This play is a love story in the shape of a parody. The god Jupiter, father of the gods and humans, a relentless womanizer who never grew up and has a never ending stock of passion. He desired the wife of the warlord Amphitruo who left the city to fight in a war. Jupiter takes Amphitruos' shape and makes love to his wife. When Amphitruo comes back from battle then starts a comedy of mistakes which ends in Amphitruos' wife giving birth to two sons - one for each man.

The plot of this play revolves around a literal pot of gold that the miserly protagonist, Euclio, guards zealously. The play's ending does not survive, though there are indications of how the plot is resolved in later summaries and a few fragments of dialogue.

Translation from Roman, introduction and comments by Dvora Gilula.

The lively action and well-constructed plot of the Phormio make it an ideal introduction to the Roman comic genre. While two fathers leave town for business, their sons have forbidden love affairs. The fathers leave behind a slave to watch over the boys, but for a hot meal, he helps them. One of the sons marries his lover, and the other buys her from her pimp and sets her free. Introduction and notes by Dvora Gilula.