The Master of Revels in the court of Theseus, Duke of Athens, Philostrate served loyally under his liege lord.
At the behest of the duke in the runup to his wedding day with the Amazon Queen Hippolyta, he went about the town encouraging the local youths to celebrate and make merriment.
With that complete, he set about organising potential acts to entertain the royal couple; these included an Athenian Eunuch to sing a ballad about Hercules’ victory over the Centaurs, the death of Orpheus and the hands of the Bacchanals, a satirical tribute to the Nine Muses, and a local acting troupes’ rendition of the tragic tale of Pyramus and Thisbe. Watching the latter during their rehearsals, Philostrate openly mocked their poor acting and stagecraft, believing that they were all terribly miscast.
Writing them off as hopeless, he was taken aback when Theseus picked them to be their nuptial day entertainment. With his protests ignored, he reluctantly introduced the troupe to the couple, sitting back to watch the farce play out.
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