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[German version] (Ἐκφαντίδης; Ekphantídēs). Early playwright of the Old Comedy [1. test. 4]. After 458 BC, he won four times in the Dionysia [1. test. 1]. Two titles of his plays are known: Peírai and Sátyroi. An unknown play is the origin of fr. 3Ekphantides fr. 3, in which E. criticizes the Megarian Comedy. Bäbler, Balbina (Göttingen) Bibliography 1 PCG V, 1986, 126-129.

[German version] (Ἐμμενίδης; Emmenídēs). Writer of New Comedy [1] known to us only epigraphically; won a victory at the Lenaia in the 2nd cent. BC. Bäbler, Balbina (Göttingen)…

[German version] (Κρωβύλος). Writer of comedies in the 4th cent. BC, with 11 fragments…

[German version] (Λάμπυτος; Lámpytos). Poet of the New Comedy, known only from an inscription; in 167 BC he took fourth place at the Dionysia (I. test.). …

[German version] (Τηλεκλείδης; Tēlekleídēs). Writer of the Attic Old Comedy with three victories at the Dionysia [1. test. 3] and five at the Lenaea [1. test. 4], from the generation of Cratinus [1. test. 3 and 4], i.e. c. 450-420 BC. Despite his success only 8 titles and 73 fragments have been preserved. In them there is a great deal of personal derision: against Pericles (fr. 18; 47), but also against poets such as Philocles [4] (fr. 15; 31), Nothippus (fr. 17) and and the Socrates-inspired Euripides [1] (fr. 41), perhaps against Morychus ( …

[German version] (Θεόγνητος; Theógnētos). Comic poet of the 3rd cent. BC (cf. Pantaleon mentioned in fr. 2). Two fragments and three titles survive: Κένταυρος ('The centaur'), Φιλοδέσποτος …

[German version] The terms caricature, grotesque,   grylloi are sometimes defined differently, sometimes not strictly separated, sometimes used synonymously [11. 89]; but although the word grotesque is differentiated from caricature because, unlike it, caricature refers precisely to a model, in order to cover as many aspects as possible a broader definition of the term caricature is to be preferred [4. 4]. Therefore, regarding term and delimitation. cf. the essential [9]. Caricature as deviation from the normal evoked mockery very early on (Thersites: Hom. Il. 2…

[German version] (Φιλύλλιος; Philýllios). Comic poet from the 5th/4th cents. BC; according to the Suda he was a contemporary of Diocles [5] and Sannyrion [1. test. 2]. He was victorious at the Lenaean festival and possibly at the Dionysian [1. test. 3, *4]. Thirty-three fragments and ten titles have survived, of…

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[German version] Son of  Aristophanes [3]; had the victory at the Dionysia 387 BC with the Kokalos of his father ([1. test.1; 3], [2]) and probably soon thereafter performed the second Aiolosikon of his father (Aristophanes, Aiolosikon, test. iv). The Suda [1. test. 1] places the beginning of A.'s activity in the 101st Olympiad (376/5-373/2 BC), which presumably means the performing of his own works [2], of which six titles (three of mythic content, three of non-mythic content) are extant. Alexis fr. 184 derides A. as frosty [1.test.4].…

[German version] (Ποσῆς/ Posês). Athenian comedian in the early 1st century BC; his father was a comedian called Ariston [2. 569], as was his son [2. 570]; victor at the Sarapian Games in Tanagra in c. 85 [1. test. 1]. P. was also an archon (in 88/87 [1. test. 2]), a gymnasiarch [1. test. 3] and together with his brother Timostratus a mint-magistrate ( c. 101 …

[German version] (Λάων; Láōn). Writer of the New Comedy. As he is quoted by Heraclides [18], it is safe to assume he belongs in the 3rd cent. BC. Two fragments are extant, of which fragment 1 is from a play Διαθῆκαι ( Diathêkai, ‘The Wills’); in fragment 2 (without a play title) an adulterer speaks. Bäbler, Balbina (Göttingen) Bibliography 1 PCG V 610.

