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Morychus

(32 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] Tragedian from the closing years of the 5th cent. BC; according to the scholia on Aristophanes he was known for his gluttony (TrGF I 30 T 1-3). Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)

Carcinus

(585 words)

Author(s): Walde, Christine (Basle) | Visser, Edzard (Basle) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
(Καρκίνος; Karkínos). [German version] [1] Cancer, the crab that was turned into a sign of the zodiac for biting Heracles in the foot at the behest of Hera while fighting the Hydra (Eratosth. Katasterismoi 11). The Alexandrian month of Karkinon (Καρκινών) was named after it. Walde, Christine (Basle) [German version] [2] Epic poet C. of Naupactus, epic poet of the archaic period. In Paus. 10,38,11 C. is named, with reference to Charon of Lampsacus, as the author of the Ναυπάκτια ἔπη ( Naupáktia épē), evidently a history of this town, lying at the entrance to the Corinthian Gulf…

Polychares

(21 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (Πολυχάρης/ Polychárēs). Early 4th cent. BC poet, uncertain whether of tragedy or dithyramb (DID B 6). Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)

Callistratus

(1,229 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) | Neudecker, Richard (Rome) | Montanari, Franco (Pisa) | Meister, Klaus (Berlin) | Et al.
[German version] I Greek (Καλλίστρατος; Kallístratos). [German version] [I 1] Tragedian Tragedian (TrGF I 38), whose ‘Amphilochus and ‘Ixion (DID A 2b, 80) won him second place at the Lenaea of 418 BC; probably not identical with the didáskalos (‘director’) of  Aristophanes [3]. Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) Bibliography P. Geißler, Chronologie der altatt. Komödie, 1969, 6f. PCG IV, p. 56. [German version] [I 2] Important Athenian politician, elected strategos in 378/7 BC Important Athenian politician and outstanding orator, nephew of  Agyrrhius and kēdestḗs (probably fat…

Phrynichus

(1,156 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) | Nesselrath, Heinz-Günther (Göttingen) | Matthaios, Stephanos (Cologne)
(Φρύνιχος/ Phrýnichos). [German version] [1] P. from Athens Tragedian, around 500 BC Tragedian. According to Suda φ 762 (TrGF I 3 T 1) he achieved his first victory in 511/508 BC and died on Sicily (T 6). He is said to have been the first person to bring female roles to the stage and to have 'invented' the trochaic tetrameter (T 1), which probably means that he introduced the metre into the tragic genre. He was famous on account of the quality ('sweetness') of his sung parts (Aristoph. Vesp. 219), whose len…

Lysimachus

(2,226 words)

Author(s): Stein-Hölkeskamp, Elke (Cologne) | Badian, Ernst (Cambridge, MA) | Ameling, Walter (Jena) | Damschen, Gregor (Halle/Saale) | Nutton, Vivian (London) | Et al.
(Λυσίμαχος; Lysímachos). [German version] [1] Athenian, 5th cent. BC Athenian, son of Aristides [1], born around 480 BC, is a dialogue partner in Plato's Láchēs (178ff.), where he is represented as the prototype of the unsuccessful son of a celebrated father. A decree mentioned by Demosthenes (20,115; cf. Plut. Aristides 27), according to which L. is said to have been granted support from the state because he was penniless after the death of his father, is probably a construction from the 4th cent. Stein-Hölkeskamp, Elke (Cologne) Bibliography Davies 1695 III-IV. [German version] [2] G…

Philiscus

(934 words)

Author(s): Hidber, Thomas (Berne) | Goulet-Cazé, Marie-Odile (Antony) | Meister, Klaus (Berlin) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Dorandi, Tiziano (Paris) | Et al.
(Φιλίσκος; Philískos). [German version] [1] Poet of Middle Comedy Poet of Middle Comedy, to whom the Suda attributes 7 play titles: Ἄδωνις (Á dōnis), Διὸς γοναί ( Diòs gonaí/ 'The Birth of Zeus'; Adespoton 1062 K.-A. is sometimes assigned to this play [4]), Θεμιστοκλῆς ( Themistoklês/ ' Themistocles'; title probably incorrectly included in the list [3. n. 37]), Ὄλυμπος ( Ólympos; ' Olympus'), Πανὸς γοναί ( Panòs gonaí; 'The Birth of Pan'), Ἑρμοῦ καὶ Ἀφροδίτης γοναί ( Hermoû kaì Aphrodítēs gonaí/ ' The Births of Hermes and Aphrodite'; possibly two plays [3. n. 24]), Ἀρτέμιδος καὶ Ἀ…

Polites

(156 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
(Πολίτης/ Polítēs). [German version] [1] Son of Priamus Son of the Trojan king Priamus and Hecabe. During the Trojan War, he saves his wounded brother Deiphobus (Hom. Il. 13,533 ff.). The goddess Iris appears once in his guise (ibid. 2,786 ff.). He is killed at the altar in the palace of Neoptolemus [1] (Verg. Aen. 2,526 ff.). According to Cato (Orig. fr. 54 HRR), he reaches Latium with Aeneas (Aeneas [1]) and founds the city of Politorium. Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) [German version] [2] Companion of Odysseus According to Paus. 6,6,7 ff., one of the companions of Odysseus; r…

Menelaus

(2,514 words)

Author(s): Visser, Edzard (Basle) | Zahrnt, Michael (Kiel) | Ameling, Walter (Jena) | Wandrey, Irina (Berlin) | Folkerts, Menso (Munich) | Et al.
(Μενέλαος/Menélaos, Attic Μενέλεως/Menéleos; Latin Menelaus). [German version] [1] Ruler of Sparta, married to Helena A significant character in the cycle of myths about the Trojan War ( Troy: Cycle of myths). A younger brother of Agamemnon, who ruled the most significant power centre in Greek myth, Mycene, by marriage to Zeus's daughter Helen ( Helene [1]; their only child was a daughter, Hermione) M. became king of a region in the Eurotas valley with its capital Sparta and Amyclae [1], which was significant…

Sclerias

(49 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (Σκληρίας/ Sklērías) or Sclerius (Σκλήριος/ Sklḗrios), tragic poet cited by Stobaeus (TrGF I 213), dates unknown. It is unlikely that the Skolion (PMG 890) which only Stobaeus ascribes to S. (TrGF I 213 F 5) is in fact by him (testimonies in PMG 651). Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)

Cartography

(3,225 words)

Author(s): Talbert, Richard (Chapel Hill, NC) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
I. Cartography [German version] A. Definition In the following, ‘maps’ are defined as graphic representations with the purpose of easing the understanding of spatial-geographical concepts. The extent to which Greeks and Roman produced and used maps has been the subject of controversy in recent times, not least, because it touches on the wider question of how far we can safely assume that our own cultural attitudes and expectations were shared by classical antiquity. Talbert, Richard (Chapel Hill, NC) [German version] B. The concept of maps It is obvious that antiquity had no con…

Timesitheus

(44 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] [1] Tragedian (Τιμησίθεος; Timēsítheos). Greek tragedian, mentioned in the Suda (τ 613), not datable. According to Suda τ 613, author of 11 tragedies (TrGF I 214). Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) [German version] [2] see Furius [II 5] see Furius [II 5]

Epigenes

(499 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Bäbler, Balbina (Göttingen) | Mehl, Andreas (Halle/Saale) | Ameling, Walter (Jena) | Hübner, Wolfgang (Münster)
(Ἐπιγένης; Epigénēs). [German version] [0] Of Sicyon, Greek tragedian, 6th cent. BC E. of  Sicyon. According to the Suda s. v.  Thespis (θ 282 = TrGF I 1 T 1), the first tragedian (6th cent. BC). The audience supposedly reacted to the lack of Dionysiac content in his plays with the proverbial exclamation οὐδὲν πρὸς τὸν Διόνυσον ( oudèn pròs tòn Diónyson, ‘But this has nothing to do with  Dionysus!’; TrGF I 1 T 18,3). Perhaps E.'s activity may be related to the τραγικοὶ χοροί ( tragikoì choroí, ‘tragic choruses’) attested for Sicyon in Hdt. 5,67 [2. 21-23].  Tragedy I Zimmermann, Bernhard (Fr…

