Phrynichus

Phrynichus. (1) A tragic poet, who occupies a position midway between Thespis (q.v.) and AEschylus (q.v.) in the development of the Attic drama. The Athenians were so much affected by his play, the Capture of Miletus, acted soon after the capture of that city by the Persians (494 B.C.), that they fined the poet 1,000 drachms and forbade its reproduction on the stage. (2) A poet of the old Attic comedy, contemporary with Aristophanes. (3) A grammarian of the 2nd century A.D., born in Bithynia. His chief work was his Sophistike Paraskeue, containing a collection of Attic words and phrases, with rules as to their proper use.