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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)

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…

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…

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)

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…

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…

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…

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…

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. ('…

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)

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…

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…

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…

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…

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)

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)

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…

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…

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.…

Choregia

(217 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (ἡ χορηγία; hē chorēgía). Office of the choregos; from c. 500 BC a special form of   leitourgia in Athens. The choregia was imposed on prosperous citizens by the appropriate archon, and young notables were glad to use this kind of leiturgia in order to win political esteem (in 472 Pericles was choregos for Aeschylus' ‘Persians; cf. also Thuc. 6,16,3 on Alcibiades). The political significance of the choregia becomes especially clear in the dithyrambic agon, where it is not the poet but the choregos who is named in the inscription ( Didaskaliai). Towards the end o…

Sosiphanes

(83 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
(Σωσιφάνης; Sōsiphánēs). [German version] [1] Tragedian, died 336/333 or 324/321 BC S. of Syracuse, tragedian (TrGF I 92), died 336/333 or 324/321 BC. The Suda (σ 863) credits him with 73 plays and 7 victories. Meléagros is attested as a title. Inclusion in the Pleiad of tragic poets (TrGF T 1) relates to S. [2]. Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) [German version] [2] Tragedian, born 306/5 BC Tragedian (TrGF I 103), born 306/5 BC, numbered among the Pleiad of tragic poets. Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)

Philicus

(114 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] (Φίλικος; Phílikos) of Corcyra (Corfu). Poet and tragedian, priest of Dionysus at Alexandria in the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-246 BC). Member of the Pleias, often confused with Philiscus [4] of Aegina (TrGF I 89; I 104 T1, T4). Nothing survives of the 24 tragedies attributed to him. A large section is preserved of a hymn to Demeter in stichic catalectic choriambic hexameters (SH 676-680). In it, Demeter is consoled for the loss of her daughter with the prospect of cultic honours at Eleusis and by the wit of the maiden Iambe (in direct speech). Zimmermann, Bernhar…

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…

Mamercus

(147 words)

Author(s): Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Rix, Helmut (Freiburg)
[German version] [1] Tragedian of the 4th cent. BC (Μάμερκος/ Mámerkos). Tragedian of the 4th cent. BC mentioned in Plut. Timoleon 31,1 (TrGF I 87). Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) [German version] [2] Praenomen Praenomen exclusively used by the Patrician gens of the Aemilii (also used there as a cognomen, but never for freedmen); shortened to Mam.; Greek Μάμερκος/ Mámerkos. First attested for the father of Aemilius [I 25], traced back to M., son of Numa Pompilius (Plut. Numa 8,18f.). The name also occurs in Oscan (Μαμερεκς/ Mamereks) and in Etruscan ( Mamarce, Mamerce, Mamurke, 7th-5t…

Phaenippus

(346 words)

Author(s): Rathbone, Dominic (London) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
(Φαίνιππος; Phaínippos). [German version] [1] Attic landowner, around 320 BC The country estate of P., son of Callippus, is described in an Attic court speech around 320 BC (Ps.-Dem. Or. 42). In the antídosis proceedings the plaintiff demands that P. should be placed on the list of the three hundred richest Athenian citizens, who bore the heaviest burden of the financial cost of liturgies ( ibidem 42,3f.), instead of himself. P.’ property was unusual for two reasons: on the one hand, P. was the only heir of his father and, at the same time, of his grandfather on h…

Iophon

(262 words)

Author(s): Patzek, Barbara (Wiesbaden) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
(Ἰοφῶν; Iophôn) [German version] [1] Son of Peisistratus from his second marriage Son of  Peisistratus from his second marriage to the Argive Timonassa, the daughter of Gorgilus and widow of the  Cypselid Archinus of Ambracia. In contrast to his brother  Hegesistratus [1], only I.'s name has survived ([Aristot.] Ath. pol. 17,3; Plut. Cato maior 24,8; Hdt. 5,94f.). Patzek, Barbara (Wiesbaden) Bibliography L. de Libero, Die Archaische Tyrannis, 1996, 88 Traill, PAA 537360. [German version] [2] Athenian tragedian, 5th cent. BC Athenian tragedian (TrGF I 22), a son of  Sophocl…

Phanes

(600 words)

Author(s): Maharam, Wolfram-Aslan (Gilching) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
(Φάνης; Phánēs). [German version] [1] Primordial god of the Orphic cosmogony In Greek, 'the one who illuminates, enlightens, appears; the one who is (makes something) obvious' (OF frr. 56; 61; 109); the light-like (Nonnus, Dion. 9,141) and golden-winged (OF frr. 54; 78; 87,2) primordial god of the Orphic cosmogony (OF fr. 78; 86; World, creation of the). This cosmogony, recorded by a certain Hieronymus and Hellanicus (OF fr. 54), must be distinguished from that in the Hieroì Lógoi, an Orphic poem in 14 rhapsodies (OF testimonia 174; 196). P. was not the original name of …

Kommos

(404 words)

Author(s): Höcker, Christoph (Kissing) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg)
[German version] [1] Cretan port This item can be found on the following maps: Dark Ages | Colonization | Aegean Koine (Κόμμος; Kómmos). Port on the southern coast of Crete, situated near Matala and Phaestus. In the Minoan period K., which was founded around 2000 BC, probably served as the harbour for the palace of Phaestus, until its destruction around 1200 BC. After being deserted for c. 200 years, it was resettled around 1000 BC, presumably the result of Phoenician stimuli, and was increasingly Hellenized until the 4th cent. BC. Archaeological excavations (…

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…

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…
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