Androcydes (painter)

Plutarch's remarks concerning this work are of interest to art historians who study history painting as a genre.

According to Plutarch,[1] Androcydes received a commission from the city of Thebes to paint the battle scene on site.

Originally, the work was to have honored Pelopidas and Epaminondas, but through the efforts of a certain Menecleides, the name of the Theban commander Charon was substituted, either directly in the painting or on a separate dedicatory plaque.

This repurposing indicates that battle scenes might be depicted so generically that the ostensible subject of the work could be changed simply by giving it a new title and name labels.

[2] Indicative of an interest also in genre painting, Athenaeus reports[3] that Androcydes' gourmet passion for seafood prompted him to devote inordinate attention to painting the fish around a central figure of Scylla in one of his works.