Timon of Athens

Timon of Athens, written with Thomas Middleton, is a tragedy about a wealthy Athenian who gives away his fortune to flatterers and, when they abandon him in debt, turns into a raging hater of humanity.

Main characters

• Timon, a lord of Athens
• Apemantus, a churlish philosopher
• Alcibiades, an Athenian captain
• Flavius, Timon's loyal steward
• Lucius, Lucullus and Sempronius, false friends
• Senators, painters, poets and creditors

Plot summary

This summary gives away the ending.

Timon lavishes gifts and feasts on everyone around him, ignoring the warnings of his steward Flavius and the sneers of Apemantus. When his money runs out and creditors close in, he asks his friends for help, and every one of them finds an excuse. Timon invites them to a last banquet, serves them covered dishes of warm water, throws it in their faces and leaves Athens.

Living in a cave, Timon digs for roots and finds gold. He now uses it only to spread harm, giving it to the banished soldier Alcibiades to attack Athens, and cursing everyone who visits, except the faithful Flavius. He dies alone, leaving a bitter epitaph, and Alcibiades enters Athens promising to punish only Timon's enemies.

Themes

• Wealth and friendship
• Ingratitude
• Misanthropy
• Debt and credit

Famous lines

I am Misanthropos, and hate mankind.

Timon, Act 4 Scene 3

More in our collection of famous Shakespeare quotes.

Sources

Plutarch's Life of Antony mentions Timon; Lucian's dialogue Timon the Misanthrope also lies behind it.

On stage and screen

Its roughness suggests it may never have been finished, and it was apparently included in the First Folio at the last minute. Scholars now agree that Thomas Middleton wrote about a third of it. Its themes of debt and credit have made it popular in times of financial crisis.

See where Timon of Athens sits in Shakespeare's career on the timeline, or read about the playhouses it was written for.