Philyllius ( grc, Φιλύλλιος), also called Phillylius, Phlaeus, Philolaus, or Phillydeus, was an ancient
Athenian comic
a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...
poet. He was contemporary with
Diocles and
Sannyrion. He belonged to the latter part of the
Old Comedy tradition and the beginning of the
Middle 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 ...
tradition. He seems to have attained to some distinction before 392 BC, when the ''
Ecclesiazusae'' of
Aristophanes was acted.
All titles of his
plays evidently belong to Middle Comedy. He is said to have introduced some scenic innovations, such as bringing lighted torches on the stage. With regard to his language,
Augustus Meineke mentions a few words and phrases in his plays, which are not pure Attic.
List of plays
The ''
Suda
The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; grc-x-medieval, Σοῦδα, Soûda; la, Suidae Lexicon) is a large 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas (Σούδας) or Souidas ...
'' and Eudocia gave titles of his plays:
[Suda φ 457]
Notes
:α. The last two titles are suspicious.
References
Bibliography
* Meineke, Frag. Com. Graec. vol. i. pp. 258–26], ii. pp. 857–866.
* Bergk, Comment, de Reliq. Com. Ait. Ant. p. 428.
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Ancient Greek dramatists and playwrights
4th-century BC Athenians
Old Comic poets
Middle Comic poets