Timotheus

(2,915 words)

Author(s): Nutton, Vivian (London) | Robbins, Emmet (Toronto) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) | Neudecker, Richard (Rome) | Et al.
(Τιμόθεος; Timótheos). [German version] [1] T. of Metapontum Greek physician, c. 400 BC Greek physician, fl. c. 400 BC. According to the Anonymus Londiniensis (8,8), T. believed that disease was the result of the blockage of passages through which residues would have been excreted. Residues that have risen up from the entire body are forced to remain in the head until they are transformed into a saline, acrid fluid. They then break out and cause a wide variety of disease, whose character is determined by the place or places to which they flow.. Humoral theory Nutton, Vivian (London) …

Agathon

(566 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Brodersen, Kai (Mannheim)
(Ἀγάθων; Agáthōn). [German version] [1] Attic tragedian Attic tragedian, c. 455- c. 401 BC, son of Tisamenus (Schol. Lucian. Rhetorum Praeceptor 11). According to Ath. 5,217b he achieved his first Lenaean victory in 416. The post-victory celebration of this win forms the historical background to Plato's Symposium. In 411 he is made fun of in the Thesmophoriazusae of Aristophanes, and in the same year he is defended in court by Antiphon [4]. Like Euripides, he left Athens before 405 (cf. Aristoph. Ran. 83-5, Ael. VH 13,4) and made his way to the court…

Heliodorus

(2,533 words)

Author(s): Mehl, Andreas (Halle/Saale) | Donohue, Alice A. (Bryn Mawr) | Neudecker, Richard (Rome) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Touwaide, Alain (Madrid) | Et al.
(Ἡλιόδωρος; Heliódōros). [German version] [1] Chancellor under Seleucus IV, 2nd cent. BC Son of Aeschylus of Antioch on the Orontes, was educated with Seleucus IV and was a courtier (τῶν περὶ τὴν αὐλήν) and well-respected chancellor (ὁ ἐπὶ τῶν πραγμάτων τεταγμένος) under him in 187-175 BC (IG XI 4,1112-1114, or OGIS 247; App. Syr. 45). When financial difficulties after the defeat of Seleucus' father Antiochus III against the Romans (190/188), in conjunction with internal Jewish intrigues, had led to special…

Cleaenetus

(50 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (Κλεαίνετος; Kleaínetos). Tragedian (TrGF I 84), won the 3rd place at the Lenaeans in 363 BC; mocked by  Alexis as not exacting (Fr. 268 PCG), by  Philodemus (84 T 3 TrGF I) as a worse poet than Euripides. ‘Hypsipyle’ is attested as a title. Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)

Menecrates

(1,116 words)

Author(s): Nesselrath, Heinz-Günther (Göttingen) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Nutton, Vivian (London) | Meister, Klaus (Berlin) | Mehl, Andreas (Halle/Saale) | Et al.
(Μενεκράτης; Menekrátes). [German version] [1] Attic comic poet, 5th cent. BC Attic comic poet of the 5th cent. BC. Two titles of his plays have survived, Ἑρμιονεύς/ Hermioneús (or Ἑρμιόνη/ Hermiónē?) and Μανέκτωρ/ Manéktōr (probably ‘Manes as Hector) [1. test. 1], as well as an anapaestic tetrameter (fr. 1) from the latter. It is uncertain whether Menecrates was once victorious at the Dionysia [1. test. *2]. Nesselrath, Heinz-Günther (Göttingen) Bibliography 1 PCG VII, 1989, 1-2. [German version] [2] Tragic poet, 5th cent. BC Greek tragic poet, victor at the Great Dionysia in…

Zopyrus

(988 words)

Author(s): Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) | Baumbach, Manuel (Zürich) | Heinze, Theodor (Geneva) | Weißenberger, Michael (Greifswald) | Meister, Klaus (Berlin) | Et al.
(Ζώπυρος; Zṓpyros). [German version] [1] Persian, took part in the capture of Babylon Prominent Persian, son of Megabyzus [1], who according to Hdt. 3,153ff. had the gates of rebelling Babylon opened to Darius [1] I by using a ruse (self-mutilation and pretending to be a victim of the Great King). For this deceptive manoeuvre (Polyaenus, Strat. 7,13; referring to King Cyrus: Frontin. Str. 3,3,4) Z. allegedly received from Darius the satrapy of Babylonia for life and tribute-free, but he was killed when the B…

Theodorides

(35 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (Θεοδωρίδης; TheodōrÍdēs). Greek tragedian (TrGF I 78 A), took second place at the Athenian Lenaea in 363 BC with a Medea and a Phaethon (DID A 2b, 94). Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)

Pamphilus

(1,304 words)

Author(s): Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) | Volkmann, Hans (Cologne) | Hoesch, Nicola (Munich) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Markschies, Christoph (Berlin) | Et al.
(Πάμφιλος; Pámphilos). [German version] [1] Athenian soldier, 4th cent. BC Athenian hípparchos and stratēgós. In 389 BC, he erected a permanent emplacement on Aegina and besieged the island, but had to be relieved after five months, himself besieged by the Spartan Gorgopas. Convicted of embezzlement and fined heavily at Athens, P. still owed the city five talents at his death after having sold his estates (Lys. 15,5; Xen. Hell. 5,1,2; Aristoph. Plut. 174; 385; Plat. fr. 14 PCG; Dem. Or. 39,2; 40,20 and 22). Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) Volkmann, Hans (Cologne) Bibliography Davies, 36…

Serapion

(769 words)

Author(s): Hübner, Wolfgang (Münster) | Ameling, Walter (Jena) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Rist, Josef (Würzburg) | Albiani, Maria Grazia (Bologna)
(Σεραπίων; Serapíōn). [German version] [1] S. of Antioch Mathematical geographer, 1st cent. BC Mathematical geographer to whom Plin. HN 1,2 referred to as gnomonicus ('measurer of shadows'). In 59 BC, Cicero (who was his contemporary) received S.'s geographical treatise from Atticus as the newest source for his planned Geographica but was hardly able to understand the content (Cic. Att. 2,4,1). In the treatise, Cicero encountered S.'s fierce criticism of Eratosthenes [2] (ibid. 2,6,1). S. estimated the circumference of the sun to be 18 times t…

Morsimus

(50 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (Μόρσιμος; Mόrsimos). Son of Philocles, great-nephew of Aeschylus [1] (TrGF I 12 T 3), middle of the 5th cent. BC, oculist (TrGF I 29 T 2) and tragedian, the latter according to Aristophanes (Equ. 401, Pax 802, Ran. 151) of particularly poor quality. Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)

Theatre

(2,540 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) [German version] A.Late Antiquity/ Middle Ages (CT) There is, to be sure, evidence for the existence of sporadic performances of Greek tragedies up into 4th cent. AD and plays by Plautus and Terence continued to be performed as late as the 3rd/4th. cents., but on the whole, tragedies and comedies had largely disappeared from the theatre programme of the Roman Imperial Age. The stage of that age, however, was not devoid of dramatic, sub-literary genres [5]. They included mimes, pantomimes and the fabulae cantatae, i.e. tragic isolated scenes perfor…

Philinus

(600 words)

