Shakespeare wrote this play in 1604-1605, before King Lear. It refers to a very wealthy Athenian from the 5th century, mentioned by Plutarch in his work Antony and by Lucian in his philosophical essay Timon or The Misanthrope.

In theatrical history, the name Timon first appears in a passage of Lysistrata by Aristophanes, where Timon is referred to as a friend of women and an enemy of men. Many philologists argue that he served as the model for Dyskolos by Menander.

Timon squanders all his great wealth on his friends, but there comes a moment when he asks them for financial support and faces their ingratitude.