Phrynichus (; grc-gre, Φρύνιχος) was a

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

of the

Old Attic comedy Ancient Greek comedy was one of the final three principal dramatic forms in the theatre of classical Greece (the others being tragedy and the satyr play). Athenian comedy is conventionally divided into three periods: Old Comedy, Middle Comedy ...

and a contemporary of

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his ...

. His first comedy was exhibited in 429 BC. He composed ten plays, of which the ''Recluse'' was exhibited at the

City Dionysia The Dionysia (, , ; Greek: Διονύσια) was a large festival in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus, the central events of which were the theatrical performances of dramatic tragedies and, from 487 BC, comedies. It was the s ...

in 414 along with the ''Birds'' of Aristophanes and gained the third prize. His ''Muses'' carried off the second prize at the

Lenaia The Lenaia ( grc, Λήναια) was an annual Athenian festival with a dramatic competition. It was one of the lesser festivals of Athens and Ionia in ancient Greece. The Lenaia took place in Athens in Gamelion, roughly corresponding to January. T ...

in 405, Aristophanes being first with the ''Frogs'', in which he accuses Phrynichus of employing vulgar tricks to raise a laugh, of

plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and though ...

and bad versification, and of lowbrow politics.

Surviving titles and fragments

The surviving 86 fragments of his work may be found in Theodor Kock, ''Comicorum atticorum fragmenta'' (Teubner, 1880). *''Ephialtes'' (" Ephialtes") *''Konnos'' *''Kronos'' ("

Cronus In Ancient Greek religion and mythology, Cronus, Cronos, or Kronos ( or , from el, Κρόνος, ''Krónos'') was the leader and youngest of the first generation of Titans, the divine descendants of the primordial Gaia (Mother Earth) an ...

") *''Komastai'' ("Revellers") *''Monotropos'' ("The Recluse") *''Mousai'' ("The Muses") *''Mystai'' ("The Initiated Women") *''Poastriai'' ("Ladies Who Weed the Fields") *''Satyroi'' ("The Satyrs") *''Tragodoi'' ("Tragic Actors"), or ''Apeleutheroi'' ("Liberated Slaves")

References

* Ancient Greek dramatists and playwrights Old Comic poets Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown {{AncientGreece-poet-stub