Astydamas the Younger

Astydamas , or sometimes Astydamas the Younger or Astydamas Minor, was a tragic poet of ancient Greece, who lived at Athens and was by far the most celebrated and prolific dramatist of the 4th century BCE. He was active from roughly 373 BCE to 340 BCE.

Life Astydamas was part of a sprawling, multi-generational theatre family. He was the son of Astydamas the Elder, who was also a dramatist, albeit a lesser known one, and with whom he is very often confused by many ancient sources. This would make him a grandnephew of the renowned tragedian Aeschylus, as well as great-grandson of the tragedian Philocles. He also had a brother named Philocles the Younger, who was also a tragic poet. His grandfather Morsimus was also a tragic poet. The family is often described as "one of the most remarkable theatrical families in Attic history".

Astydamas was the pupil of the rhetorician Isocrates, and wrote 240 tragedies and took the top prize a virtually unprecedented fifteen times in the Dionysia and Lenaia and other theatre festivals, earning his first victory in 372 BCE. The tenth-century encyclopedia known as the Suda attributes this achievement to the elder Astydamas, but other sources indicate that the 15-time winner was a contemporary of, and competitor to, the tragic poet Theodectes, so it must have been the younger.

Reputation While none of his plays survive, and modern scholars do not find much in the remaining fragments worthy of praise, Astydamas was unquestionably extremely popular in his time, and there is evidence his plays were still being performed centuries after his death. He was mentioned by Aristotle in his Poetics, and the historian Plutarch wrote that his tragedy Hector was a masterpiece on the level of any by Aeschylus or Sophocles. He is one of extremely few tragic poets whose dates are inscribed on the Parian Chronicle. This episode was mocked by later comedians, and gave rise to the ancient Greek proverb "You praise yourself, just like Astydamas" (Σαυτὴν ἐπαινεῖς ὥσπερ Ἀστυδάμας ποτέ).

Some scholars observe that there is scant contemporary reference to this controversy—the anecdote can be traced back no earlier than a few decades after Astydamas's death—so consider that it should not blindly be assumed that the event happened as is described, or happened at all.

Known works

Achilles (Ἀχιλλεύς) Ajax the Mad (Αἴας μαινόμενος) Alcmaeon (Ἀλκμαίων) Alcmene (Ἀλκμήνη) Antigone (Ἀντιγόνη) Athamas (Ἀθάμας) Epigoni (Ἐπίγονοι) Hector (Ἕκτωρ) Hermes (Ἑρμῆς) Lycaon (Λυκάων) Nauplius (Ναύπλιος) Palamedes (Παλαμήδης) Parthenopaeus (Παρθενοπαῖος) The Phoenix (Φοῖνιξ) Satyric Heracles (Ἡρακλῆς σατυρικός) Tyro (Τυρώ)