Eupolis

Eupolis

Eupolis (ca. 446 BC-411 BC) was an Athenian poet of the Old Comedy, that flourished in the time of the Peloponnesian War.

Nothing whatever is known of his personal history. With regard to his death, he is said to have been thrown into the sea by Alcibiades, whom he had attacked in one of his plays, but it is more likely that he died fighting for his country.

He is ranked by Horace, along with Cratinus and Aristophanes, as the greatest writer of his school. With a lively and fertile fancy Eupolis combined a sound practical judgment. He was reputed to equal Aristophanes in the elegance and purity of his diction, and Cratinus in his command of irony and sarcasm.

Although he was at first on good terms with Aristophanes, their relations subsequently became strained, and they accused each other, in most virulent terms, of imitation and plagiarism.

Of the 17 plays attributed to Eupolis, with which he obtained the first prize seven times, only fragments remain. Of these the best known were:
* the "Kolakes", in which he pilloried the spendthrift Callias, who wasted his substance on sophists and parasites;
* "Maricas", an attack on Hyperbolus, the successor of Cleon, under a fictitious name
* the "Baptae", against Alcibiades and his clubs, at which profligate foreign rites were practised.

Other objects of his attack were Socrates, Cimon, and Cleon. The "Demoi" and "Poleis" were political, dealing with the desperate condition of the state and with the allied (or tributary) cities.

Tom Holt's historical novel "The Walled Orchard" features Eupolis as the narrator and protagonist.

References

*1911


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  • Eupolis — (griechisch Εὔπολις; * um 446 v. Chr.; † vermutlich 411 v. Chr.) war ein antiker griechischer Komödiendichter des 5. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. Er ist neben Aristophanes und Kratinos ein Hauptvertreter der attischen Alten Komödie. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • EUPOLIS — (EUPOLIS 446 EUPOLIS 411) Considéré dans l’Antiquité comme l’un des plus grands poètes athéniens de l’ancienne comédie mélange de verve et de satire et comme un rival d’Aristophane. Né à Athènes, il grandit durant la guerre du Péloponnèse entre… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Eupolis — ( 446, Athènes 411) est un poète comique grec, rival d Aristophane. Il appartenait à l ancienne comédie. Il s attira de fâcheuses aventures par la hardiesse de ses critiques. On ne sait du reste que fort peu de chose sur la vie de ce poète. On… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Eupolis — (griego Εύπολις, 446 411 a. C.), hijo de Sosípolis e integrante del famoso trío de escritores de la Comedia Antigua, siendo los otros Cratino y Aristófanes. Fue contemporáneo de este último, representó su primera obra en el… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Eupŏlis — Eupŏlis, gehörte neben Aristophanes, dessen Zeitgenosse er war, zu den vorzüglichsten alten attischen Komödiendichtern; er begann schon in seinem 17. Jahre um den Siegespreis zu kämpfen u. erhielt diesen siebenmal. Er starb vor Beendigung des… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Eupŏlis — Eupŏlis, neben Kratinos und Aristophanes das Haupt der ältern attischen Komödie, geboren um 445 v. Chr. in Athen, trat schon mit 17 Jahren als Dichter auf und trug siebenmal den Sieg davon. Er starb noch vor Ende des Peloponnesischen Krieges. Die …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Eupolis — Eupōlis, einer der drei Meister der altattischen Komödie, gest. um 410; Fragmente in Kocks »Comicorum Atticorum fragmenta«, Bd. 1 (1880) …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Eupolis — (Eúpolis) ► (s. V a C) Poeta cómico ateniense, representante de la comedia antigua. Obras: Demos, Los aduladores y Los bautizadores, entre otras …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Eupolis — Eupolis,   einer der Meister der alten attischen Komödie, ✝ bald nach 412 v. Chr.; Zeitgenosse und Konkurrent des Aristophanes, schrieb hochpolitische Stücke (ab 429 v. Chr.) in der Zeit des Peloponnesischen Krieges; in seinem letzten Stück, den… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • EUPOLIS — I. EUPOLIS Eleus, qui Olympiad. 96. vicit. II. EUPOLIS priscae comoediae scriptor, qui vitia populi magna cum libertate reprehendebat. Horat. Serm. l. 1. Sat. 4. Initio. Eupolis atque Cratinus, Aristophanesque poetae, etc. Pers. Sat. 1. v. 124.… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

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