Everything about Phrynichus Tragic Poet totally explained
Phrynichus, son of
Polyphradmon and pupil of
Thespis, was one of the earliest of the
Greek tragedians.
Some of the ancients, indeed, regarded him as the real founder of tragedy. He gained his first victory in a drama contest in
511 BC. His famous play, the
Capture of Miletus, was probably composed shortly after the conquest of that city by the
Persians (see
Ionian Revolt). The audience was moved to tears, the poet was fined "ὡς ὑπομνήσας οἰκεῖα κακά", "for reminding familiar misfortunes" (Miletus was a
colony of Athens and therefore traditionally held especially dear to the mother city), and it was decreed that no play on the subject should be produced again.
In
476 BC Phrynichus was successful with the
Phoenissae, called after the
Phoenician women who formed the chorus. This drama celebrated the defeat of
Xerxes I at the
Battle of Salamis four years earlier.
Themistocles provided the funds as
Choregos (producer), and one of the objectives of the play was to remind the Athenians of his great deeds. The
Persians of
Aeschylus (
472 BC) was an imitation of the
Phoenissae. Phrynichus is said to have died in
Sicily.
Some of the titles of his plays,
Danaides,
Actaeon,
Alcestis,
Tantalus, show that he dealt with mythological as well as contemporary subjects. He introduced a separate actor, as distinct from the leader of the chorus, and thus laid the foundation for theatrical dialogue. But in his plays, as in the early tragedies generally, the dramatic element was subordinate to the lyric element as represented by the chorus and the dance. According to the
Suda, Phrynichus first introduced female characters on the stage (played by men in masks), and made special use of the trochaic tetrameter.
Fragments in
A Nauck,
Tragicorum graecorum fragmenta (1887).
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