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[German version] (Νούιος; Noúios). Comic poet of the 2nd cent. BC, known only from inscriptions; achieved three victories at the Lenaea. Bäbler, Balbina (Göttingen) Bibliography 1 PCG VII, 1989, 94.

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[German version] (Νικοχάρης; Nikochárēs). Comic poet of the 5th/4th cents. BC, from the Attic Cydathenaeum demos. Son of the comedian Philonides [1. test. 1 and 2]. 28 fragments and 9 titles are preserved, of which 7 are mythological (Ἀγαμέμνων, Ἀμυμώνη ὴ Πέλοψ, Γαλάτεια, Ἡρακλῆς γαμῶν, Ἡρακλῆς χορηγός, Λάκωνες, Λήμνιαι). With the Λάκωνες, he competed against Aristophanes' [3] second Πλοῦτος in 388; his Γαλάτεια dates from the same period [2. 203].…

[German version] (Στράταγος; Strátagos). Greek comic poet of the 3rd cent. BC, known only from an honorary inscription by Dionysus technitai found in Ptolemais in Egypt ( c. 273-246 BC). Bäbler, Balbina (Göttingen) Bibliography PCG VII, 1989, 616.

[German version] Writer of New Comedy known to us only through inscriptions; winner of the Lenaea festival in the 3rd cent. Bäbler, Balbina (Göttingen) Bibliography 1 PCG IV, 12.

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[German version] Poet of the New Comedy, from whom four fragments and two titles ( Diamartanon, Thesauros, where a cook speaks) are extant. Worthy of note is his attack on the politician  Demochares, nephew of Demosthenes [1 test.2 and fr. 4]. A. could be identical with the anagrapheus of the year 320/19 and may have been politically active as ally of the Macedonian royal administrator  Antipater [2].…

[German version] (Διώξιππος; Diṓxippos). Poet of the Middle Comedy; titles of five plays have survived [1. test. 1]: Antipornoboskós [2], Diadikazómenoi, Thēsaurós, Historiográphos (possibly mocking the oligarchic, pro-Macedonian politician Callimedon, fr. 3D…

[German version] (Φοινικίδης/ Phoinikídēs). 3rd century BC comic poet from Megara [1. test. 2]; twice victorious at the Dionysia [1. test. 3]. At the Lenaea he took fifth place in 285 with the Ἀνασῳζόμενοι/ Anasōizómenoi, and fourth place the following year with the Ποιητής/ Poiētḗs. Four fragments and five titles (in addition to those already listed: Αὐλητρίδες/ Aulētrides, Μισουμένη/ Misouménē, Φύλαρχος/ Phýlarchos) survive; in the untitled fragment 4, a hetaira wants to give up her craft because of bad experiences she had had with three lovers (a soldier, a ph…

[German version] Poet of the Old Comedy, of whom the titles Theseus and Helios Rhigon, as well as eight fragments are extant. Bäbler, Balbina (Göttingen) Bibliography 1 PCG II, 1991, 571-573.

[German version] (Νικοφῶν; Nikophôn). Comic poet of the 5th/4th cents. BC; he was victorious at the Lenaea and prior to 402 at the Dionysia [1. Test. 3 and 4; 2. 203]. In 388 his Ἄδωνις ( Ádōnis) rivaled Aristophanes' Πλοῦτος (Ploûtos). 30 fragments have survived; of the six known titles four have a mythological subject: In addition to Ἄδωνις, the titles are Ἀφροδίτης γοναί ( Aphrodítēs gonaí) , Πανδώρα ( Pandṓra), Σειρῆνες ( Seirênes); the latter [1. Fr. 20-22] treat the popular topic of the Land of Plenty. The titles indicate that N. (although Athenaeus [3] and H…

