Terence
Terence was a Roman comic playwright of the second century BCE who adapted Greek New Comedy into Latin plays for the Roman stage.
Andria: Terence’s first comedy, adapted from two plays by Menander and first performed in 166 BCE. Its double plot and opening performance established Terence’s career.
Contaminatio: The Roman dramatic practice of combining material from more than one Greek play in a Latin adaptation. Terence defended combining Greek source plays when adapting plots.
Gaius Laelius: A Roman statesman and associate of Scipio Aemilianus, later linked by tradition to Terence’s literary circle. Ancient accounts associated Laelius with the cultivated circle around the playwright.
Terentianus: An adjective describing the Latin style or dramatic manner associated with Terence. His name became shorthand for polished dialogue and carefully balanced expression.
Eunuchus: A comedy by Terence, first performed in 161 BCE, involving mistaken identity and a soldier’s household. It became Terence’s most successful play in his lifetime.
New Comedy: A Greek dramatic genre focused on domestic life, romance, mistaken identity, and recognizable social types. Its plots and character types supplied the foundation for Terence’s comedies.
Scipio Aemilianus: A Roman general and statesman who led the destruction of Carthage and Numantia. Later tradition placed Terence within Scipio’s circle of Greek-influenced Roman elites.
Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto: A line from Terence’s Heauton Timorumenos: “I am human; I consider nothing human alien to me.” This line became the most widely quoted expression of Terence’s humane outlook.
Heauton Timorumenos: A Terentian comedy whose title means “The Self-Tormentor,” centered on a strict father and his son. Its family conflict illustrates Terence’s interest in sympathetic characterization.
Menander: An Athenian playwright of New Comedy whose works strongly influenced Roman comedy. Terence adapted several plays by Menander, though most Greek originals are lost.