Author(s): Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) | Weißenberger, Michael (Greifswald) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Nutton, Vivian (London) | Meister, Klaus (Berlin) | Et al.
(Φιλῖνος; Philînos). [German version] [1] Athenian politician Athenian. P. proposed absorbing all thetai (thetes) into the hoplites ( hoplítai ) (Antiph. fr. 61 from the speech Katà Philînou). In 420/419 BC, he attempted to prevent a case brought against him for the improper use of public funds by inciting one Philocrates to raise a charge of accidental killing against the accuser immediately before the trial. Once the charge was accepted, P.' accuser was no longer permitted to enter any protected places, including places of justice ( nómima) (Antiph. 6,12; 21; 35f.). Schmitz, Winfrie…

Polyphrasmon

(60 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (Πολυφράσμων/ Polyphrásmōn). Son of Phrynichus [1], tragedian, first victory between 482 and 471 (DID A 3a, 13), successful at the Dionysia in 471  (DID A 1, 22). In 467 he is recorded as third to Aeschylus [1], who won with his Theban trilogy, and Pratinas' son Aristias [2] with his trilogy Lykourgeia (TrGF I 7). Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)

Stichomythia

(484 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (στιχομυθία/ stichomythía). A form of dialogue in ancient drama in which two persons - or, more rarely, three -  speak in regular turns. It was first documented as a technical term in Poll. 4,113, but a description of the dramatic technique of 'dialogue intensification' [6] appears as early as in Aeschylos [1] (Eum. 585 f.). The origins of stichomythia are unknown (initiation rites: [8. 201], folk customs: [2. 95-106]). Under the general heading of the technique of stichomythia, sc…

Rhesis

(452 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (ἡ ῥῆσις/ hē rhêsis), generally 'speech' (Hom. Od. 21,291). As early as the 5th cent. BC, rhesis was a technical term for a speech in a play, especially in a tragedy (for the concept cf. Aristoph. Ach. 416, Nub. 1371, Vesp. 580, Ran. 151; Aristot. Poet. 1454a 31, 1456a 31). The length of a rhesis varies from c. 7 to over 100 verses (Eur. Ion 1122-1228, Phoen. 1090-1199, Bacch. 1043-1152). The most important function of rhḗseis in the context of the storyline is to supply information. The requisite details which are important for the storyline are frequen…

Phanostratus

(27 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (Φανόστρατος; Phanóstratos) of Halicarnassus. Tragedian, probably successful at the Attic Lenaea in 306 BC. TrGF I 94 = DID B7. Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)

Timocles

(419 words)

Author(s): Nesselrath, Heinz-Günther (Göttingen) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
(Τιμοκλῆς/ Timoklês). [German version] [1] Athenian author of comedies, 2nd half of the 4th cent. BC Important Athenian author of comedies in the 2nd half of the 4th cent. BC to whom the Suda [1 test. 1] attributes 20 plays (divided into two authors by the same name who in reality are identical). 28 titles have been transmitted (uncertain: Geōrgós, 'The Farmer') and altogether 42 fragments. Only one win is recorded on the Lenaean list of winners [1 test. 3], two places ahead of Menander [4]. T.' active period lasted from the 340s (allusion to the Halon…

Neophron

(158 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (Νεόφρων; Neóphrōn) of Sicyon. Tragedian, 2nd half of 5th cent. BC; according to the Suda (TrGF I 15 T 1) the author of 120 plays, and the first to depict tutors and the torture of slaves on the stage. According to the hypothesis of Euripides' [1] ‘Medea arising from the Peripatetic tradition, the Euripidean drama is said to have derived from N. The 24 surviving verses show clear concordances with Euripides (esp. Medea's monologue in N. fragment 2, cf. Eur. Med. 1021ff., 1236ff.); …

Stasimon

(504 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (τὸ στάσιμον /tò stásimon; derived from the adjective stásimos, 'standing'). In the list of structural forms (μέρη/ mérē) of the tragedy (I.), Aristotle (Poet. 1452b 22-24) distinguishes - among the chorus parts - the párodos from the stasima, which he defines as chorus songs that have no anapest or trochee, thus no recited verses, which are used primarily in the parodos [1]. The term stasimon must not be understood in the sense that the chorus was 'standing' while it sang the song, rather that the chorus performed i…

Trilogy

(41 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (ἡ τριλογία/ hē trilogía). From Hellenistic philology onwards a term for three tragedies, without the concluding satyr play, performed during the Great Dionysia at Athens (cf. Schol. Aristoph. Ran. 1124) [1. 80]. Tetralogy; Tragedy I. Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) Bibliography 1 Pickard-Cambridge/Gould/Lewis.

Pleias

(125 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (Πλειάς/ Pleiás). The 'Constellation of Seven' Greek tragic poets during the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus (Ptolemaeus [I 3] II Philadelphus) (285-246 BC). The list of names varies (as with those of the Seven Sages and the Seven Wonders of the World); certain are: Alexander [21] Aetolus, Lycophron [5] of Chalcis, Homerus [2] of Byzantium,  Philicus of Corcyra and Sositheus of Alexandria; also mentioned are: Sosiphanes [2] of Syracuse, Aeantides, Dionysiades of Tarsus and Euphronius…

Zenodotus

(1,870 words)

Author(s): Baumbach, Manuel (Zürich) | Eder, Walter (Berlin) | Albiani, Maria Grazia (Bologna) | Matthaios, Stephanos (Cologne) | Neudecker, Richard (Rome) | Et al.
(Ζηνόδοτος/ Zēnódotos). [German version] [1] Of Ephesus, Alexandrian philologist Alexandrian philologist from Ephesus ( c. 325-260 BC; Suda s. v. Ζ. Ἐφέσιος). Baumbach, Manuel (Zürich) [German version] I. Life Alexandrian philologist from Ephesus Z. was employed as tutor to the royal princes at the Ptolemaic court before his appointment in 285/4 BC as the first director [1. 147-148] of the library (II B 2.a) in Alexandria [1]. In addition to a classification of Greek poetry (most notably epic and lyric works), Z. developed in …

Sositheus

(117 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (Σωσίθεος/ Sōsítheos) from Alexandria [2] in the Troad, Satyr playwright and tragedian of the Pleias, first half of the 3rd century BC (TrGF I 99). According to the Suda (σ 860) he is also supposed to have written poetry and prose (T 1). In a fictitious burial epigram Dioscurides [3] (Anth. Pal. 7,707 = T 2) praises him as a reviver of the satyr play, taking his direction from Pratinas. 24 verses survive from Daphnis or Lityerses, presumably a satyr play, about the love of Daphnis and the nymph Thalia, their being taken prisoner by Lityerses and presumabl…

Melanthius

(610 words)

Author(s): Heinze, Theodor (Geneva) | Stein-Hölkeskamp, Elke (Cologne) | Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Hoesch, Nicola (Munich) | Et al.
(Μελάνθιος/ Melánthios). [German version] [1] Treacherous goatherd of Odysseus (also Μελανθεύς/ Melantheús). Son of Dolius [2], brother of Melantho [2], treacherous goatherd of Odysseus, negative counterpart to the swineherd Eumaeus and the cowherd Philoetius (Hom. Od. 17,212-22,479). Heinze, Theodor (Geneva) Bibliography G. Ramming, Die Dienerschaft in der Odyssee, 1973, 15-17; 74-77; 142-145. [German version] [2] Athenian strategos, 499/8 BC Athenian strategos who led the troops sent in support of the Ionians when they revolted in 499/8 (Hdt. 5,97). Ionian Revolt Stein-Hö…

Harmodius

(193 words)

Author(s): Stein-Hölkeskamp, Elke (Cologne) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
(Ἁρμόδιος; Harmódios). [German version] [1] Harmodius of Athens Tyrantmurderer, 514 BC conspired with  Aristogiton [1] and others in order to murder the tyrants  Hippias [1] and  Hipparchus [1] during the Panathenaea in 514 BC. However, they only managed to kill Hipparchus. H. was also killed during this assassination attempt (Hdt. 5,55-58; Thuc. 1,20; 6,54-59; Aristot. Ath. Pol. 18). For Thucydides, the motivation for the conspiracy was purely personal: H. and his sister had suffered humiliation after H. …

