Knowra Pacuvius Pacuvius Marcus Pacuvius (c. 220–130 BCE) was a Roman tragic poet and painter whose plays, including tragedies adapted from Greek works, survive only in fragments.
Roman tragedy : A form of Roman drama written in verse, often adapting Greek myths and tragedies for Roman audiences. Pacuvius was one of the leading authors of its early tragic tradition.
Iliona : A tragedy by Pacuvius centered on Iliona, a Trojan princess and daughter of Priam. Its fragments preserve one of Pacuvius’s most discussed mythological plots.
Cicero : A Roman orator, statesman, and author of the first century BCE whose works discuss literature and rhetoric. Cicero praised Pacuvius and quoted his verse as an example of Roman poetic achievement.
Fragmentary authors : Writers whose works survive only in incomplete quotations, extracts, or material remains. Pacuvius is known chiefly through quotations preserved by later authors.
Greek tragedy : An ancient Greek dramatic form centered on serious conflicts, often involving myth, fate, and civic life. Greek plays and myths supplied many of Pacuvius’s subjects and models.
Antiopa : A tragedy by Pacuvius based on the myth of Antiope, mother of Amphion and Zethus. The play shows Pacuvius treating a familiar Greek myth for Latin audiences.
Aulus Gellius : A Roman author of the second century CE who collected anecdotes, quotations, and antiquarian learning in Attic Nights. Gellius transmits anecdotes and passages attributed to Pacuvius.
Roman literary canon : The body of Latin works and authors treated as central to Roman literary history. Ancient critics placed Pacuvius among Rome’s leading tragic poets.
Quintus Ennius : A Roman poet of the second century BCE who wrote epic, satire, and tragedies modeled on Greek drama. Ennius preceded Pacuvius and helped establish Roman tragedy in Latin.
Dulorestes : A tragedy by Pacuvius whose title means “Orestes the slave.” Its title points to Pacuvius’s version of the Orestes myth.
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