BEGINNINGS OF ROMAN LITERATURE
Livius Andronicus
Considered as the originator of Latin literature, introduced
the first regular play with a plot, born in Tarentum in 284
B.C. and taken to Rome as a slave under Livius Salinator (he
took his master's name when freed), died in 204 B.C.,
implies Greek origin
Major work:
Odissia - translation of Homer's Odyssey into Latin in
Saturnian meter
Also, at the Ludi Romani of 240 B.C., Livius composed and
acted in the first Latin comedy and first Latin tragedy. He
wrote 8 tragedies and several comedies modeled from the
Greeks.
Gnaeus Naevius (270-201 B.C.)
He had a quarrel against the Metelli family and was
imprisoned, later exiled by them to Utica where he died.
Major works:
Bellum Punicum - epic about the Punic Wars in Saturnian
meter (he had served in the first Punic War)
Fabula palliatae(6) - comedies in Greek dress, he
practiced contaminatio, the fusion of two Greek
plays into one Latin play
Fabula praetextae(7) - plays on historical Roman
subjects
Quintus Ennius (239-169 B.C.)
Father of Latin Poetry, introduced Greek hexameter to Latin
poetry, born at Rudiae in Calabria, he knew 3 languages
(Greek, Latin, Oscan) which he said gave him "three hearts",
nephew was the tragic poet Marcus Pacuvius, died at 70 of
the gout.
Major works:
Annales(Annals) - 18 books of epic history of Rome
Rape of the Sabines - one of twenty tragedies
Scipio - poem of Scipio Africanus
Four books of satire
Two comedies
Marcus Pacuvius (220-130 B.C.)
He is the nephew of Ennius, was a respected painter, wrote
about a dozen tragedies.
Lucius Accius (170-86 B.C.)
Born at Pisaurum, parents were freedmen like Horace's,
considered the central figure in Roman tragedy.
Major works:
Atreus - one of 40 or 50 tragedies from Greek models,
"Oderint dum metuant." "Let them hate me provided
they fear me."
Decius - about the self-immolation (devotio) of Decius
Mus at the battle of Sentinum in 295 B.C.
Brutus - about the downfall of the Tarquins
COMEDY AND SATIRE
Titus Maccius "clown" Plautus "flat-foot" (255-184 B.C.)
Born in Sarsina in Umbria, adapted his comedies from Greek
New Comedy, especially Menander; wrote a possible total of
21 comedies (one in fragments).
Major plays:
Amphitryo - involves Jupiter's violation of
Amphitryon's wife Alemena to beget Hercules, is
the only mythological comedy, source was Old or
Middle Comedy rather that New
Asinaria - "The Ass Comedy"
Aulularia - "Pot of Gold," involves a miser and a hill
of gold
Bacchides - "The Two Bacchises," has a double plot
Captivi - "The Prisoners of War," is the only play that
has no women involved
Casina - most obscene of Plautus's plays, probably the
latest
Cistellaria - "The Casket"
Curculio
Menaechmi - Shakespeare used this play as a basis for
his Comedy of Errors
Mercator - "The Merchant"
Miles Gloriosus - "Bruggart soldier"
Mostellaria - "The Haunted House"
Persa - "The 'girl' from Persia"
Poenulus - "The Carthaginian," one of the longest and
dullest of Plautus' plays
Epidicus
Pseudolus - one of Plautus' favorite plays in old age
Rudens - "Rape"
Stichus - different from Plautus' other plays because
it has no plot, from Plebeian games in 200 B.C.
Trinummus - "Threepenny Day"
Truculentus - one of Plautus' favorites, is not funny,
but very grim
Vidularia - "'The Chest"
Caecilius Statius
Born abut 220 B.C., was an Insubrian Gaul, wrote about 40
different comedies in Latin and Greek
Publius Terentius Afer (Terence) (195-159 B.C.)
Born an African slave in Carthage, brought to Rome as a
slave, became a member of the Scipionic circle (Scipio
Africanus the Younger) which included Laelius and the
satirist Lucilius, died on a journey to Greece.
Famous Terence phrases:
Dictum sapienti sat est - "A word to the wise"
Fortis fortuna adiuvat - "Fortune helps the brave"
Quot homines tot senentiae - "Many men, many minds"
Tacent, satis laudant - "Their silence is praise"
Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto - "I am a man;
whatevever pertains to man concerns me"
Major plays:
Andria - earliest of Terence's plays
Hauton Timorumenos - "The self-Tormentor"
Eunuchus - Terence's greatest financial success
Phormio
Hecyra - poorest of Terence's plays
Adelphi - considered Terence's masterpiece
Gaius Lucilius
Considered as the inventor of satire, born in 180 B.C. of a
prominent family, his sister was the grandmother of Pompey
the Great, Lucilius' mistress was Collyra, was a member of
the Scipionic circle, wrote 30 books of satire, influenced
all other satirist, especially Horace, died at Naples
between 103 and 101.
