Editing Cratinus (section)

==Life==
Cratinus won prizes for his plays on 27 known occasions, eight<ref>Erich Segal (2003), ''The Death of Comedy'', p. 37</ref> times at the [[Dionysia|City Dionysia]], first probably in the mid-to-late 450s BCE (IG II2 2325. 50), and three times at the [[Lenaia]], first probably in the early 430s (IG II2 2325. 121; just before [[Pherecrates]] and [[Hermippus]]). He was still competing in 423 BC, when his ''Pytine'' took the prize at the City Dionysia; he died shortly thereafter, at a very advanced age, about 97 years (test. 3).

Little is known of his personal history. His father's name was Callimedes, and he himself was a [[taxiarch]]. The ''[[Suda]]'' accuses Cratinus of immorality, excessive cowardice, and habitual intemperance. His contemporaries offer no corroboration, except for the third charge, which is sustained by many passages of [[Aristophanes]] and other writers. They also refer the "Confession of Cratinus", which Cratinus himself seems to have treated the subject in a very amusing way, especially in his ''Pytine''.

That he was related to the 4th-century comic poet [[Cratinus Junior]] is a reasonable hypothesis but cannot be proven.