Cratinus (; 519 BC – 422 BC) was an

Athenian Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

comic

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

of the Old Comedy.

Life

Cratinus won prizes for his plays on 27 known occasions, eight times at the City Dionysia, first probably in the mid-to-late 450s BCE (IG II2 2325. 50), and three times at the Lenaia, first probably in the early 430s (IG II2 2325. 121; just before Pherecrates and Hermippus). He was still competing in 423 BC, when his ''Pytine'' took the prize at the City Dionysia; he died shortly thereafter, at a very advanced age, about 97 years (test. 3). Little is known of his personal history. His father's name was Callimedes, and he himself was a taxiarch. The ''

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; ; ) is a large 10th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine encyclopedia of the History of the Mediterranean region, ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas () or Souidas (). It is an ...

'' accuses Cratinus of immorality, excessive cowardice, and habitual intemperance. His contemporaries offer no corroboration, except for the third charge, which is sustained by many passages of

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...

and other writers. They also refer the "Confession of Cratinus", which Cratinus himself seems to have treated the subject in a very amusing way, especially in his ''Pytine''. That he was related to the 4th-century comic poet Cratinus Junior is a reasonable hypothesis but cannot be proven.

Works

Cratinus was regarded as one of the three great masters of Athenian Old Comedy (the others being

and Eupolis). Although his poetry is several times described as relatively graceless, harsh, and crudely abusive (test. 17; 19), his plays continued to be read and studied in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. He wrote 21 comedies. They were chiefly distinguished by their direct and vigorous political satire. 514 fragments (including ten dubia) of his comedies survive, along with 29 titles. His most famous play is the ''Pytine''.

''Pytine''

The ''Pytine'' (The Wineflask) was Cratinus' most famous play. A grammarian describes the background of the play as follows: In 424 BC,

produced '' The Knights'', in which he described Cratinus "as a drivelling old man, wandering about with his crown withered, and so utterly neglected by his former admirers that he could not even procure to quench the thirst of which he was perishing" Soon after that play, Cratinus responded by producing a play called ''Pytine'' (The Wineflask) in 423 BC, which defeated the ''Connus'' of Ameipsias and '' The Clouds'' of Aristophanes, which was produced in the same year.

Other plays

In Grenfell and Hunt's ''Oxyrhynchus Papyri'', iv. (1904), containing a further instalment of their edition of the ''Behnesa papyri'' discovered by them in 1896–1897, one of the greatest curiosities is a scrap of paper bearing the argument of a play by Cratinus, the ''Dionysalexandros'' (i.e.

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

in the part of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

), aimed against

Pericles Pericles (; ; –429 BC) was a Greek statesman and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Ancient Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War, and was acclaimed ...

; and the

epitome An epitome (; , from ἐπιτέμνειν ''epitemnein'' meaning "to cut short") is a summary or miniature form, or an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment. Epitomacy represents "to the degree of." A ...

reveals something of its wit and point. Other plays of Cratinus include *''Archilochoi'' ("The Archilochuses") (c. 448 BC) *''Boukoloi'' ("The Cow-Herds") *''Bousiris'' (" Busiris") *''Deliades'' ("Women From Delos") *''Didaskaliai'' ("The Rehearsals") *''Drapetides'' ("Female Runaways") *''Empipramenoi'' ("Men On Fire") or ''Idaioi'' ("The Idaeans") *''Euneidai'' ("Children of Euneus") *''Thrattai'' ("Women From Thrace") *''Kleoboulinai'' ("The Cleobulines") *''Lakones'' ("The Laconians") *''Malthakoi'' ("The Soft Ones") *''Nemesis'' (" Nemesis") *''Nomoi'' ("The Laws") *''Odysseis'' ("The Odysseuses") *''Panoptai'' ("The All-Seers") *''Ploutoi'' ("The Gods of Wealth") *''Pylaia'' ("The Meeting At Pylae") *''Satyroi'' ("Satyrs"), won 2nd prize at the Lenaea of 424 BC *''Seriphioi'' ("Men From Seriphus") *''Trophonios'' (" Trophonius") *''Cheimazomenoi'' ("Storm-Tossed Men"), won 2nd prize at Lenaea of 425 BC'' Acharnians'', Introduction *''Cheirones'' ("The Chirons") *''Horai'' ("The Hours") 462 fragments of Cratinus survive.

Style

The style of Cratinus has been likened to that of

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; ; /524 – /455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is large ...

. He appears to have been fond of lofty diction and bold figures, and was most successful in the lyrical parts of his dramas, his choruses being the popular festal songs of his day. According to the statement of a doubtful authority, not borne out by

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

, Cratinus increased the number of actors in comedy to three.

Standard edition

The standard edition of the fragments and testimonia is in Rudolf Kassel and Colin François Lloyd Austin's ''Poetae Comici Graeci'' Vol. IV. The eight-volume ''Poetae Comici Graeci'' produced from 1983 to 2001 replaces the outdated collections by August Meineke (1839-1857), ''Comicorum Atticorum Fragmenta'' by Theodor Kock (1880-1888) and ''Comicorum Graecorum Fragmenta'' by Georg Kaibel (1899).

References

External links

* *
Fragmenta Comicorum Graecorum (ed. Meineke)

Comicorum Atticorum Fragmenta (ed. Kock)
{{Authority control 510s BC births 420s BC deaths Ancient Athenian dramatists and playwrights 5th-century BC Athenians 5th-century BC Greek poets Old Comic poets