Asclepiades of Tragilus (Ἀσκληπιάδης ὁ Τραγίλου) was a 4th-century BCE Greek mythographer and scholar. His epithet indicates origin from the town of Tragilus in Chalcidice. A pupil of the orator Isocrates in Athens, he authored the Tragodoumena (Τραγῳδούμενα, "Subjects of Tragedy"), a systematic prose work in at least six books that cataloged the mythological subjects treated in Athenian tragedy [1][2].

His major work, the now-lost Tragodoumena, compiled myths used by tragic poets, frequently citing specific plays and noting variant versions of the narratives [1][2].

Asclepiades is significant as an early and influential mythographer. His systematic approach to organizing mythological material based on its tragic treatment pioneered a scholarly methodology that later Hellenistic compilers would adopt. His fragments provide valuable evidence for lost tragedies and the development of mythographical scholarship, influencing authors such as Hyginus and Photius [1][2].

Sources 1. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics: https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-866 2. Perseus Digital Library, Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aentry%3Dasclepiades-bio-3