Polus of Aegina explained

Polus of Aegina
Native Name:Πῶλος
Birth Place:Aegina, Ancient Greece
Occupation:Tragic actor
Known For:Acting in eight tragedies at age 70, performing in Electra holding the ashes of his own son
Parents:Charicles of Sunium

Polus (grc|Πῶλος) of Aegina was a celebrated tragic actor, the son of Charicles of Sunium, and a disciple of Archias of Thurii.

It is related of him that at the age of 70, shortly before his death, he acted in eight tragedies on four successive days.[1] [2]

The Roman author Aulus Gellius also mentions the actor, describing how during a performance of Electra, in the scene where Orestes is mourned with his ashes, Polus starred while holding an urn containing the ashes of his own son. [3]

Notes and References

  1. [Plutarch]
  2. Lucian. Necyom. vol. i. p. 479, ed. Hemst.
  3. Lauriola, 2017. P. 56