{{Short description|Ancient Greek tragic poet}} {{for|the athlete|Xenocles of Messenia}} '''Xenocles''' ({{langx|grc|Ξενοκλῆς}}) was an ancient Greek tragedian. He won a victory at the Dionysia in 415 BC with the plays ''Oedipus'', ''Lycaon'', and ''Bacchae'' with the satyr play ''Athamas''.<ref name=BNP>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Zimmerman|first=Bernhard|entry=Xenocles [2]|title=Brill's New Pauly|year=2006|doi=10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e12212800}}</ref> Other plays by Xenocles include ''Licymnius'', parodied by Aristophanes in ''The Clouds'',<ref name=OCD>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Xenocles|encyclopedia=Oxford Classical Dictionary|last=Brown|first=Andrew|edition=4}}</ref> and perhaps ''Myes''.<ref name=BNP/> Aristophanes also refers negatively to Xenocles in the ''Thesmophoriazusae'' and ''Frogs''.<ref name=OCD/>
Xenocles was the son of Carcinus the Elder and father of Carcinus the Younger, both also tragic playwrights.<ref name=Sutton>{{cite journal|title=The Theatrical Families of Athens|last=Sutton|first=Dana Ferrin|journal=The American Journal of Philology|year=1987|volume=108|pages=17–18}}</ref> He had at least two brothers who were also tragic poets or actors. Ancient sources differ on whether Xenocles was one of three or four brothers,<ref name=DGRBM>{{Cite DGRBM|title=Xenocles (2)|url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aentry%3Dxenocles-bio-2}}</ref> and name them variously as Xenotimus, Xenarchus, Demotimus, Xenocleitus, and Datis.<ref name=Sutton/> Datis, quoted by Aristophanes in ''Peace'',<ref name=Sutton/> may have been a nickname for Xenocles.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Pressler|first=Frank|entry=Datis|title=Brill's New Pauly|year=2006}}</ref>
== Notes == {{reflist}}
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Category:5th-century BC Greek poets Category:Ancient Greek tragic poets Category:Year of birth unknown Category:Year of death unknown
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