CHAPTER 4 T R L T he chief turning point in the long course At the same time his social reforms, aimed chiefl y at of Roman history came in 31 BCE, with the the upper classes, were intended to return his subjects fi nal collapse of the Roman Republic, and to traditional family values. Laws provided tax breaks its replacement by an Imperial system of for large families and penalized couples who did not government. Augustus, the fi rst emperor, was faced produce children and those who remained unmar- with the task of restoring peace. During his long reign, ried. Adultery became a crime against the state. the spread of economic prosperity produced a hard- Yet despite the success of Augustus’s political and working middle class, loyal to the central government. economic policies, it is doubtful if his moral reform- ing zeal met with more than polite attention. His own daughter and granddaughter, both named Julia, were notorious for their scandalous affairs. To make matters worse, one of the lovers of his daughter Julia was a son of the Emperor’s old enemy, Mark Antony, whose defeat and suicide in 31 BCE had brought the Republic crashing down. Whatever his personal feel- ings, duty compelled Augustus to banish Julia to a remote Mediterranean island. A few years later he had to fi nd another distant location for the banishment of his granddaughter. He hushed up the details of both scandals, but there was much gossip. Augustus himself created a personal image of ancient Roman frugality and morality, although on his death-bed he gave a clue as to his own more com- plex view of his life. He asked a slave to bring a mirror, so that he could comb his hair. Then, turning to the friends beside him, he asked, “Tell me, have I played well my part in this comedy of life? If so, applaud me and send me on my way.” THE IMPORTANCE OF ROME If the origins of our intellectual heritage go back to the Greeks and, less directly, to the peoples of Egypt and the Near East, the contribution of Rome to the wider spreading of Western civilization was tremendous. In fi elds such as language, law, politics, religion, and art Roman culture continues to aff ect our lives. The road ◆ Young woman putting on perfume, c. 150 bce, Rome, Italy. (© Scala/Art Resource, NY) ◆ 83 84 ◆ CHAPTER 4 The Roman Legacy network of modern Europe is based on one planned themselves as the divinely appointed rulers of the world. and built by the Romans some two thousand years In the course of fulfi lling their mission, they spread ago; the alphabet we use is the Roman alphabet; and Roman culture from the north of England to Africa, the division of the year into twelve months of unequal from Spain to India (see map, “The Roman World”). This length is a modifi ed form of the calendar introduced Romanization of the entire known world permitted the by Julius Caesar in 45 bce. Even after the fall of the Romans to disseminate ideas drawn from other peoples. Roman Empire the city of Rome stood for centuries Greek art and literature were handed down and incor- as the symbol of civilization; later empires deliberately porated into the Western tradition through the Romans, shaped themselves on the Roman model. not from the Greeks. The rapid spread of Christianity in The enormous impact of Rome on our culture is the fourth century ce was a result of the decision by the partly the result of the industrious and determined Roman emperors to adopt it as the offi cial religion of character of the Romans, who early in their history saw the Roman Empire. In these and in other respects, the GENERAL EVENTS ART 753 753 Founding of Rome (traditional date) c. 650–500 Influence of Greek and BCE Orientalizing styles on Etruscan art c. 700 Development of Etruscan culture 509 509 Expulsion of Etruscan kings and foundation of Roman Republic PUBLIC I NQUESTOFTALYMEDITERRANEAN 4c222.1586 387049– –HP022r 0oo4Sr1m1at ec uSFknlei sgrcoiasaofttn inRPo dLnuo a nPwmoiucf e n rtW eihbcieyna W r fTG:o awRrarce:u oelRvlsmse p oTalmnaeb bacleenosi anconqof u npleaqowsuwt eseosrtf Soifc Silpy,a Sinardinia, Corsica RE CO& 146b eDceosmtreusc tRioonm oafn C parrotvhiangcee: Africa becomes Roman province; sack of Corinth: Greece 133 N 90–88 Social