( fl c. 475–450 BC). Greek wall painter and sculptor. He came from a family of painters, which included his father and teacher, Aglaophon (see Harpokration: Lexicon ‘Polygnotos’; Plato: Gorgias 448b), his brother, Aristophon, and, probably, his son or nephew, Aglaophon (Pliny: XXXV.xxxvi.60). Though born on the island of Thasos, Polygnotos worked in Athens and Delphi and became an Athenian citizen, allegedly as a result of producing without renumeration a painting for the Stoa Poikile (Painted Stoa; c. 460 BC) or another Athenian building (see Harpokration). If so, he was perhaps aided by the Athenian statesman, Kimon (c. 512–449 BC), who may have been his patron. Kimon’s sister, Elpinike, was said to have been his mistress (Plutarch: Kimon iv.5), and it was Kimon’s brother-in-law, Peisianax, who founded the Stoa Poikile. According to Pliny (XXXV.xxxv.58) Polygnotos was active before 420 BC, while the style of his works and his association with Kimon place him firmly within the Early Classical period (c. 480–c. 450 BC). Pliny maintained (XXXIV.xix.85) that he was also a sculptor but mentioned no specific works, so that no statues have been attributed to him.

• Polygnotos of Thasos (fl c. 475-50 BC)
  • Greece, ancient, §V, 6(i)(c): Attic Red-figure pottery: Early and High Classical
  • Greece, ancient, §VI, 1(iii): Wall and panel painting: Painters and society
  • Vase painters, §II: Niobid Painter
  • attributions
    • Panainos
  • restorations by others
    • Pausias
  • works
    • Delphi, §1: Architecture
    • Greece, ancient, §VI, 1(ii)(b): Wall and panel painting: Classical-period subject-matter
    • Greece, ancient, §VI, 2(ii)(a): Wall and panel painting: Classical, 5th century BC
    • Greece, ancient, §VI, 3(i): Painting theory and criticism: 5th century BC