Philippides (Ancient Greek: Φιλιππίδης) was an Athenian poet of the Greek

New Comedy Ancient Greek comedy was one of the final three principal dramatic forms in the theatre of classical Greece (the others being tragedy and the satyr play). Athenian comedy is conventionally divided into three periods: Old Comedy, Middle Comedy, an ...

. He was the son of Philokles of Kephale and was active during the 111th Olympiad (c. 336-333 BCE). Aulus Gellius records that he died at an advanced old age from the joy of an unexpected victory at a dramatic competition. He was a great personal friend (philos) of King

Lysimachus Lysimachus (; Greek: Λυσίμαχος, ''Lysimachos''; c. 360 BC – 281 BC) was a Thessalian officer and successor of Alexander the Great, who in 306 BC, became King of Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon. Early life and career Lysimachus was b ...

(i.e. "successor" of Alexander the Great ) Philippides is reported as having had great influence with Lysimachus. In 285 BC Athens passed a decree to honor Philippides for his continuous requests to Lysimachus for aid to recover

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...

and the forts. In 286/285 BC Philippides was elected

agonothetes In ancient Greece, an ''agonothetes'' (plural '; grc, ἀγωνοθέτης) was the president or superintendent of one of the sacred Panhellenic Games. At first the person who instituted the games and defrayed the expenses was the ''agonothetes'' ...

Surviving titles and fragments

The Suda reports that Philippides produced 45 plays. Only the titles of 16 plays (along with associated fragments) have survived. * ''Adoniazousai'' (Women Mourning for Adonis) * ''Amphiaraos'' (Amphiaraus) * ''Ananeosis'' (Renewal) * ''Argyrioi Aphanismos'' (Disappearance of the Money) * ''Auloi'' (Flutes) * ''Basanizomene'' (Woman Being Tortured) * ''Lakiadai'' (Laciadae) * ''Mastropos'' (The Pimp) * ''Olynthia'' (Woman from

Olynthos Olynthus ( grc, Ὄλυνθος ''Olynthos'', named for the ὄλυνθος ''olunthos'', "the fruit of the wild fig tree") was an ancient city of Chalcidice, built mostly on two flat-topped hills 30–40m in height, in a fertile plain at the h ...

) * ''Sympleousai'' (Woman Sailing Together) or ''Synekpleousai'' (Women Sailing Forth Together) * ''Philadelphoi'' (The Brother-Loving Men) * ''Philathenaios'' (Lover of Athens) * ''Philargyros'' (Lover of Money) * ''Philarkhos'' (Philarchus) * ''Phileuripides'' (The Euripides-Lover) * ''Triodoi'', or ''Rhopopoles''

References

{{authority control Ancient Greek dramatists and playwrights Greek poets New Comic poets 4th-century BC poets