Fabula Togatae - plays in Roman dress and background
Three major writers of fabula togatae
1. Lucius Afranius
2. Titinius
3. Titus Quinctius Atta
Fabulae Atellanae - Atellan farce, comedies with a permanent
cast that presented their various adventures
Cast - Maccis the clown, Pappus the simpleton, Bucco the fat
boy, Dossennus the hunch-back, and Manducos the glutton
Writers of Atellan farce
1. Novius
2. Lucius Pomponius
Fabula Riciniata - mimes where performers wore no masks
Mimes were performed by:
1. Decimus Laberius
2. Publilius Syrus
Famous contest between Laberius and Syrus was ordered by
Julius Caesar, and Laberius lost to his junior, Syrus.
Quintilian says of satire: "Satura tota nostra est."
"Satire is wholly Roman."
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PRE-CICERONIAN PROSE
Marcus Porcius Cato (234-144 B.C.)
Cato "the Elder" or "the Censor"
Father of Latin prose, born in Tusculum, fought in the
Second Punic War, in politics he was the leader of the
"popular"movement against the aristocratic group headed by
the Scipios, ended every speech with "Carthago delenda est"
(Carthage must be destroyed), supposedly learned Greek when
he was 80 years old, described as a man of very strong moral
character; wrote about medicine, rhetoric, agriculture,
military science and law in an encyclopedia titled Ad
filium, wrote about 150 speeches; many are on various
political issues, other letters are addressed to his son
Marcus.
Major works:
De agricultura or De re rustica - oldest extant prose
work in Latin describes the farm and various
duties
Origines - 7 books of Roman history
Lucius Coelius Antipater - 7 books on the Punic Wars
Quintus Claudius Quadrigarius - 23 books of Annals
beginning with the sack of Rome by the Gauls
Valerius Antius - completely unreliable historian, makes up
numbers and stories
Lucius Cornelius Sisenna - most highly regarded historian of
that time
Lucius Aelius Stilo Praeconinus - first Roman philologer,
taught both Cicero and Varro his science
Gaius Sulpicius Gallus - foretold a lunar eclipse at Pydna
in 168 B.C. and wrote about astronomy
Quintus Mucius Scaevola - 18 books about law, taught Cicero
law
Cornelius Nepos
Born in 100 B.C. in the Po country, Catullus dedicated his
first poem to him (called Nepos the first person brave
enough to write a universal history in 3 volumes), he was
the first person to write universal history
Major works:
Chronica - 3 volume universal history
Exempla - collection of odd facts and tidbits, used a
lot by Pliny the Elder
De viris illustribus - biographies, 16 books divided
into 8 pairs (one pair on Roman people, the other
on non-Romans and different categories (kings,
orators, poets, generals, etc.), in a second
edition the lives of "barbarian" generals
Hamlicar, Hannibal, and Datames were added, the
most important life retold is that of Atticus
Marcus Terentius Varro Reatinus (Varro) (116-27 B.C.0
Considered the greatest scholar of Rome, wife is Fundania,
put on Antony's proscription list with Cicero, but was saved
Major works:
Antiquitates
Disciplinae - encyclopedia of the liberal arts
(grammar, astrology, music, architecture,
medicine, etc.)
De ora maritima - work on geography
Hebdomades vel de imaginibus - biographies on 700
famous Romans and Greeks in prose and verse
Logistorica - philosophic-historical essays in dialogue
form
Saturae Menippeae - "Menippean Satire," satire with
verse intermingles with prose, named for Menippus
of Gadara
Res rusticae - work on agriculture, cattle, and
poultry; was an attempt to reawaken interest in
country life
De lingua Latina - 25 books about Latin grammar
dedicated to Cicero
Nigidius Figulus - another great scholar, but superseded by
Varro; wrote about grammar, theology, and natural science
Servius Sulpicius Rufus - great name in law, wrote 180 books
about law
Oratory: 3 most competent critical treatises are
1. Tacitus' Dialogue on Orators
2. Quintilian's Institutio oratoria
3. Cicero's Brutus
Among the books of fallen Carthage, Rome preserved only
Mago's 28 book treatise on agriculture, and commissioned a
Latin version of it, the sole instance of state sponsorship
of a book in Rome.
