Xenocles

{{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.{{cite encyclopedia|last=Zimmerman|first=Bernhard|entry=Xenocles [2]|title=Brill's New Pauly|year=2006|doi=10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e12212800}} Other plays by Xenocles include Licymnius, parodied by Aristophanes in The Clouds,{{cite encyclopedia|title=Xenocles|encyclopedia=Oxford Classical Dictionary|last=Brown|first=Andrew|edition=4}} and perhaps Myes. Aristophanes also refers negatively to Xenocles in the Thesmophoriazusae and Frogs.

Xenocles was the son of Carcinus the Elder and father of Carcinus the Younger, both also tragic playwrights.{{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}} 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,{{Cite DGRBM|title=Xenocles (2)|url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aentry%3Dxenocles-bio-2}} and name them variously as Xenotimus, Xenarchus, Demotimus, Xenocleitus, and Datis. Datis, quoted by Aristophanes in Peace, may have been a nickname for Xenocles.{{cite encyclopedia|last=Pressler|first=Frank|entry=Datis|title=Brill's New Pauly|year=2006}}