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PHILEMON (c. 361–263 B.C.)

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Originally appearing in Volume V21, Page 375 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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PHILEMON (c. 361–263 B.C.) , See also:Greek poet of the New See also:Comedy, was See also:born at See also:Soli in See also:Cilicia, or at See also:Syracuse. He settled at See also:Athens See also:early in See also:life, and his first See also:play was produced in 330. He was a contemporary and See also:rival of See also:Menander, whom he frequently vanquished in poetical contests. Posterity reversed the See also:verdict and attributed Philemon's successes to unfair See also:influence. He made a See also:journey to the See also:east, and resided at the See also:court of See also:Ptolemy, See also:king of See also:Egypt, for some See also:time. See also:Plutarch (De Cohibenda Ira, 9) relates that on his journey he was driven by a See also:storm to See also:Cyrene, and See also:fell into the hands of its king Magas, whom he had formerly satirized. Magas treated him with contempt, and finally dismissed him with a See also:present of toys. Various accounts of his See also:death are given; a violent outburst of See also:laughter, excess of joy at a dramatic victory, or a peaceful end while engaged in composing his last See also:work (See also:Apuleius, See also:Florida, 16; See also:Lucian, Macrob. 25; Plutarch, An Seni, p. 725). Of the ninety-seven plays which he is said to have composed, the titles of fifty-seven and considerable fragments have been preserved.

Some of these may have been the work of his son, the younger Philemon, who is said to have composed fifty-four comedies. The See also:

Merchant and The Treasure of Philemon were the originals respectively of the See also:Mercator and Trinummus of See also:Plautus. The fragments preserved by See also:Stobaeus, See also:Athenaeus and other writers contain much wit and See also:good sense. See also:Quintilian (Instil. x. 1, 72) assigned the second See also:place among the poets of the New Comedy christl. Behandlung sozialer Fragen (1896), as well as in Dr A. H. to Philemon, and Apuleius, who had a high See also:opinion of him, has See also:drawn a comparison between him and Menander. See A. See also:Meineke, Menandri et Philemonis reliquiae (1823, including See also:Bentley's emendations); T. See also:Kock, Comicorum graecorum fragmenta, vol. iii. (1884).

End of Article: PHILEMON (c. 361–263 B.C.)

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