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Rhinthon

323 BC – 285 BC

Greek writer

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About Rhinthon

Lived 323 BC – 285 BC (aged 37–38). Rhinthon was a playwright.

Rhinthon (, gen.: Ῥίνθωνος; c. 323 – 285 BC) was a Hellenistic dramatist.

The son of a potter, he was probably a native of Syracuse, Magna Graecia, and afterwards settled at Tarentum.

He invented the hilarotragoedia (Ἱλαροτραγῳδία), a burlesque of tragic subjects. Such burlesques were also called phlyakes ("fooleries") and their writers phlyakographoi. He was the author of thirty-eight plays, of which only a few titles (Amphitryon, Heracles, Medea, Orestes) and lines have been preserved, chiefly by the grammarians, as illustrating dialectic Tarentine forms. The metre is iambic, in which the greatest licence is allowed. The scant fragments of his plays are collected in R. Kassel and C. Austin, Poetae Comici Graeci, vol. 1, pp. 260–70.

Influence The Amphitruo of Plautus was probably imitated from a different writer (Archippus of Middle Comedy), but illustrates how such subjects were treated. The hilarotragoedia exercised considerable influence on Latin comedy, the Rhinthonica (or fabula) being mentioned by various authorities amongst other kinds of drama known to the Romans. Scenes from these travesties are probably represented in certain vase paintings from Southern Italy.

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Important facts

Born
323 BC, Syracuse
Birth century
Died
285 BC
Occupation
Also known as
Rhinton of Tarentum

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Rhinthon's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Rhinthon?

Greek writer

When was Rhinthon born?

Rhinthon was born in 323 BC in Syracuse.

When did Rhinthon die?

Rhinthon died in 285 BC.

What was Rhinthon's occupation?

Rhinthon was a playwright.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Rhinthon

· Wikidata: Q1083137

· DBpedia: Rhinthon

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Rhinthon. https://biography.guide/rhinthon/

MLA: "Rhinthon." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/rhinthon/.

Chicago: "Rhinthon." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/rhinthon/.

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