(Φιλοστέφανος/ Philostéphanos). [German version] [1] P. of Cyrene Pupil of Callimachus, 3rd cent. BC Pupil (γνώριμος/ gnṓrimos) of Callimachus [3] (Ath. 331d; cf. [4. vol. 2, 752]), lived in the reign of Ptolemaeus Philopator (222-206 BC, cf. [1. 30]). Author of ostensibly…

(Ποσειδῶν/ Poseidôn, Doric Ποτειδάν/ Poteidán, along with other forms of the name). I. Myth and cult [German version] A. General remarks P. was the Greek "god of the sea, of earthquakes and of horses" (Paus. 7,21,7). He belongs to the older strata of Greek religion: his name is already well attested in Mycenaean times. He was worshipped both in Knossos and in Pylus [2], where he also had a sanctuary (the Posidaion), a cult association (the Posidaiewes) and probably even a wife, Posidaeja [1. 181-185]; his local importance is still reflected in Pylian Nestor's [1] sacrifice to…

(Σάτυρος/ Sátyros, pl. Σάτυροι/ Sátyroi, Latin Satur, Satyrus), also Silenus (Σι-, Σειληνός/ Si-, Seilēnós, pl. Σι-, Σειληνοί/ Si-, Seilēnoí, Doric Σιλανός/ Silanós, Latin …

(Θησεύς /Thēseús). Mythical king and national hero of the Athenians (Athens). T. belongs to the generation before the Trojan War. He is the son of Aethra, daughter of Pittheus. His divine father is Poseidon, his human father the Athenian king Aegeus. [German version] I. Myth T. grew up with Pittheus at Troezen, because Aegeus abandoned the pregnant Aethra in the light of an oracular prophecy. Having found the symbolic items (sword, shoes) left there by Aegeus, he made his way to Athens. During the journey, T. had to survive several battles with enemies and one monster (earliest surviving list, in geographical sequence, in Bacchyl. 18,19-30; complete Diod. Sic. 4,59,2-5; Apollo…

(Σειρῆνες/ Seirḗnes; Latin Sirenes, Sirenae). [German version] I. Mythology Mythical female creatures who sing seductively Sirens are mythical beings (in Greek myth female) in ancient sailors' tales (the earliest evidence - admittedly without context - extends back to the Mycenaean period [1]). Their seductive song makes sailors forget their home  (cf. Lotophagi) and perish. Instructed by Circe, Odysseus outwits the Sirens: he stops the ears of his companions with wax and has himself tied to the mast with instructions that under no circumstances he is to be freed. The Sirens' alluring call - they promise a song about Troy, Odysseus' greatest feat, and omniscience - dies away, not unheard but without effect (Hom. Od. 12,39-54; 12,158-200). In the legend of the Argonauts the Sirens are not outwitted, but literally 'outsung' by Orpheus  (Apoll. Rhod. 4,891-919; 4,1264-1290). The relationship between the two variants of the legend is disputed (most recently [2], with bibliography). The Sirens' committing suicide because of the defeat is not found in literature before the Hellenistic period (Lycophr. 714). Early sources comment either not at all or only vaguely on their appearance (chimeras of birds and humans first in pictorial representations (see II), later Apoll. Rhod. 4,898 f.), origin (Soph. fr. 861 TrGF mentions Phorcys [1] as their father) and number (two: Hom. Od. 12,52; three: Hes. Cat. 27; eight: Pl. Resp. 617b). The Sirens' bewitching song forces comparison to singers (Hom. Od. 12,183-196) and the Muses (Alcm. fr. 30 PMGF). From there it is but a step to the Sirens as a symbol of seduction (Pl. Symp. 216a; Alexander [21] Aetolus fr. 7 CollAlex), often with negative connotation. In Roman literature there are no substa…

(Πολύζηλος/ Polýzēlos). [German version] [1] Comic poet, c. 400 BC Comic poet of the late 5th and early 4th cent. BC; won four victories at the Lenaea [1. test. 2]. 13 frr. and five titles survive. Four of them are mythological (Ἀφροδίτης γοναί/ Aphrodítēs gonaí, 'The Birth of Aphrodite'; Δημοτυνδάρεως/ Dēmotyndáreōs, Διονύσου γοναί/ Dionýsou gonaí…

