Philemon (359–262 BCE)
Born 359 BCE, died 262 BCE.
Philemon (Ancient Greek: Φιλήμων; c. 362 BC – c. 262 BC) was an Athenian poet and playwright of the New Comedy. He was born either at Soli in Cilicia or at Syracuse in Sicily but moved to Athens some time before 330 BC, when he is known to have been producing plays. Except for a short sojourn in Egypt with Ptolemy II Philadelphus, he passed his life at Athens. He later died, nearly a hundred years old, but with mental vigour unimpaired, about the year 262 BC, according to the story, at the moment of his being crowned on the stage. He attained remarkable popularity, for he repeatedly won victories over his younger contemporary and rival Menander, whose delicate wit was apparently less to the taste of the Athenians of the time than Philemon's comedy. A statue of him was built centuries later, in the 2nd century AD. However, later generations preferred the refined style of Menander, and only stray fragments survive today. No manuscripts of his work have been located.
Text from the Wikipedia article Philemon_(poet), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.