Python of

Catana Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

was a dramatic poet of the time of

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

, whom he accompanied into Asia, and whose army he entertained with a satyric drama, called ''Agen ()'' when they were celebrating the

Dionysia The Dionysia (, , ; Greek: Διονύσια) was a large festival in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus, the central events of which were the theatrical performances of dramatic tragedies and, from 487 BC, comedies. It was the sec ...

on the banks of the

Hydaspes The Jhelum River (/dʒʰeːləm/) is a river in the northern Indian subcontinent. It originates at Verinag and flows through the Indian administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir, to the Pakistani-administered territory of Kashmir, and then ...

. The drama was in ridicule of

Harpalus Harpalus (Greek: Ἅρπαλος) son of Machatas was an aristocrat of Macedon and boyhood friend of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. Harpalus was repeatedly entrusted with official roles by Alexander and absconded three times with la ...

and the Athenians; fragments of it are preserved by

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of th ...

. Identification of the poet with

Python of Byzantium Python of Byzantium ( el, Πύθων ὁ Βυζάντιος) was an ancient Greek statesman and former student of Isocrates. In 346 BC, he appears to have participated in negotiations at Pella that resulted in the Peace of Philocrates. In 343 BC, Py ...

, the highly regarded orator in the service of

Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...

, is unlikely.

References

*''Who's Who in the Age of Alexander the Great'' by Waldemar Heckel

External links

Deipnosophists of AthenaeusΑγήν
Poets of Alexander the Great Sicilian Greeks Ancient Greek dramatists and playwrights {{AncientGreece-writer-stub

See also

References

External links