Lysistratus

(146 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Neudecker, Richard (Rome)
(Λυσίστρατος; Lysístratos). [German version] [1] Tragedian from Chalcis, 1st cent. BC from Chalcis. Tragedian, after 85 BC he was victorious at the Amphiaraia ( Amphiaraus) and Romaia in Oropus. His works are not extant. Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) [German version] [2] Bronze sculptor from Sicyon Bronze sculptor from Sicyon, brother and collaborator of Lysippus [2]. By making plaster casts of living people, L. is said to have improved the similarity of portraits to their subjects, to have based his work on clay models and to have made…

Anagnorisis

(546 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (also anagnorismos: ἡ ἀναγνώρισις, ὁ ἀναγνωρισμός; hē anagnṓrisis, ho anagnōrismós). According to Aristot. Poet. 11,1452a-b, anagnorisis is the technical term for the ‘Recognition’ in drama. Aristotle defined anagnorisis as a transition from unknowing into knowing, with the effect that friendship is changed into enmity and vice versa. To him, that anagnorisis is the most dramatic, which occurs simultaneously with   peripeteia . Aristotle differentiated three varieties of anagnorisis with reference to the object: the recognition of persons, of ina…

Philoxenides

(32 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (Φιλοξενίδης; Philoxenídēs) from Oropos, writer of satyr plays; after 85 BC he achieved success at the Amphiaraea and Romaea festivals in Oropus (TrGF I 170). Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)

Publius

(129 words)

Author(s): Steinbauer, Dieter (Regensburg) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
Common Roman praenomen , abbreviated by the siglum P.; earliest evidence Poplio- (CIL I2 4, 2832a; c. 500 BC; Lapis Satricanus), thereafter Greek Πόπλιος ( Póplios). The name is etymologically linked to populus (‘army’ > ‘people’). A derivation from Etruscan must be rejected since the rare Etruscan word Puplie was inherited from an Italic language. The shift of poplico- to pūblico- (following pūbēs) was also adopted for the praenomen and its derivative Pūblīlius, the nomen gentile. Steinbauer, Dieter (Regensburg) [German version] [1] Tragedian Tragedian of Rome who wrote in Gr…

Monologue

(604 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] ‘Soliloquy’ (the term ‘monologue’ is not of ancient origin; it was only Augustinus who coined the term soliloquium, cf. Aug. retract. 1,4,1), special form of speech ( rhḗsis ) found in various literary genres. In distinguishing monologue in its proper sense from other forms of rhḗseis, such as a messenger's report (messenger scenes), the criterion should not be the length of the monologue, but only the communication situation [4. 180 f.]: the solitude or isolation of the speaker, who is not addressing his speech to a listene…

Patrocles

(438 words)

Author(s): Kinzl, Konrad (Peterborough) | Brodersen, Kai (Mannheim) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Neudecker, Richard (Rome)
(Πατροκλῆς; Patroklês). [German version] [1] Athenian office holder, end of the 5th cent. BC Athenian, árchōn basileús in (404/)403 BC; a relative of Isocrates, who defended him (Isoc. Or. 18,5). Kinzl, Konrad (Peterborough) Bibliography Develin, 94 Nr. 1  Traill, PAA 768600. [German version] [2] Accuser of Demosthenes An Athenian from Phlya; his accusation of paranomia (Paranomon graphe) against Demosthenes [2] (Dem. Or. 18,5) was unanimously rejected and cost him a fine of 500 drachmas. Kinzl, Konrad (Peterborough) Bibliography Traill, PAA 768710. [German version] [3] Gree…

Zotion

(32 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (Ζωτίων; Zōtíōn) from Ephesus. Only the name of this Greek tragic poet from the middle of the 2nd cent. BC is recorded (TrGF I 133). Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)

Peripeteia

(187 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (ἡ περιπέτεια/ hē peripéteia). Literally 'turn-about, reversal' of a situation, mostly of fate, often unexpected and as a rule from good to bad (e.g. Aristot. Rhet. 1371b 10). The concept is central to Aristotle's Poetics (Poet. 11,1452a 22-29), where P. is defined as the reversal of what was to be achieved into its opposite. This should happen by probability (κατὰ τὸ εἰκός) or by necessity (κατὰ τὸ ἀναγκαῖον). Together with  anagnorisis P. is a characteristic of complex narrative structures ('plots', μῦθοι πεπλεγ…

Sophocles

(4,433 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld)
(Σοφοκλῆς/ Sophoklês). [German version] [1] Attic tragedian, 5th cent. BC The 5th cent. BC Attic tragedian Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) [German version] A. Life Attischer Tragiker des 5. Jh. v. Chr. The most important records are the vita which has survived in several manuscripts and the Suda (σ 815); the complete testimonies have been collected in TrGF, vol. 4. S. was born in 497/6 BC as the son of Sophilus from the Attic deme of Colonus. In 480 he is said to have intoned the paean at the victory celebrations after the b…

Dithyramb

(963 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (ὁ διθύραμβος; dithýrambos). Choral song in honour of  Dionysus. The origin and meaning of this term has caused much speculation since ancient times. The word itself is certainly not a Greek, perhaps a Phrygian composition; most likely from a combination of íambos (ἴαμβος; two-step) and thríambos (θρίαμβος; three-step) [1]. In a contested passage of his Poetics (Aristot. Poet. 4,1449a 10-13) Aristotle makes the dithyramb the harbinger of tragedy ─ or, say others [2], of comedy. Three phases can be distinguished in the history of the genre: the pre-litera…

Polemon

(1,776 words)

Author(s): Stanzel, Karl-Heinz (Tübingen) | Donohue, Alice A. (Bryn Mawr) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) | Bowie, Ewen (Oxford)
(Πολέμων/ Polémōn). [German version] [1] Academic philosopher, 4th-3rd cents. BC Academic philosopher, born c. 350, died probably in 276/5 BC. Xenocrates [2] introduced him to philosophy (legendary account of his vocation in Diog. Laert. 4,16 f.). P. succeeded him as head of the Academy. He taught Crates [3] and Crantor, as well as the Stoics Zeno of Citium and Ariston [7] of Chios. Very little remains of his many writings mentioned in ancient sources (Diog. Laert. 4,20; Suda s. v. Π 1887) (fr. collected in …

Tetralogy

(245 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (ἡ τετραλογία/ hē tetralogía). Originally a technical term in rhetoric to describe four speeches treating the same case from different perspectives (Antiphon [4] A.), later also used to summarize the Platonic dialogues in groups of four (Diog. Laert. 3,57; Plato [1] C. 1. - 2.). Since the Hellenistic era, philology has used the term primarily for four theatre pieces connected by content: three tragedies (Trilogy) and one satyr play [2. 80 f.]. The 'originator' of the tetralogy was probably Aeschylus [1]; his Oresteia (458 BC) survives (without the satyr play)…

Monody

(365 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (μονῳδία; m onōidía). Monody and the verb μονῳδεῖν ( monōideîn) are found already in the 5th century BC as technical terms used to describe solo arias by actors in drama (Aristoph. Pax 1012; Aristoph. Thesm. 1077; Aristoph. Ran. 849; 944; 1330). Occasionally they are equated with Threnos, as a notable component of the arias, the complaint (see Aristoph. Vesp. 317-323), was transferred to the whole structural element, as is also the case with antiphonal songs (Kommos [2], Amoibaion). M. are the musical high points in the tragedies of Euripides [1] in particular. According…

