantès (pronounced [ɛd.mɔ̃ dɑ̃.tɛs]) is a title character, Byronic hero and the protagonist of Alexandre Dumas's 1844 adventure novel The Count of Monte Cristo.

Within the story's narrative, Dantès is an intelligent, honest and loving man who turns bitter and vengeful after he is framed for a crime he did not commit.

When Dantès finds himself free and enormously wealthy, he takes it upon himself to reward those who have helped him in his plight and punish those responsible for his years of suffering.

He is known by the aliases The Count of Monte Cristo (French: le Comte de Monte-Cristo), Abbé Busoni, Lord Wilmore, and Sinbad the Sailor.

When the reader is first introduced to Edmond Dantès, he arrives in Marseille as first mate aboard the merchant ship Le Pharaon (The Pharaoh).

On the very night of their nuptial feast, Dantès is arrested as a suspected Bonapartist, a helper to Napoléon, and taken to see the public prosecutor, Gérard de Villefort.

Dantès eventually breaks through enough of the wall that he is able to exchange a brief greeting with an old Italian abbé named Faria, sometimes called the "Mad Priest", who had indeed been attempting to dig to freedom.

The two prisoners become very close, with the learned priest teaching Dantès all he knows about reading, mathematics, science, languages, philosophy, history, sword fighting, and economics.

Edmond soon suggests a stopover and trading of goods at the small island of Monte Cristo, during which he confirms that Faria's treasure exists.

Upon returning to Marseille, Edmond learns that his father had died of hunger and that Mercédès had married Fernand 8 months after he was supposedly executed for treason.

Having purchased the deed to the island from whence he obtained his treasure, Edmond is able to place himself in the upper strata of Parisian society and assume the role of one of the most influential men in all of France.

He arranges for Danglars to be temporarily captured by the Italian bandit Luigi Vampa, made to understand Edmond's suffering, and stripped of all of his wealth.

Edmond Dantès has been portrayed on TV and film many times by actors such as George Dolenz, Alan Badel, Robert Donat, Jean Marais, Louis Jourdan, Gérard Depardieu, Richard Chamberlain, Jim Caviezel and, most recently, Pierre Niney and Sam Claflin.

Afterwards, he is approached by the Evil Queen Regina who was impressed with his vengeance and hires Edmond to kill Snow White and Prince Charming.

Edmond poses as a victim of the Queen and becomes Snow and Charming's wine steward, but he is hesitant to kill them after he discovers they are nice people.