Parrhasius (flourished 5th centurybc, Athens) was one of the greatest painters of ancient Greece.

Parrhasius was born inEphesus, Ionia (now part of Turkey), and later settled inAthens. He was praised by ancient critics as a master of outlinedrawing, and he apparently relied on subtlecontours rather than the new technique of chiaroscuro to suggest the mass of thehuman body. He also tried to portray various psychological states and emotions in his depictions of the face. Many of his drawings on wood and parchment were preserved and highly valued by later painters for purposes of study. His picture ofTheseus adorned the Capitol in Rome; other works were chiefly mythological groups. His picture of the Demos, the personified people of Athens, was particularly famous. None of his works or copies thereof survive.