Extract

Philoxenus (3), Eretrian painter, dated by *Pliny (1) to 330 bce. He painted for *Cassander (after 306?) a Battle of *Alexander (3) the Great and *Darius III, which Pliny says was ‘inferior to none’, and which is possibly reflected in the Alexander Mosaic of c.100 bce from *Pompeii. He also painted three lascivious satyrs revelling. He was known for his speed, and the invention of ‘compendiaria’, probably short cuts, perhaps in preparing the paint and the surface, but perhaps abbreviated landscapes (see mosaic) (Plin.HN 35. 110). A *mosaic in *Pompeii of the 2nd cent. bce depicting the two kings in battle is proved by the likeness of Alexander's breastplate to that from Tomb II at Vergina (see aegae) to represent faithfully a 4th-cent. original. Philoxenus has been suggested as the artist. See painting, greek.