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(Νιόβη/ Nióbē, Lat. Nioba). [German version] I. Mythology Daughter of Tantalus and Dione or Euryanassa (Hyg. Fab. 9, schol. Eur. Or. 4) and wife of Amphion [1] (Hes. fr. 183 M./W.). The oldest version of the myth is found in Hom. Il. 24,602-617 in the form of a comparison by which Achilles seeks to induce Priam to overcome his grief over his son's death just as N. did. N.'s children, the Niobids (Νιοβίδαι/ Niobídai, Lat. Niobidae), were killed by Apollo and Artemis after N. boasted of her superiority to their mother, Leto, because Leto had borne only two children, whil…

(Νίκη; Níkē). [German version] I. Mythology N. is the Greek personification of victory. As early as in Hesiod she is an abstract concept: Nike is the daughter of Styx and Pallas and the sister of simila…

(Ζεύς/ Zeús, genitive Διός/ Diós). [German version] I. Name and identity Chief Greek god of the heavens As the chief Greek god of the heavens, patriarchal 'father of gods and men' (Hom. Il. 1,544) and the embodiment of rule, justice and omnipotence, Z. stands at the head of the Olympian family of gods (Twelve (Olympian) gods). His symbols include the eagle, bundle of lightning or thunderbolt and sceptre [32. 30-32]. As the 'highest' god both with regard to his residence and his position, he bears the epithets …

(Σιληνός/ Silēnós, Σειληνός/ Seilēnós; Doric Σιλανός/ Silanós; Lat. Silenus, Silanus). Heinze, Theodor (Geneva) [German version] I. Mythology Creature from Dionysus' entourage Among the collectively acting silens or satyrs, one silen/Silen(us) stands out as a single figure whose origin remains unclear (perhap…

(Στράττις/ Stráttis). [German version] [1] Tyrant of Chios, 6th cent. BC Tyrant of Chios, who took part in the Scythian campaign in 513 BC as an adviser of Darius [1] (Hdt. 4,138). It can not be determined whether he was deposed at the beginning of the Ionian Revolt. Nevertheless, he was able to resume his reign after the Persians' victory (in 493/2 BC). In 479 he was able to elude a conspiracy (Hdt. 8,132). At the liberation of Ionia after the battle of Mycale in 479 S. may also have been toppled. Stein-Hölkeskamp, Elke (Cologne) …

[German version] [1] Poet of the Old Comedy Poet of the Old Comedy, one-time winner at the Dionysia of the 91st Olympiad (415-412 BC) [1.test.1.2]. 61 fragments and six titles are extant, amongst them an Amphitryon and a Plutos. Rhinon and ‘Fishes’ ( Ichthyes) -- portraying a fish state (cf. Aristophanes' state of birds) in conflict with the Athenians -- were probably written after 403 BC. Occasionally, four plays by Aristophanes were also attributed to A. [1.test.4]. …

(Ὀδυσσεύς, Latin Ulixes, Etruscan utuze). [German version] I. Mythology Son of Laertes and Anticlea, husband of Penelope, father of Telemachus. One of the central figures of Greek mythology; in Homer's Odyssey, the focus of a major Archaic epic. This fact alone indicates the significance of the figure of  O., which contrasts with the other figures of Greek heroic myth through the emphasis on special intellectual abilities. Thus, he represents an archetype in the history of European thought; his presence in later literature a…

(Ἀθηνοκλῆς; Athēnoklês). [German version] [1] From Cyzicus. Grammarian, 3rd/2nd cent. BC from Cyzicus. Grammarian. On the basis of Didymus in Schol. Hom. Od. 14,503, where in reference to him the word προηθέτει (‘has a…

(Ἔφιππος; Éphippos). [German version] [1] Author in the period of Alexander the Great of Olynthus, at the court of  Alexander [4] the Great during the final years; he l…

