Philoxenus of Eretria ( grc-gre, Φιλόξενος ὁ Ἐρετριεύς) was a painter from

Eretria Eretria (; el, Ερέτρια, , grc, Ἐρέτρια, , literally 'city of the rowers') is a town in Euboea, Greece, facing the coast of Attica across the narrow South Euboean Gulf. It was an important Greek polis in the 6th and 5th centur ...

. He was a disciple of

Nicomachus of Thebes Nicomachus of Thebes ( el, Νικόμαχος; fl. 4th century BC) was an ancient Greek painter, a native of Thebes, and a contemporary of the great painters of the Classical period. He trained under his father Aristides, also a painter.Pliny, ' ...

, whose speed in painting he imitated and even surpassed, having discovered new and rapid methods of coloring.

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

: ''breviores etiamnum quasdam picturas compendiarias invenit'', ''Natural History'' xxxv. 10. s. 36. § 22. Nevertheless,

states that a picture of his was inferior to none, depicting a battle of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

with Darius, which he painted for King

Cassander Cassander ( el, Κάσσανδρος ; c. 355 BC – 297 BC) was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 305 BC until 297 BC, and ''de facto'' ruler of southern Greece from 317 BC until his death. A son of Antipater and a conte ...

A similar subject is represented in the celebrated

Alexander Mosaic The ''Alexander Mosaic,'' also known as the ''Battle of Issus Mosaic'', is a Roman floor mosaic originally from the House of the Faun in Pompeii (an alleged imitation of a Philoxenus of Eretria or Apelles' painting, 4th century BC) that dates ...

found in the

House of the Faun The House of the Faun ( it, Casa del Fauno), constructed in the 2nd century BC during the Samnite period (180 BC), was a grand Hellenistic palace that was framed by peristyle in Pompeii, Italy. The historical significance in this impressive est ...

, Pompeii. As a disciple of Nicomachus, who flourished about 360 BC, and as the painter of the

battle of Issus (333 BC) The Battle of Issus (also Issos) occurred in southern Anatolia, on November 5, 333 BC between the Hellenic League led by Alexander the Great and the Achaemenid Empire, led by Darius III. It was the second great battle of Alexander's conquest of ...

, or it could have been the

battle of Gaugamela The Battle of Gaugamela (; grc, Γαυγάμηλα, translit=Gaugámela), also called the Battle of Arbela ( grc, Ἄρβηλα, translit=Árbela), took place in 331 BC between the forces of the Army of Macedon under Alexander the Great ...

in 331 BC. They both have the requirements. Philoxenus must have flourished in the age of Alexander, about 330 BC and onwards. The words of Pliny, "''Cassandro regi''", "Cassander being king", if taken literally, would show that the date of his great picture must have been after 317 or 315 BC, during the reign of Cassander in Macedon.

References

Painters of Alexander the Great Ancient Greek painters Ancient Eretrians 4th-century BC painters {{Greece-painter-stub