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[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. 3Dioxippos fr. 3), and Philárgyros. He was probably involved in the Lenaea of 349 BC as didaskalos for a play by Anaxandrides [1. test. 2]. Bäbler, Balbina (Göttingen) Bibliography 1 PCG V, 1986, 44-46 2 H.-G. Nesselrath, Die att. Mittlere Komödie, 1990, 324.

[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 untitl…

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[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);…

(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 geographical works whose true compass is in the aetiological and paradoxographic (Gell. NA 9,4,3 puts P. alongside other authors of res inauditae, Aristeas, Ctesias, Onesicritus), of which we have only scanty fragments and titles, which may also denote parts of a single comprehensive wor…

(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 Silenus, Silanus). [German version] I. Mythology, art and cult A satyr/Silenus was a member of a group of demons who, since their relatively late emergence at the end of the 7th/beginning of the 6th cent. BC, have formed part of the mythical entourage of the god Dionysus; Silens, as a more or less distinctive and independent figure, emerged from that retinue…

(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…

(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 inst…

(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/ …

(Ἀρισταγόρας; Aristagóras, Ionic Ἀρισταγόρης; Aristagórēs). [German version] [1] Tyrant of Cyzicus (end of the 6th cent. BC) Tyrant of Cyzicus, mentioned in Hdt. 4,138 because he supported the Persian king  Darius with a naval unit during his campaign against the Scythians about 513 BC [1. 87, 569]. Cobet, Justus (Essen) [German version] [2] Tyrant of Cyme (around 500 BC) Son of Heracleides, tyrant of Cyme, mentioned by Herodotes (4,138) as being important in the Aeolis along with A. [1]; he participated in the expedition against Naxos before the Ionian uprising in 499 BC. He was imprisoned upon instigation by A. [3], but then released by the Cymaeans (Hdt. 5,36-38) [1. 91, 572]. Cobet, Justus (Essen) …

(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/ …

(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 similar personifications: Zelos (zeal), Kratos (power) and Bia (force) (Hes. Theog. 384-385). Zeus commands these powers forever (ibid. 388), since, on the advise of Styx, they supported him in the Gigantomachy (ibid. 389-403; Serv. Aen. 6,134). Nonnus outlined N.'s participation in the battle (Nonnus, Dion. …

(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 Hýpatos [7. 202 f.] and Hýpsistos in literature and …

(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 (perhaps comparable: Chiron among the centaurs; Pan in contrast to the various Pans). This figure was fleshed out in mythical stories and satyr plays. The 'Midas-silen' expresses a pessimistic thought to the Phrygian king Midas, a thought typical for the Archai…

(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] [2] Attic comic poet, 5th/4th cents. BC Attic comi…

[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]. Bäbler, Balbina (Göttingen) Bibliography 1 PCG II, 538-557. [German version] [2] Pythagoraean Pythagorean who, acc…

(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 athetized earlier’) is used (see also Schol. Hom. Od. 6,144), he is believed to be older than Aristarchus [4] of Samothrace or at least one of his contemporaries, so that he can also be placed in the 3rd/2nd cents. BC. Ammonius [3] of Alexandria, the student of Aristarchus, published a text Πρ…

(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 later wrote an anecdotal work ‘On the life and death of Hephaestion and Alexander’. As all extant fragments (FGrH 126) derive from  Athenaeus [3], they for the most part describe banquets. We also hear that Alexander was in the habit of putting on the insignia of various gods, and like  Gorgus sought the liberation of Samos. Identification of E. with an officer of Alexander in Egypt (cf. Berve 2, no. 331) is erroneously based. Badi…