[German version] I. Mythical character (Νάρκισσος/ Nárkissos, Lat. Narcissus). [German version] A. Mythology Narcissus is the personification of a plant by the same name; as with many plants, the etymology may be pre-Greek (Chantraine, vol. 2, s.v.). The aetiological myth of Narcissus is documented only in relatively late sources and is unlikely to be earlier than Hellenistic. Conon [4] (FGrH 26 F 1,26), a mythographer, who knew many local myths, tells of the fate of a handsome youth from Thespiae in Boeotia…

(Διοπείθης; Diopeíthēs). [German version] [1] Writer of Old Comedy Author of Old Comedy, only known from inscriptions; probably won at the Dionysia for the first time in 451 BC [1. test.]. Bäbler, Balbina (Göttingen) Bibliography 1 PCG V, 1986, 43. [German version] [2…

(Ἀριστοφῶν; Aristophôn). [German version] [1] Athenian politician (end of the 5th cent. BC) Member of the Athenian regime of 400 oligarchs in 411 BC. Sent by them as an emissary to Sparta, he was abducted to Samos by Athenian democrats and Argives (Thuc. 8,86,9; PA, 2102; Traill PAA, 175995. Meier, Mischa (Bielefeld) [German version] [2] Athenian politician (end of the 5th-middle of the 4th cent. BC) Athens. Politician, who was honoured in 403 BC for his resistance against the 30 Tyrants ( Triakonta) by   ateleia (ἀτέλεια) (Dem. Or. 20,148). Until his deat…

(Σφίγξ/ Sphínx, also ἀνδροσφίγξ/ androsphínx: Hdt. 2,175; Boeotian: φίξ/ phíx; pl. Σφίγγες/ Sphínges). [German version] …

(Περσεύς; Perseús). [1] Son of Danae and Zeus, Argive hero [German version] I. Mythology …

Demandt, Alexander (Berlin RWG) I. Ancient History (CT) [German version] A. Definitions and Scope (CT) By Altertum ('Antiquity'“)”, Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertu…

(Νικόδημος; Nikódēmos). [German version] [1] Prosecutor of Demosthenes, probably died after 349 BC Athenian from Aphidna, prosecutor of Demosthenes [2] (Aeschin. 2,148), friend of Meidias [2] and of Eubulus [1], was killed by Aristarchus, the son of Moschus (Idomeneus FGrH 338 F 12) in 352 BC: [2]; (according to [1. 112] and [3. 9-12] the preferred date is more likely after 349 BC), for which deed Meidias held Demosthenes responsible (also [1. 102-105]; Aristot. Rh. 1397b 7 see [2]). Dreyer, Boris (Göttingen) Bibliography 1 Schäfer, vol. 2 2 H.E. Stier, s.v. Nikodemos (2), RE 1…

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(Λεύκων; Leúkōn). [German version] [1] Boeotian hero Boeotian hero, son of Athamas and Themisto, daughter of the Lapith king Hypseus (Apollod. 1,9,2). His daughter Euippe marries Andreus of Orchomenus (Paus. 9,34,6f.). Eponym of Lake Leuconis (= Copais) (Steph. Byz.). Walde, Christine (Basle) [German version] [2] Author of Old Comedy, 5th cent. BC Author of Old Comedy who competed in the Lenaea of 422 BC with the play Πρέσβεις (‘Legates’) against Aristophanes' ‘Wasps’, and in the Dionysia of 421 with the play Φράτερες against the latter's ‘Peace’…

(Ξενόφιλος/ Xenóphilos). [German version] [1] Comedy writer of the 5th cent. BC Comedy writer of the 5th cent. BC, victorious once at the Lenaia [1. test. 2] and possibly also once at the Dionysia [1. test. 1]; neither play titles nor fragments survive. Bäbler, Balbina (Göttingen) Bibliography 1 PCG VII, 1989, 803. [German version] [2] X. of Chalcidice Pythagorean and music …