Neophron
Encyclopedia
Neophron of Sicyon
(Νεόφρων, -ονος) was one of the most prolific of the ancient Greek
dramatists, to whom are accredited one hundred and twenty pieces, of which only a few fragments of his Medea remain. This, it is said, Euripides
used in his tragedy which bears the same title, although modern scholarship is divided on which tragedy came first. Neophron likely lived in the second half of the fifth century B.C. and was a rough contemporary of Euripides.
As Suidas tells us, he introduced in his plays the torture of slaves, such scenes, according to the canons of dramatic art, not being produced on the stage, but merely referred to by messengers.
For a discussion of the surviving fragments of Neophron and their relation to Euripides' Medeia see the introduction to D. Page's 1938 commentary on that play.
Sicyon
Sikyon was an ancient Greek city situated in the northern Peloponnesus between Corinth and Achaea on the territory of the present-day prefecture of Corinthia...
(Νεόφρων, -ονος) was one of the most prolific of the ancient Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
dramatists, to whom are accredited one hundred and twenty pieces, of which only a few fragments of his Medea remain. This, it is said, Euripides
Euripides
Euripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
used in his tragedy which bears the same title, although modern scholarship is divided on which tragedy came first. Neophron likely lived in the second half of the fifth century B.C. and was a rough contemporary of Euripides.
As Suidas tells us, he introduced in his plays the torture of slaves, such scenes, according to the canons of dramatic art, not being produced on the stage, but merely referred to by messengers.
Sources
This article is based on text from The Drama: Its History, Literature and Influence on Civilization, vol. 1. ed. Alfred Bates. London: Historical Publishing Company, 1906.For a discussion of the surviving fragments of Neophron and their relation to Euripides' Medeia see the introduction to D. Page's 1938 commentary on that play.