Chaeremon


Chaeremon was an Athenian dramatist of the first half of the fourth century BCE. He was generally considered a tragic poet like Choerilus. Aristotle said his works were intended for reading, not for representation. According to Suidas, Chaeremon was also a comic poet, and the title of at least one of his plays seems to indicate that it was a satyric drama. His Centaurus is described by Aristotle as a rhapsody in all kinds of metres. His other known plays are Alphesiboea, Dionysus, Io, Minyae, Odysseus, Oeneus, Thyestes, and The Wounded Man. The fragments of Chaeremon are distinguished by correctness of form and facility of rhythm, but marred by a florid and affected style reminiscent of Agathon. He especially excelled in descriptions dealing with such subjects as flowers and female beauty. It is not agreed whether he is the author of the three epigrams in the Greek Anthology which bear his name. His maxim, "Luck, not wisdom, rules the affairs of men," was adopted by Plutarch as the text of one of his essays.