Rhinthon of Tarentum (Ῥίνθων ὁ Ταραντῖνος) was a playwright active in the late 4th and early 3rd centuries BCE in the Greek colony of Tarentum in southern Italy. He is the principal known author of "phlyax" plays, a form of burlesque farce involving mythological travesty that was popular in Magna Graecia [4]. While sometimes called a tragedian by ancient sources, this refers to his parodic treatment of tragic subjects rather than to the composition of serious drama.

Rhinthon is credited with creating the genre of "hilarotragedy." Ancient sources attribute 38 plays to him, but only nine titles and fragments survive, preserved in later authors like Athenaeus [3]. Known works such as Heracles, Iphigenia in Aulis, and Medea demonstrate his method of comically adapting tragic myths. These plays were written in verse, using iambic trimeter and trochaic tetrameter, and were composed in the Doric dialect.

His significance lies in representing a major, regionally specific branch of Hellenistic comedy. The phlyax tradition, exemplified by Rhinthon, is considered a forerunner to later Roman comic forms like the fabula Atellana and the works of Plautus [2]. His work also provides valuable linguistic evidence for theatrical practices in the Greek West.

Sources 1. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics: https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-5522 2. Encyclopædia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rhinthon 3. Perseus Digital Library, Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aentry%3Drhinthon-bio-1 4. World History Encyclopedia: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/776/the-phlyax-vases/