Philippus
8. COMICUS, the COMIC WRITER
Works
Comedies
Scarcely anything is known of him, except it be the title of some of his comedies, and even with respect to these there is considerable difficulty. Suidas (
s. v.), on the authority of Athenaeus, ascribes to him a comedy entitled
κωδωνιασταί, but no such title is found in the present text of Athenaeus; and it is doubtful if that writer has mentioned Philip at all. His name occurs, indeed, in one place (viii. p. 358f.), according to the older editions, but the correct reading is Ephippus. Philip is among the comic poets from whom passages are given in the several collections of the
Poetae Gnomici Graeci ; but only one citation appears to be ascribed to him, said by Grotius to be from a comedy entitled
Ὀλυνθιακός,
Olynthiacus ; but Grotins assigns the play not to Philippus, but to Philippides.
There is consequently not one known drama to which the title of Philip is clear and indisputable. Philip is probably the
γελωτοποιὸς Φίλιππος, "the laughter-exciting Philip" of Maximus Tyrius (
Dissert. xxi. vol. i. p. 402, ed. Reiske), and the
Φίλιππος κωμῳδιδάς καλος of Themistius (
Paraphras. Aristotelis Lib. I. de Anima, 100.3, sub fin. p. 68b. ed. Aldus, Venice, 1533, or 100.19, in the Latin version of Hermolaus Barbarus), who cites a saying of Daedalus, one of his characters.
Further Information
Suidas,
l.c. c.; Fabric.
Bibl. Graec. vol. i. pp. 728, 743, 747, 748, vol. ii. p. 480.
