Polyaenus or Polyenus (/ˌpɒliˈiːnəs/; see ae (æ) vs. e; Greek: Πoλύαινoς, Polyainos, "much-praised") was a 2nd-century Macedonian author, known best for his Stratagems in War (in Greek, Στρατηγήματα), which has been preserved. The Suda calls him a rhetorician, and Polyaenus himself writes that he was accustomed to plead causes before the emperor. He dedicated Stratagems in War to Marcus Aurelius (161–180) and Verus (161–169), while they were engaged in the Parthian war (162–165), about 163 CE, at which time he was too old to accompany them in their campaigns.