Rhetorica ad Herennium - written about 85 B.C. in 4 books by
an unknown author, is the oldest work on Latin style
(rhetoric)
LUCRETIUS AND CATULLUS
Titus Lucretius Carus (99-55 B.C.)
Cicero edited his works, patron was Gaius Memmius
Major work:
De rerum natura - "On the nature of things," 6 books
written in dactylic hexameter, opens with an
invocation to the goddess Venus, closes with the
description of a plague at Athens, main purpose
was to discredit the existence of the gods and
fate by explaining various phenomena through
physics (atoms, etc.), based on the atomic theory
of Democritus and Leucippus, follows the Epicurean
philosophy (Epicurus)
Gaius Valerius Catullus (84-54 B.C.)
Born in Verona which is in Cisalpine, Gaul, called his poems
"nugae" (trifles, little worthless things), wrote a series
of love poems to Lesbia (real name is Clodia, wife of Q.
Caecilius Metellus), sometimes imitated Sappho in his love
poetry (she was a poetess from the island of Lesbos),
favorite meter is Phalaecian (a.k.a. hendecasyllabic) which
had 11 syllables per line, dedicated his works to Cornelius
Nepos, travelled with Memmius to Bithynia, where he visited
his brother's tomb, wrote lyric poems in general, had an
estate at Sirmio, wrote a total of 116 poems, wrote a famous
poem making fun of Caesar, and wrote one praising cicero as
the most eloquent of the Romans.
Famous Catullus phrases:
Odi et amo - "I hate and I love"
Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus - "Let us live, my
Lesbia, and let us love"
Frater, ave atque vale - "Brother, hello and good-bye"
Ille mi par esse deo videtur - "He seems to me to be
equal to a god"
Major work:
Catullus #64 - miniature epic (a.k.a. epyllion)
involving the marriage of Peleus and Thetis,
within this story is the story of Theseus and
Ariadne
Attis - 63 B.C., about the followers and cult of Cybole
CAESAR and SALLUST
Gaius Julius Caesar (102/100-March 15, 44 B.C.)
Nephew of Marius' wife
Important dates:
63 B.C. - Caesar becomes pontifex maximus
62 - Caesar becomes praetor
60 - First triumvirate with Pompey and Crassus
59 - consul with Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus
56 - First triumvirate renewed at Luca
53 - Crassus killed at the battle of Carrhae
49 - January 10, Caesar crosses the Rubicon River and
says "Alea iacta est" (The die is cast)
48 - Caesar destroys Pompey's forces at Pharsalus
47 - Caesar wins at Zela and says "Veni, vidi, vici"
(I came, I saw, I conquered)
46 - Caesar defeats the remains of the senatorial army
under Cato at Thapsus in Utica, Africa; Cato
commits suicide after the battle
45 - Caesar defeats the sons of Pompey in Spain at
Munda and says "Hoc voluerunt" (They wished this)
Major works:
Commentarii de bello Gallico - "Commentaries on the
Gallic War," 7 books covering Caesar's campaign in
Gaul from 58 to 52 B.C., eighth book of this was
written by Aulus Hirtius (1 of Caesar's officers)
Bellum Civile - "Civil War," covers the civil war
against Pompey from January 10, 49 B.C.-November
48 B.C., not finished and unrevised
De analogia - 2 books about grammar and word choice
Anticatones - 2 political pamphlets directed to Cicero
trying to counteract Cato's influence
Iter - poem about his journey to Spain before the
battle of Munda
De Astris - about astronomy
Gaius Sallustius Crispus (86-34/5 B.C.)
Born in Amiternum (Sabine town), wrote monographs (book on a
single historical occurrence, uses eyewitness accounts),
served Caesar in several campaigns, Sallust uses fake
speeches that he wrote for his characters.
Major work:
Catiline - monograph about the Catilinarian conspiracy
of 63 B.C. (Cicero consul in 63)
Jugurtha - monograph about the Jugurthine War
History - considered Sallust's masterpiece, 5 books
remain, covers from 78-67 B.C.
Suasoriae - invective against Cicero and 2 pamphlets
addressed to Caesar
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VERGIL
Publius Vergilius Maro (70 - September 19 B.C.)
Virga - "wand, staff," born October 15 at Andes, a small
village near Mantua, supposedly assumed the toga virilis the
day Lucretius died, Vergil's patron was Maecenas, Vergil
introduced Horace to Maecenas (Maecenas - Vergil, Horace,
Propertius), died at Brundisium, but was buried at Naples
(Parthenope).
Epitaph:
Mantua me genuit, Calabri rapuere, tenet nunc
Parthenope, cecini pascua, rura, duces.