Antiphellus

(182 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Theatre | Lycii, Lycia | Education / Culture (Ἀντίφελλος; Antíphellos). Lycian harbour town, modern Kas̨; it may have originally been named Habesos (Plin. HN 5,100). In the 5th/4th cents. BC, A. belonged to  Phellus, was listed in Ps.-Scyl. 100 as πόλις καὶ λιμήν ( pólis kai limḗn, town and port), and, in the 2nd cent. BC, minted its own coins as an independent polis within the Lycian Confederacy [1; 2]. Municipal offices and institutions reveal Rhodian influence, originating from the Rhod…

Amoibaion

(495 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] Generally antiphonal singing (Theoc. 8,31), also dialogue in tragedy (Pl. Resp. 394b), today terminologically established as antiphonal singing in the drama. In the listing of the components of the tragedy in ‘Poetics’ (12,1452b 22) Aristotle differentiates songs for the stage (τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς σκηνῆς) and kommoi as special cases. Whereas in the first instance only the actors are involved (monodies, duets), with the kommoi the collaboration of actors and chorus is decisive. As, however, not all antiphonal singing between choir and actor(s) can be d…

Actus

(559 words)

Author(s): Schanbacher, Dietmar (Dresden) | Mlasowsky, Alexander (Hannover) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Nesselrath, Heinz-Günther (Göttingen)
[German version] [1] Legal action An action, especially a legal action (Dig. 49,1,12) i. a. defining characteristic of   alienatio : omnis a., per quem dominium transfertur, Cod. Iust. 5,23,1. Formal legal actions in accordance with the old   ius civile , e.g. the   mancipatio , are described as acti legitimi. Any added condition renders them ineffective. Additionally, actus can mean a utility (  servitus ), for example the right to drive draught animals and beasts of burden over a plot of land, including the right of way ( iter, Dig. 8,3,1pr.). This actus is a res mancipi, and is obtained i…

Epiparodos

(60 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] The return of the chorus after it had left the orchestra during the performance of a play (μετάστασις χοροῦ; metástasis choroû, cf. Poll. 4,108), as in: Aesch. Eum. 231, 244; Soph. Aj. 814, 866 ; Eur. Alc. 746, 861, Hel. 385, 515, Rhes. 564, 674 ; Aristoph. Eccl. 310, 478.  Parodos Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) Bibliography O. Taplin, The Stagecraft of Aeschylus, 1977, 377-381.

Epeisodion

(118 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (τὸ ἐπεισόδιον; tó epeisódion, from the adjective ἐπεισόδιος; epeisódios, ‘inserted’). According to Aristot. Poet. 12,1452b 20f. part of a tragedy between two entire chorus parts (that is between the  parodos and the first   stasimon or between two stasima). The term epeisodion is found as a technical term only in the Poetica, other authors speak of a méros or mórion. Aristotle also uses the terminus epeisodion in the Poetica in a more general sense for ‘section’, ‘episode’ (e.g. 17,1455b 13 Aristot. Poet. 17,1455b 2.15.18.27.). In the Old Comedy,…

Pratinas

(743 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (Πρατίνας/ Pratínas) of Phlius (in the Peloponnese), according to the Suda π 2230 (TrGF I 4 T 1) the inventor of the satyr play; son of a Pyrrhonides or Encomius (descriptive names: son of a 'red-head' or of 'a member of a - Dionysian - komos'; on the red hair and beards of satyrs cf. Dioscorides, Anth. Pal. 7,707,3 and  Soph. Ichn. 358). Two dates are attested for his life: between 499 and 496 he entered a tragedic agon against Aeschylus [1] and Choerilus [2] (T 1); and 467 is a  terminus ante quem for his death: that year his son Aristias [2] entered with plays by P. ('…

Xenocles

(633 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Welwei, Karl-Wilhelm (Bochum) | Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) | Engels, Johannes (Cologne) | Günther, Linda-Marie (Munich) | Et al.
(Ξενοκλῆς; Xenoklês). [German version] [1] See Little-Master cups See Little-Master cups. Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) [German version] [2] Attic tragic poet, end of 5th cent. BC Attic tragic poet, end of the 5th cent. BC, son of Carcinus [3] (family tree: TrGF I 21, p. 129), frequently mocked in comedy (TrGF I 33 T 1-7); successful at the Dionysia in 415 (DID C 14) with Oedipus, Lycaon, Bacchae and the satyr play Athamas. There is evidence of the further titles Licymnius (one surviving verse, F 2) and possibly Myes (Μύες, Mice) (but cf. TrGF I 21 T 3 d-e). Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) …

Heraclides

(4,218 words)

Author(s): Högemann, Peter (Tübingen) | Meister, Klaus (Berlin) | Engels, Johannes (Cologne) | Badian, Ernst (Cambridge, MA) | Günther, Linda-Marie (Munich) | Et al.
(Ἡρακλείδης; Hērakleídēs). Famous persons: the politician and writer H. [19] Lembus, the philosopher H. [16] Ponticus the Younger, the doctor H. [27] of Tarentum. I. Political figures [German version] [1] Spokesman on behalf of Athens at the Persian court, end of 5th cent. BC H. of Clazomenae (cf. Pl. Ion 541d) was in the service of the Persians and probably called basileús for that reason. Thus, he was able to perform valuable services for Athens at the Persian court in 423 BC for which he received Attic citizenship soon after moving there (after 400, Syll.3 118). To move the Athenians …

Pyrrha

(494 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) | Lohmann, Hans (Bochum)
(Πύρρα/ Pýrrha). [German version] [1] Daughter of Epimetheus In Greek mythology daughter of Epimetheus (brother of Prometheus) and Pandora and wife of  Deucalion. She and her husband were the only people to survive the flood sent over the earth by Zeus to punish the people of the Bronze Age; on the advice of Prometheus they built a boat on which they sailed around for nine days and nine nights. Deucalion and P. created a new race of people (Pind. Ol. 9,43-56; Ov. Met. 1,318-415), by - on the instruction…

Nicomachus

(1,669 words)

Author(s): Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Hoesch, Nicola (Munich) | Nesselrath, Heinz-Günther (Göttingen) | Albiani, Maria Grazia (Bologna) | Et al.
(Νικόμαχος/ Nikómachos). [German version] [1] Healing hero See Gorgasus and Nicomachus Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) [German version] [2] Athenian official, 410-404 BC Allegedly the son of a slave and only later accepted as an Athenian citizen. In 410-404 BC, N. led the commission for recording the laws ( anagrapheîs tôn nómōn). Exiled under the Thirty ( triákonta ), he returned in 403 and again became anagrapheús. In 399/8 BC, N. was accused of manipulating the laws, thus e.g. contributing to the sentencing of the demagogue Cleophon [1] in 404, evading his …

Meletus

(307 words)

Author(s): Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
(Μέλητος; Mélētos). [German version] [1] Athenian, c. 415 B.C. Athenian. In the year 415 BC he was denounced for having participated in the profanation of the mysteries and the mutilation of the Herms ( Herms, mutilation of the). He fled from Attica and was condemned to death in absentia (And. 1,12f.; 35; 63). Possibly the same as M., the great-grandson of the Alcmaeonid Megacles [4] (IG II2 1579,19). Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) Bibliography PA 9825 Traill, PAA 639290. [German version] [2] Prosecutor of Andocides, 400 B.C. Athenian; along with Socrates and others he was ordere…

Nothippus

(30 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (Νόθιππος; Nóthippos). Athenian tragedian (TrGF I 26), mentioned by the comic poet Hermippus in his Moîrai (prob. performed 430 BC) (Fr. 46 PCG). Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)

Pereus

(37 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (Περεύς; Pereús). Son of the Arcadian king Elatus [3] and Laodice; father of Neaera [3] who was the wife of Aleus [1], the founder of Tegea (Paus. 8,4,4; Apollod. 3,102). Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)

Thrasycles

(190 words)