War 1st cent. Realistic portraiture; Funerary A E OM ALROM 8620– F8ir1s tS Turlilua mdivcitraattoer: Pato mRpoemy,e Caesar, Crassus Portrait R POLITIC SISAT 5488– CB5al6etto lCep aaoterfs aaP rih nca orEsngaqlyuupset: rws aGr aoufl Caesar and Pompey ends in death of Pompey; Caesar meets RI 46–44 Caesar rules Rome as dictator until assassinated c. 30 BCE–30 CE Villa of Mysteries frescoes, C 43 Second Triumvirate: Antony, Lepidus, Octavian Pompeii 31 31 Battle of Actium won by Octavian c. 20 View of a Garden, fresco from Augustus’s 30 Death of Antony and Cleopatra villa, Prima Porta 27–14 Octavian under name of Augustus rules as first Roman emperor 13–9 Ara pacis BCE Y BCE c. 6 Birth of Jesus; crucified ce 30 T CE BILI CE 14–68 Julio-Claudian emperors: Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero A 69–96 Flavian emperors: Vespasian, Titus, Domitian T S 70 Capture of Jerusalem by Titus; destruction of Solomon’s Temple 79 Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum 96–138 Adoptive emperors: Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian . . . 138–192 Antonine emperors: Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius . . . 180 E 193–235 Severan emperors: Septimius Severus, Caracalla . . . PIR -NTETION 212 Edict of Caracalla EM DISIGRA N 284 MA N 284–305 Reign of Diocletian; return of civil order Decline of realism O TIOE 330017 –E3d3ic7t Rofe Digino colfe tCiaonn, sftiaxnintign ew; asgoeles eanmdp perroicre asfter 324 324–330 Colossal head from Basilica of R CN Constantine, Rome ULI 330 Founding of Constantinople RC TE SD N 381 Paganism officially suppressed; Christianity made state religion O& C RE 409–455 Vandals and Visigoths invade Italy, Spain, Gaul, Africa 476 Romulus Augustulus forced to abdicate as last Western Roman emperor CE 476 Most dates are approximate The Importance of Rome ◆ 85 legacy that Rome was to pass on to Western civilization questioning it. True, in some fields the Roman contri- had been inherited from its predecessors. bution was not impressive. What little we know about The Romans were in fact surprisingly modest about Roman music, for example, suggests that its loss is hardly their own cultural achievements, believing that their a serious one. It was intended mainly for performance strengths lay in good government and military prow- at religious events like weddings and funerals and as ess rather than in artistic and intellectual attainments. It a background for social occasions. Musicians were was their view that Rome should get on with the job often brought into aristocratic homes to provide after- of ruling the world and leave luxuries like sculpture and dinner entertainment at a party, and individual perform- astronomy to others. ers, frequently women, would play before small groups in a domestic setting. Small bands of traveling musicians, Roman Music It is easy but unfair to accept the playing on pipes and such percussion instruments as Romans’ estimate of themselves as uncreative without cymbals and tambourines, provided background music LITERATURE & ARCHITECTURE MUSIC PHILOSOPHY c. 616–509 Etruscans drain marshes, build Extension of Greek trumpet into Roman temples, construct roads tuba, used in games, processions, battles c. 200–160 Ennius, Annals, epic poem; Plautus, Mostellaria, Roman comedy; Terence, Roman comedies c. 2nd cent. BCE Greek music becomes 2nd cent. Epicureanism and Stoicism popular at Rome imported to Rome 1st cent. Discovery of concrete c. 82 Sulla commissions Sanctuary of Fortuna Primagenia, Praeneste c. 65–43 Lucretius, On the Nature of Things, Epicurean poem; Cicero, orations and philosophical essays; Catullus, lyric poems; Caesar, Commen- taries, on Gallic wars c. 27 BCE–14 CE Horace, Odes and Ars Poetica; Virgil, Aeneid, Georgics, Eclogues; Ovid, Metamorphoses, mythological tales; Livy, Annals of the Roman People 1st cent. CE Pont du Gard, Nîmes; atrium- 100–150 Tacitus, History; Juvenal, Satires; style houses at Pompeii. Use of arch, vault, Pliny the Younger, Letters; Suetonius, Lives dome, principles of stress/counter stress of the Caesars; Epictetus, Enchiridion, on Stoicism c. 126 Pantheon, Rome c. 166–179 Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, on