Timostratus (Τιμόστρατος ὁ Κωμικός) was a Hellenistic comic poet of the 2nd century BCE. He is known only through fragments preserved in later sources, primarily within Athenaeus’s Deipnosophistae from the 2nd/3rd century CE [1]. No biographical details of his life are recorded.

His sole confirmed work is the comedy The Phoenician Woman (Φοινίσσα), known only from citations in Athenaeus [1]. The Suda, a 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia, also lists a comic poet named Timostratus, though its reference may not be to this specific Hellenistic figure [2]. The extant fragments place his work firmly within the New Comedy tradition.

Timostratus exemplifies the numerous Hellenistic comic poets whose works survive only fragmentarily. His inclusion in Athenaeus indicates his plays remained accessible and valued centuries after their composition, contributing to the transmission of Greek comic culture. He provides incidental evidence for the themes and language of New Comedy in his period.

Sources 1. Perseus Digital Library (Tufts University): https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2013.01.0002:book=11:chapter=95&highlight=timostratus 2. Suda Online (The Stoa Consortium): https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/tau/621 (Entry "Timostratus")