Author(s): Kinzl, Konrad (Peterborough) | Ameling, Walter (Jena) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
(Θρασυκλῆς/ Thrasyklês). [German version] [1] Representative of Athens in the Peace of Nicias, 2nd half of the 5th cent. BC Athenian, who in 421/0 BC requested the proxenía for a resident of the Peloponnese (IG I3 80,7) and belonged to those who swore an oath on the truce and the alliance between Sparta and Athens in the so-called Peace of Nicias [1] in 421 (Thuc. 5,19,2; 24,1). In 412/1, T. was strategos along with Strombichides in the campaign to Asia Minor (Thuc. 8,15,1; 17,3; 19,2). Peloponnesian War Kinzl, Konrad (Peterborough) Bibliography Traill, PAA 517180 Develin 157; 141. …

Python

(1,161 words)

Author(s): Junk, Tim (Kiel) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Engels, Johannes (Cologne) | Schmitt, Tassilo (Bielefeld) | Hurschmann, Rolf (Hamburg) | Et al.
(Πύθων/ Pýthōn). [German version] [1] Dragon killed by Apollo near Delphi An enormous dragon killed by Apollo near Delphi with his arrows. The oldest version of the story is offered by H. Hom. 3,300-374: Apollo overcomes a female dragon who perpetrates her mischief in the vicinity of Delphi and into whose care Hera had given her son Typhon (Typhoeus, Typhon). The town and the god receive the nickname Pythṓ (cf. also the name of the female seer at Delphi, Pythía [1]) from its decaying (πύθεσθαι/ pýthesthai) corpse. According to Eur. IT 1245-1252, the dragon is male and guards the…

Satyr play

(1,196 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
(σατυρικὸν δρᾶμα, satyrikòn drâma). [German version] A. Origins As in the case of Greek tragedy, the debate on the origins of the SP also starts with an observation in Aristotle's Poetics. According to Aristot. Poet. 1449a 19 ff., tragedy had initially dealt with minor topics in a humorous language and only later acquired its appropriate solemnity, because it had developed from the satyresque (ἐκ σατυρικοῦ, ek satyrikoû) and its original nature had been more that of a dance (ὀρχηστικωτέρα, orchēstikōtéra). Aristotle thus did not claim in any way that tragedy had developed…

Polemaeus

(352 words)

Author(s): Ameling, Walter (Jena) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
(Πολεμαῖος/ Polemaîos). [German version] [1] Macedonian commander, c. 300 BC (also called Ptolemaeus and Polemon in MSS, but correctly P ., IG II2 469 and IK 28,2). Son of one P., Macedonian, nephew of Antigonus [1]. P. was probably already an officer in the Macedonian army under Alexander [4] the Great, possibly sōmatophýlax (Court titles B) of Philippus Arridaeus [4] (Arr. Succ. 1,38). In 319, he went to Eumenes [1] as a hostage of Antigonus (Plut. Eumenes 10); in 314 he was sent as general to Cappadocia and to secure the Hellespont (Diod. Sic.…

Timostratus

(210 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Nesselrath, Heinz-Günther (Göttingen) | Tinnefeld, Franz (Munich)
(Τιμόστρατος/ Timóstratos). [German version] [1] Tragic poet, 4th cent. BC Greek tragedian, successful at the Lenaea in c. 350 BC (TrGF I 83). Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) [German version] [2] Athenian comedy writer, beginning of the 2nd cent. BC Athenian comedian, who came sixth at the Dionysia in 188 BC with his Λυτρούμενος ( Lytroúmenos, 'The ransomed [prisoner]') [1. test. 1] and fourth in 183 with his Φιλοικεῖος ( Philoikeîos, 'He who loves his relatives') [1. test. 2]; a third place in c. 177 with an Ἀντευεργετῶν ( Anteuergetṓn, 'He who repays good deeds') is uncertain [1…

Prologue

(1,052 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
(ὁ πρόλογος/ ho prólogos, Lat. prologus, prologium). [German version] A. Concept In his list of the individual elements (μέρη/ mérē) of tragedy in the 'Poetics', Aristotle defines the prologue as a complete section of a tragedy preceding the chorus' párodos (Aristot. Poet. 13,1452b 22 f.) [9. 471 f.]. However, the term prólogos was already in use in the technical sense before Aristotle: in 'The Frogs', Aristophanes subtitles the prologue the 'first part of a tragedy' (Aristoph. Ran. 1120: τὸ πρῶτον τῆς τραγῳδίας μέρος/ tò prôton tês tragōidías méros), which, however, can have ref…

Tragedy

(5,074 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Baier, Thomas
I. Greek [German version] A. Definition, origin, early forms The explanations for the term τραγῳδία ( tragōidía) are controversial; equally controversial is the reconstruction of the genesis of tragedy from cult rituals over pre-literary choral performances to the literary genre of the 5th cent. BC. The greatest problem is to reconcile Aristotle's [6] brief history of the genre in the Poetics (Aristot. Poet. 4,1449a 9-31) with anthropological and ethnological considerations. Aristotle thought the literary form evolved gradually from short myths (plots) a…

Drama

(450 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] Derived from the verb δρᾶν ( drân), predominantly attested in Attic, the noun δρᾶμα ( drâma; ‘action’, ‘deed’ in a general sense) is the antonym of ‘what is experienced’ (πάθος/ páthos) (Aesch. Ag. 533); it can also mean ‘duty’, ‘task’ (Pl. Tht. 150a, Resp. 451c ). For the most part, though, drama is a technical term meaning ‘theatrical play’ (tragedy, comedy, satyr play) in the context of its performance (Aristoph. Ran. 920); it appears in the plural form in the title of Aristophanes' play Δράματα ἢ Νίοβος ( Drā́mata ē Níobos; fr. 289-298 PCG III2; fr. 299-304 PCG III2), in T…

Lycophron

(1,239 words)

Author(s): Patzek, Barbara (Wiesbaden) | Cobet, Justus (Essen) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Narcy, Michel (Paris)
(Λυκόφρων; Lykóphrōn). [German version] [1] Younger son of Periander of Corinth The younger son of Periander of Corinth and Melissa, daughter of Procles of Epidaurus. In the war between Periander and his father-in-law, L. is sent to Cercyra and murdered there by the Cercyraeans, who presumably considered him a tyrant and successor of Periander. Legend-building in an early phase can be seen in Herodotus (3,50-53; cf. Diog. Laert. 1,94f.; Nicolaus of Damascus FGrH 90 F 60). Patzek, Barbara (Wiesbaden) [German version] [2] Founder of the tyrannis in Pherai, c. 404/390 BC Founder of the t…

Euphantus

(61 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] of Olynthus (TrGF 1, 118; FGrH 74), end of the 4th, beginning of the 3rd cent. BC; according to Diog. Laert. 2,110 teacher of  Antigonus [2] Gonatas, to whom he dedicated a work ‘On the Rule of Kings’ (Περὶ βασιλείας; Perì basileías). Writer of a history of the Diadochi period and of several successful tragedies. Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)

Greek tragedy

(3,204 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) [German version] A. Antiquity and Middle Ages (CT) The following article is only concerned with the performance of plays by the three main Greek tragedians and the various tendencies of their productions in modern times. It is not possible in this context to deal with adaptations, new arrangements or reworkings, nor with the reception of Greek tragedy as a whole in the history of European cultural and intellectual history. The seminal year marking a decisive change in the practice of performing dramatic plays in Athens was 386 BC, bec…

Sthenelus

(387 words)

Author(s): Eiben, Susanne (Kiel) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
(Σθένελος/ Sthénelos). [German version] [1] Son of Actor Son of Actor, takes part in Heracles' [1] campaign against the Amazons, during which he is killed on the Paphlagonian coast. There S. appears in full armour to the passing Argonauts, who, prompted by Mopsus, sacrifice to him (Apoll. Rhod. 2,911-927 with schol.; Promathidas FGrH 430 F 4-5; Val. Fl. 5,87-100). Eiben, Susanne (Kiel) [German version] [2] Son of Androgeos Son of Androgeos, grandson of Minos. S. and his brother Alcaeus are taken hostage together by Heracles [1] on Paros because they were respons…

