PHILEMON

born c. 368 BC, , Syracuse, Sicily [now in Italy] died c. 264 BC poet of the Athenian New Comedy, elder contemporary and successful rival of Menander. As a playwright Philemon was noted for his neatly contrived plots, vivid description, dramatic surprises, and platitudinous moralizing. By 328 he was producing plays in Athens, where he eventually became a citizen; he also worked in Alexandria for a time. Of 97 comedies by him, some 60 titles survive in Greek fragments and Latin adaptations.