Introduction

15

This basic chronology seems to be reflected in a confused form in test. 1.
As has long been recognized, ‘the games of Philip of Macedon’, however in-
terpreted, cannot have taken place in the 101st Olympiad (376/2 BC). Meineke
thus plausibly interpreted the games as those celebrated by Philip at Dion
after the sack of Olynthus in 348 BC (D.S. 16.55) and accordingly emended
the text of the Suda from Ολυμπιάδι pa' to Ολυμπιάδι ρη'.* * * * 8 Although super-
ficially convincing, the emendation creates problems for the chronology of
Anaxandrides by introducing the claim that he ‘flourished’ (γεγονώς) in the
340s BC, at the very tail-end of his career. Since the transmitted date corre-
sponds to Anaxandrides’ first victory and floruit dates in these biographies
are commonly taken to refer to first victories, a better solution is to assume a
somewhat greater corruption in the text of the Suda, coupled with the loss of
a few words: ‘he flourished [i. e. won his first victory] in the 101st Olympiad
(376/2 BC) (sc. and remained active) until the games of Philip of Macedon in
the 108th Olympiad (348/4 BC).
Test. 5 dates three of Anaxandrides’ plays precisely,9 in addition to pro-
viding relative dates for seven others. Assuming that his first victory did not
coincide with his first play, Anaxandrides’ working life lasted from the late
380s or early 370s into the 340s, a career of somewhat more than thirty years;
in the absence of evidence to the contrary, all his plays are presumably to be
taken as performed at the Lenaia or Dionysia. By 311 BC, they were considered
παλαιαί and suitable for revival at the Dionysia (test. 7).10
Two other facts of lesser significance are known about Anaxandrides’
plays from external evidence. First, Aristotle (test. 8) recalls two performances
by the comic actor Philemon (Stephanis 1988 #2485), presumably as protago-
nist, in plays by Anaxandrides. The references say little about the comedies

beginning of line 9. Anaxandrides must thus have produced at least one play, which
took fourth place at the Dionysia, after 349 BC. Since his other dateable plays are
concentrated from the 370s to the 350s BC, and 349 BC is the latest date extant for
any of his plays, his career probably did not last much into the 340s BC.
8 Gutschmid’s emendation to Ολυμπιάδι ρια (336/2 BC, apparently thinking of fu-
neral games for Philip) seems impossibly late for Anaxandrides. Another possibility
might be Ολυμπιάδι ρς' (356/2 BC), when Philip was victorious at Olympia.
9 Mai[-] (a. 364; probably at the Lenaia); Erechtheus (a. 368; at the Dionysia); Io
(a. 374; probably at the Dionysia); a fourth play, either Anchises or Agroikoi was
performed in 349, probably at the Dionysia.
10 Revivals of comedies at the Dionysia began some three decades earlier in 340/39BC
(IGII2 2318.316-18 = 1563-5 M-O), but Anaxandrides’ play is the earliest specific
example known.