Euripides

(4,470 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
(Εὐριπίδης / Euripídēs) [German version] [1] Tragedian The Attic Tragedian. Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) [German version] A. Biography The most important evidence comes from the vita passed down to us in several MSS, the  Marmor Parium, the  Suda, Gell. NA 15,20 and the vita by  Satyrus. Only a few details of E.'s life can be considered certain: born between 485 and 480 BC on Salamis, son of a Mnesarchus or Mnesarchides. He took part in the Great Dionysia for the first time in 455, achieving his first victory in 441. During his lifet…

Epirrhematic

(88 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] Derived from tó epírrhēma (τό ἐπίρρημα, ‘that which is said afterwards’), i.e. the speech following a lyric part. The succession of lyrical and spoken (or rather recited) parts is referred to as an epirrhematic composition. Aeschylus frequently used this form in semi-lyrical  amoibaia. In the Old Comedy, epirrhematic composition can be found in the  parabasis and in the epirrhematic agon. Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) Bibliography Th. Gelzer, Der epirrhematische Agon bei Aristophanes, 1960 B. Zimmermann, Unt. zur Form und dramatischen Technik der Ar…

Pythangelus

(21 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (Πυθάγγελος; Pythángelos). Tragedian of the 5th cent. BC, mentioned only in Aristoph. Ran. 87. Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)

Ion

(1,095 words)

Author(s): Walde, Christine (Basle) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Günther, Linda-Marie (Munich) | Kramolisch, Herwig (Eppelheim)
(Ἴων; Íōn). [German version] [1] Hero of the Ionians Eponymous hero of the Ionians ( Iones). Several traditions of his ancestry emphasizing Athens' political primacy are extant. The earliest and most influential versions present I. as the son of  Xuthus and Creusa, thus as the grandson of  Hellen, progenitor of the Hellenes, and of the Athenian king  Erechtheus (Str. 8,383; Paus. 7,1,2). I.'s brother is Achaeus [1], progenitor of the Achaeans, his paternal uncles are  Aeolus [1] and  Dorus. With his wife…

Catacombs

(1,037 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Zimmermann, Norbert (Vienna)
[German version] A. Function, architecture, development Derived from the ancient local name of the underground Christian burial complex S. Sebastiano ( coemeterium catacumbas from Greek katà kýmbas, ‘near the hollows’) by the via Appia near Rome, the underground  necropoleis, rediscovered in Rome since the 16th cent., were also called catacombs instead of coemeterium or crypta. As differentiated from smaller, private   hypogaea , catacombs in modern research are understood to be larger community cemeteries using suitable geological l…

Theodorus

(7,286 words)

Author(s): Knell, Heiner (Darmstadt) | Folkerts, Menso (Munich) | Baumhauer, Otto A. (Bremen) | Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) | Blume, Horst-Dieter (Münster) | Et al.
[German version] I Greek (Θεόδωρος; Theódōros). [German version] [I 1] Of Samos, Greek architect, bronze sculptor and inventor, Archaic period Multitalented Greek inventor, architect, bronze sculptor and metal worker ( toreutḗs; Toreutics) of the Archaic period from Samos (for the occupational image cf. architect). His father was Telecles (Hdt. 3,41; Paus. 8,14,8; 10,38,6) or according to other sources (Diog. Laert. 2,103; Diod. Sic. 1,98) Rhoecus [3]; his name is so frequently mentioned in conjunction with the latter that …

Aeschylus

(3,563 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Weißenberger, Michael (Greifswald)
(Αἰσχύλος; Aischúlos). [German version] [1] of Athens Tragedian, 5th cent. BC Tragedian. Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) [German version] A. Biography The most important sources of A.'s biography (cited according to TrGF III) are the Vita, the Marmor Parium, and the Suda (s. v. Αἰσχύλος [Aischýlos], αι 357 Adler): born in 525/4 BC in Eleusis (T 1,1; 8; 98,3), son of Euphorion (T 1,1 f.; 2,1; 162,1), from the aristocratic family of the Eupatridae. He fought in the Persian Wars in 490 at Marathon (T 16) and in 480 a…

Sinis

(85 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (Greek Σίνις/Sínis, robber). One of the scoundrels who are killed by Theseus in their own vicious manner ( e.g. Bacchyl. 18,19-22): S., a son of Poseidon with the cognomen Pityokámptēs ('spruce bender'), is a brigand on the Corinthian Isthmus who ties the arms and legs of travellers to spruce trees that he bent down before. When he lets the trees shoot up, the victims are torn apart. He dies in the same fashion following the principle of Talion Law. Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)

Meliton

(285 words)

Author(s): Meister, Klaus (Berlin) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Markschies, Christoph (Berlin)
(Μελίτων; Melítōn). [German version] [1] Author of a text called "On the Clans in Athens" M. from Athens (?). According to fr. 1 (= Harpocr. s.v. κάθετος) author of a text called Perì tôn Athḗnēsi génōn (‘On the Clans in Athens). Date uncertain, in any case before Harpocratio [2], who lived in the first or second century A.D. Meister, Klaus (Berlin) Bibliography PA 9842 Traill, PAA 639945. [German version] [2] Tragedian, 1st cent. Greek author of tragedies (TrGF I 182); there is evidence of a work called ‘Niobe. Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) [German version] [3] M. of Sardes Bishop of…

Messenger scenes

(478 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] Longer rhesis in drama, in which other characters or the chorus are informed, either behind or off scene, of events that have taken place before or during the dramatic action and that could not represented on stage either because of the means or the conventions of Attic drama. These reports, furnished with all available rhetorical means, are usually presented by a main or a supporting figure (Eur. Heraclid. 389ff; Soph. El. 680ff.), but often by a nameless messenger specifically introduced for this purpose (ἄγγελοι/ ángeloi or ἔξαγγελοι/ éxangeloi, if the message co…

Mnesilochus

(103 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
(Μνησίλοχος/ Mnēsílochos). [German version] [1] see Mnasilochus See Mnasilochus Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) [German version] [2] Father-in-law of Euripides Father-in-law of Euripides [1], of the deme of Phlya. In our sources, the daughter's name varies between Choerile and Melito. In the hypothesis to Aristophanes' ‘Thesmophoriazousai the kēdēstḗs (close relative) of Eupolis is incorrectly identified with M. (also in manuscript R). Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) Bibliography U. v. Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, Euripides, Herakles I 1895, 7. [German version] [3] Secon…

Cleitus

(556 words)

Author(s): Michel, Raphael (Basle) | Badian, Ernst (Cambridge, MA) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
(Κλειτός, Κλεῖτος, Κλῖτος; Kleitós, Kleîtos, Klîtos, ‘The Famous One’). [German version] [1] Nephew of the seer Melampus Nephew of the famous seer  Melampus, son of Mantius, father of Coeranus. He was abducted by Eos because of his beauty (Hom. Od. 15,249f.; Pherecydes FGrH 3 F 115a). Michel, Raphael (Basle) [German version] [2] Great nephew of C. [1] Great nephew of C. [1], son of Polyidus and Eurydameia. He and his brother Euchenor marched with the Epigones ( Epigoni [2]) against Thebes and then joined Agamemnon (Pherecydes ibid.). Michel, Raphael (Basle) [German version] [3] Son of…

Polyidus

(381 words)

Author(s): Käppel, Lutz (Kiel) | Börm, Henning (Kiel) | Folkerts, Menso (Munich) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
(Πολύιδος/ Polýidos, Latin Polyidus). [German version] [1] Mythical seer and miracle-worker from Corinth ('of wide learning'). Mythical seer and miracle-worker from Corinth (cf. Cic. Leg. 2,33), descendant of Melampus [1] (Pherecydes FGrH 3 F 115a; Paus. 1,43,5), spouse of Eurydameia, father of Euchenor (Hom. Il. 13,663-668; cf. Cic. Div. 1,89), Cleitus [2], Astycrateia and Manto (not identical with the seeress Manto). His powers are testified to by numerous accounts of his assitence: in Corinth, for example…

