PARRHASIUS, of Ephesus, was one of the greatest painters of Greece. He settled in Athens, and may be ranked among the Attic artists. The period óf his activity is fixed by the anecdote which Xenophon records of the conversation between him and Socrates on the subject of art; he was therefore distinguished as a painter before 399 b.c. Seneca relates a tale that Parrhasius bought one of the Olynthians whom Philip sold into slavery, 346 b.c. (see Olynthus), and tortured him in order to have a model for his picture of Prometheus; but the story, which is similar to one told of Michelangelo, is chronologically impossible. Another tale recorded of him describes his contest with Zeuxis. The latter painted some grapes so perfectly that birds came to peck at them. He then called on Parrhasius to draw aside the curtain and show his picture, but, finding that his rival’s picture was the curtain itself, he acknowledged himself to be surpassed, for Zeuxis had deceived birds, but Parrhasius had deceived Zeuxis. The arrogance and vanity of Parrhasius are the subject of many other anecdotes. He dressed himself in the purple robe, golden crown, and staff of a king, called himself the prince, and boasted his descent from Apollo. As to his artistic position, it is impossible for us in the entire absence of direct evidence to do more than repeat the opinion of ancient critics, as retailed by Pliny. He was universally placed in the very first rank among painters. His skilful drawing of outlines is especially praised, and many of his drawings on wood and parchment were preserved and highly valued by later painters for purposes of study. He first attained skill in making his figures appear to stand out from the background. His picture of Theseus adorned the Capitol in Rome. His other works, ...