"Mantua gave me birth, Calabri snatched me away, now
Parthenope holds me; I sang of shepherds, pastures, and
heroes."
Major works:
Eclogues (a.k.a. Bucoliscs) - 10 pastoral poems modeled
on Theocritus' Idylls, the fourth Eclogue is
referred to as the "Messianic" eclogue because it
talks about the birth of a boy (prophet) who will
usher in a golden age of peace, no one knows for
sure who that boy is (some think that Vergil is
referring to the son of Gaius Asinius Pollio, his
first patron), they were dedicated to Octavian
Georgics - 4 books based on Hesiod's Work and Days,
took 7 years to write, this work is about farming,
but has a patriotic overtone, book 1 deals with
agriculture, book 2 with arboriculture, book 3
with animal raising, book 4 with beekeeping
Aeneid - Vergil's masterpiece, is an epic poem in
dactylic hexameter, about the adventures of Aeneas
after the Trojan War, 12 books, books 1-6 are
similar to Homer's Odyssey, while 7-12 are like
the Illiad, book 4 is the one with Dido and her
suicide, book 6 is the Underworld book, Vergil
died before he revised the Aeneid, his editors
Plotius Tucca and Varius Rufus broke a promise to
him by publishing the Aeneid instead of burning it
(Augustus ordered them to publish it unrevised)
Appendix Vergiliana - a group of poems possibly by
Vergil, if so, probably written in extreme youth
A. Cules - "Gnat," story of a gnat and a shepherd
B. Ciris - story of Minos and Scylla and Nissus
(purple lock of hair)
C. Murentum - "Salad," farmer making a salad
D. Copa - "The Cabaret Girl"
E. Dirae - "Curses"
F. Lydia
G. Priapea - Priapus speaks, but not obscene
H. Catalepton - "Trifles," 15 short poems, most
likely of all the Appendix to be Vergil's
HORACE
Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65-8 B.C.)
Born at Venusia in Apulia, father was a freedman and served
as Horace's paedagogus, taking him to school in Rome every
day (Horace writes about this in his Satires and thanks his
father); Horace fought in the battle of Philippi in 42 B.C.
on the side of Brutus and Cassius), he dropped his shield
and ran away during the battle; He later got a job as a
secretary (scriba) in the treasury; He became a member of
Maecenas' literary circle which included Vergil and
Propertius, Maecenas gave Horace a Sabine farm which Horace
enjoyed very much.
Major works:
Epodes - Horace called this work iambi, they are 17
poems in iambic meter
Satires (a.k.a. Sermones) - 2 books of satire, two best
known are the "Bore" and "Journey to Brundisium"
(both modeled on Lucilius' works), all are written
in dactylic hexameter
Odes (a.k.a. Carmina) - 4 books, lyric poems in a
variety of meters and on a variety of subjects,
important Odes: fountain of Bandusia, the golden
mean, carpe diem, ship of state, victory over
Cleopatra, patriotic themes, monument more lasting
than bronze
Carmen saeculare - written in 17 B.C. to celebrate the
inauguration of a new century, is a hymn that was
chanted by a choir of girls and boys with
allusions to deities and a Odes motif
Epistiles - 2 books of informal verse letters to
various people (20 people total)
Ars poetica (a.k.a. Epistle to the Pisos - longest of
Horace's poems, is a central document in ancient
literary criticism, great influence on European
drama, one third of this work is devoted to drama,
also about poetry in general (qualities of a poem,
meter, subject matter, etc.)
TIBULLUS and PROPERTIUS
Albius Tibullus (55-19 B.C.)
Born of a well-to-do equestrian family, his patron was
Marcus Valerius Messala.
paraklausithyron - serenade before a mistress' locked door
Major work:
Wrote love elegies (3 books) to two mistresses
1. Delia (whose real name was Plania)
2. Nemesis
Within third book are elegies from
1. Lygdamus - writes 6 elegies to Neaera (both
names are pseudonyms), Lygdamus' patron was
also Messala
2. Sulpicia (the niece of Messala) - writes to a
man called Cerinthus
Sextus Propertius (about 50-15 B.C.)
Born in Umbria, in adolescence he loved Lycinna, but he
wrote four books of love elegies to Cynthia (whose real name
was Hostia), Propertius' patron was Maecenas, also wrote an
elegy for the death of Cornelia the daughter of Augustus'
wife Scribonia.
Propertius once commented about the Aeneid: "Something
greater than the Iliad now springs to birth!"
Monobiblios - the first group of poems
Maintained by Jonathan