Philostratus

(3,230 words)

Author(s): Weißenberger, Michael (Greifswald) | Bäbler, Balbina (Göttingen) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Albiani, Maria Grazia (Bologna) | Bowie, Ewen (Oxford)
(Φιλόστρατος/ Philóstratos). [German version] [1] Attic orator, 4th cent. BC Attic orator of the 4th cent. BC, son of Dionysius of Colonus, known from inscriptions (IG II/III2 2,1622,773) and mentions by Demosthenes [2]. In the 90s, while still a young man, he provided lodging for the lover of his friend Lysias (Dem. Or. 59,22f.); in 366/5, he was among the accusers of Chabrias in the Oropus trial; later he gained a victory as choregos with a choir of boys at the Dionysia (Dem. Or. 21,64); in 342, he was trierarch; between 343 and 340, he testified as a witness in t…

Psalmody

(1,368 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Zimmermann, Heidy (Basle) | Haas, Max (Basle)
[German version] I. Definition Psalmody (Greek ψαλμῳδία/ psalmōidía; Latin psalmodia) is the singing of psalms; in medieval Latin, it is a technical term for a particular psalm tone (a recitation formula). In music, psalmody is used more generally as a collective term for all musical genres whose texts are largely taken from the Psalter (Psalms). Its significance is even greater if one considers that the psalms are seen as the most important model in the development of liturgical poetry. Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) [German version] II. Jewish culture In the temple, psalms were…

Protarchus

(265 words)

Author(s): Nesselrath, Heinz-Günther (Göttingen) | Dorandi, Tiziano (Paris) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Ameling, Walter (Jena) | Michel, Simone (Hamburg)
(Πρώταρχος/ Prṓtarchos). [German version] [1] Comic poet from Thespiae, 1st cent. BC Comic poet from Thespiae, victorious on one occasion in the 1st cent. BC at the Soteria of Acraephia, and son or father of the epic poet Protogenes; otherwise, nothing is known of him. Nesselrath, Heinz-Günther (Göttingen) Bibliography PCG VII, 1989, 583. [German version] [2] Epicurean from Bargilia, 2nd cent. BC P. of Bargilia. Teacher of Demetrius [21] Lacon (Str. 14,20; 2nd cent. BC), perhaps in Miletus. It is unlikely that he was the head of the Epicurean 'Garden' ( kḗpos ). Dorandi, Tiziano (Paris) Bi…

Hypothesis

(474 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
(ὑπόθεσις; hypóthesis). Introduction, summary. [German version] A. History of literature Three types can be distinguished in tragedy: 1. The hypothéseis of  Aristophanes [4] of Byzantium found in the Peripatetic tradition ( Dicaearchus fr. 78 Wehrli); they contain a brief summary, point to the treatment of the same material by another tragedian, name the setting, the identity of the chorus and the speaker of the prologue and give further information on the play's performance (dating, title of the author's other p…

Perdix

(132 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (Πέρδιξ/ Pérdix , also called Talus or Calus), great-grandson of Erechtheus, nephew of  Daedalus [1], whose skill he surpassed - he is considered the inventor of, among other things, the saw and the compass (Ov. Met. 8,246ff.; Hyg. Fab. 39; Verg. G. 1,143) - and who therefore threw him to his death from the Acropolis  (Soph. fr. 323 TrGF; Hyg. Hab. 39). In Ov. Met. 8,251-253 P. is rescued by Athena, who turns him into a partridge ( perdix), which watches the burial of Daedalus's son Icarus [1], who also fell to his death, maliciously applauding with its wings ( ibid. 236ff.). Ac…

Didaskaliai

(700 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
(αἱ διδασκαλίαι; hai didaskalíai). [German version] I. Greek Derived from the verb διδάσκειν, the singular didaskalía has the general meaning of ‘teaching’, ‘instruction’ (Pind. Pyth. 4,102; Xen. Cyr. 8,7,24) and in a special sense of ‘choral training’ (Pl. Grg. 501e); in the plural it is a technical term for lists of dramatic and choral productions with associated details: year of performance (archon), poet, title, festival, choregos, actors. The entries were made in the archive of the authority responsible for the production, such at least was the case in A…

Thespis

(238 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (Θέσπις; Théspis) from Icarium [1] in the Attic deme of Icaria [1. 49], according to one tradition attested on the  Marmor Parium (43) the ‘inventor’ ( prôtos heuretḗs ) of tragedy (TrGF I 1 T 2), according to another (Suda θ 282 = T 1) the sixteenth or second tragedian after Epigenes [0] of Sicyon. Between 535/4 and 532/1, he is supposed to have presented the first tragedy at the great Dionysia in Athens (but cf. [3]) and is considered to be the inventor of theatrical masks (made of linen, T 1). By adding a prologue ( prólogos) and a  rhêsis , he transf…

Moschus

(655 words)

Author(s): Döring, Klaus (Bamberg) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Fantuzzi, Marco (Florence)
(Μόσχος; Mόschos). [German version] [1] From Elis, pupil of Phaidon M. from Elis, with Anchipylus a pupil (or pupil of a pupil) of Phaedon of Elis and teacher of Asclepiades [3] of Phleius and Menedemus [5] of Eretria. According to an ancient piece of gossip M. and Anchipylus are supposed to have subsisted only on water and figs their whole lives (Diog. Laert. 2,126; Athen. 2,44c). M. is presumably identical with the homonymous person whose name is the title of a dialogue by Stilpon (Diog. Laert. 2,120). Döring, Klaus (Bamberg) Bibliography SSR III E. [German version] [2] M. from Lampsacus…

Deus ex machina

(407 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (Θεὸς ἀπὸ μηχανῆς; theòs apò mēchanês). Crane-like stage machinery (μηχανή, γέρανος, κράδη; mēchanḗ, géranos, krádē) that became proverbial as early as the 4th cent. BC, by which a deity could suddenly appear hovering and traversing the air, and imbue the plot with fresh momentum or bring it to an end (cf. Pl. Cleit. 407a; Crat. 425d; Antiphanes 189,13-16 PCG; Alexis 131,9 PCG; Men. Theophorumene fr. 5 Sandbach = 227 Körte; Cic. Nat. D. 1,53). Its use in the parodies of Aristophanes (Pax 174ff.…

Cleophon

(216 words)

Author(s): Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
(Κλεοφῶν; Kleophôn). [German version] [1] Athenian demagogue in the period after 411 BC Athenian demagogue in the period after 411 BC, lyre-maker, apparently not very wealthy (Lys. 19.48). In 410 C. introduced the   diobelía , a maintenance payment to needy citizens ([Aristot.] Ath. Pol. 28,3). According to Diodorus (13,53,2) he brought about in 410/409, according to [Aristot.] Ath. Pol. 34,1 in 406/5, the rejection of peace negotiations with Sparta, though these could have been duplicates of his measures in…

Sosistratus

(321 words)

Author(s): Meister, Klaus (Berlin) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
(Σωσίστρατος/ Sōsístratos). [German version] [1] Oligarch in Syracuse, second half of the 4th cent. BC From c. 330 BC leader with Heraclides of the Oligarchy of the Six Hundred in Syracusae. Although he was suspected by Agathocles [2] of aspirations to tyranny, his successes in the war of Croton with the Bruttii confirmed his position in Syracuse (Diod. 19,3,3-5). After a military failure against Rhegium he was banished from Syracuse c. 322 (Diod. 19,4,3), but he and his followers were able to return under Acestoridas; after Agathocles seized power in 316/5, howe…
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