Epicharmus of Syracuse (Ἐπίχαρμος ὁ Συρακόσιος) was a comic poet active in the late 6th and early 5th centuries BCE. Associated with the court of the tyrants Gelon and Hieron I in Syracuse, he is considered a foundational figure in the development of comic drama, credited by Aristotle as an originator of the form [1][2]. Ancient sources place his floruit during the reign of Hieron I, and he was a contemporary of Pythagoras, whose ideas appear in some fragments [1][3].

His numerous comedies survive only in fragments and titles. Known plays include mythological burlesques such as The Cyclops (Κύκλωψ), The Sack of Troy (Ἰλίου Πέρσις), and The Marriage of Hebe (Ἕβης Γάμος) [1][2][3]. The Suda attributes 52 comedies to him, written in Doric Greek [1][3].

Epicharmus holds a crucial place in literary history as a pioneer of comic plot construction, representing a major Doric tradition distinct from Athenian Old Comedy [1][2]. The philosophical wit in his fragments, showing Heraclitean and Pythagorean influence, was later admired by Plato [1].

Sources 1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Plato.stanford.edu): https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epicharmus/ 2. Encyclopædia Britannica (Britannica.com): https://www.britannica.com/biography/Epicharmus 3. Perseus Digital Library (Tufts.edu): https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DE%3Aentry+group%3D3%3Aentry%3Depicharmus-bio-1