Straton

(Στράτων), literary.

1. An Athenian comic poet of the Middle Comedy, according to Suidas (s. v.), who mentions his play entitled Φοίνιξ, which is, no doubt, the same as the Φοινιτίδηρ, from which a considerable fragment is quoted by Athenaeus (ix. p. 382e.). From the frequency with which the name of the comic poet Strattis occurs corrupted into Straton, some distinguished scholars have supposed that the fragment in Athenaeus should be ascribed to Strattis, and that the comic poet Straton owes his existence solely to the errors of transcribers, followed by Suidas. It has, however, been shown by Meineke, from the internal evidence of the fragment itself, that it could hardly have been written by Strattis, or by any other poet of the Old Comedy; and therefore there is no reason to reject the testimony of Suidas, although it may be doubted whether he is strictly correct in ascribing Straton to the Middle Comedy. If the Philetas mentioned in the fragment be, as seems very probable, the celebrated poet of Cos, who flourished about Ol. 120, Straton ought rather to be referred to the New than to the Middle Comedy. The first three verses of the fragment and the beginning of the fourth were appropriated by Philemon. (Ath. xiv. p. 659b.)

Another comic poet of this name is mentioned by Plutarch (Symp. 5.1), as a contemporary. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. ii. pp. 496, 497; Meineke, Frag. Com. Graec. vol. i. pp. 426-428, vol. iv. pp. 545-548, Editio Minor, pp. 1156-1158.)