Agathon was a celebrated Athenian tragic poet, whose works are now almost entirely lost. He is best known today for his appearance in Plato's Symposium, which describes a banquet held to celebrate his victory at a dramatic festival in 416 BC. According to Aristotle's Poetics, Agathon was an innovator who originated the practice of using fictional characters and plots rather than relying on traditional mythology. Near the end of his life, he left Athens for the court of Archelaus I of Macedon, where he likely died.