Isidorus the Tragedian (Ἰσίδωρος ὁ Τραγικός) was a Hellenistic tragic poet of the 3rd–2nd century BCE. He is known exclusively from a single mention in Athenaeus’s Deipnosophistae, which records that the comic poet Machon ridiculed him [1]. This reference provides his only biographical datum, establishing his floruit in the 3rd century BCE. No details of his origin or career survive.

No specific play titles are attributed to Isidorus, and his work is entirely lost. The identification of him as a tragedian constitutes the sole evidence of his literary output.

His significance lies in being a datable, albeit obscure, figure in post-Classical dramatic history. His mention illustrates the continued production of tragedy in the Hellenistic period and its subjection to comic satire, a tradition extending back to Old Comedy. His near-total obscurity highlights the fragmentary transmission of later Greek tragedy.

Sources 1. Perseus Digital Library: Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae, 8.345a. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0008.tlg001.perseus-grc1:8.345a