Stoicism 300–305 Diocletian’s palace, Split 306–315 Basilica of Constantine, Rome 86 ◆ CHAPTER 4 The Roman Legacy THEROMANWORLD 0 500 Miles BRITAIN LONDON 0 500 Kilometers COLOGNE G ERMANY GAUL DanubeR. DACIA NÎMES RAVENNA B LACK SEA SPLIT SPAIN TARQUINOIASTIA ROMPERAENESTE (CONSTBANYZTAINNOTPIULEM) NAPLES BRINDISI ASIA POMPEII PERGAMUM MINOR ACTIUM ATHENS EPHESUS ANTIOCH CARTHAGE PALMYRA MEDITERRANEAN SE A JERUSALEM N ORTH A FRICA LEPTIS ALEXANDRIA for the acrobats and jugglers who performed in public squares and during gladiatorial contests [Fig. 4.2]. Nonetheless, for the Romans music certainly had none of the intellectual and philosophical signifi cance it bore for the Greeks, and when Roman writers mention musical performances, it is often to complain about the noise. The only serious development in Roman music was the extension of the Greek trumpet into a lon- ger and louder bronze instrument known as the tuba, which was used on public occasions like games and processions and in battle, when an especially powerful type some four feet (1.2 m) long gave the signals for attack and retreat. The sound was not pleasant. In general, Roman music lovers contented them- selves with Greek music played on Greek instruments. Although serious music began to grow in popularity with the spread of Greek culture, it always remained an aristocratic rather than a popular taste. Emperor Nero’s love of music, coupled with his insistence on giving ◆ 4.2 Roman Mosaic, 2nd–3rd century ce. An organist and public concerts on the lyre, may have even hastened his a horn player entertain at a gladiatorial contest. The organ is downfall. hydraulic (water-operated). In areas other than music, the Roman achievement From a Roman villa in Nennig near Trier, Germany. Detail from scenes of is considerable. There is no doubt that Roman art and gladiatorial combat in the Augusta Treverorum arena. © The Art Archive/ literature rarely show the originality of their Greek Gianni Dagli Orti predecessors, but originality is neither the only artistic The Etruscans and Their Art ◆ 87 virtue nor is its absence always a defect. The Roman to become the future imperial city of Rome. The most genius, in fact, lay precisely in absorbing and assimi- fl ourishing area at the time, however, was to the north lating infl uences from outside and going on to cre- of Rome, where in central Italy a new culture—the ate from them something typically Roman. The lyric Etruscan—was appearing. poetry of fi rst-century-bce writers like Catullus was The Etruscans are among the most intriguing of inspired by the works of Sappho, Alcaeus, and other ancient peoples, and ever since early Roman times Greek poets of the sixth century bce, but nothing scholars have argued about who they were, where they could be more Roman in spirit than Catullus’s poems. came from, and what language they spoke. Even today, In architecture, the Romans achieved a style that is despite the discoveries of modern archaeologists, we still one of the most impressive of all our legacies from the know little about the origins of the Etruscans, and their ancient world. language has yet to be deciphered. By 700 bce they had It is useful to emphasize the real value of Roman established themselves in the part of Italy named for art and literature because there has been a tendency them, Tuscany, but it is not clear whether they arrived since the nineteenth century to exalt the Greek cultural from abroad or whether their culture was a more devel- achievement at the expense of the Roman. All agree on oped form of an earlier Italian one. The ancient Greeks the superior quality of Roman roads, sewers, and aque- and Romans believed that the Etruscans had come to ducts; Roman sculpture or drama has in general been Italy from the East, perhaps from Lydia, an ancient king- less highly rated, mainly because of comparisons to that dom in Asia Minor. Many aspects of their life and much of the Greeks. Any study of Roman culture inevitably of their art have pronounced Eastern characteristics. involves examining the infl uences that went to make it In other ways, however, the Etruscans have much in up, and it is always necessary to remember the Roman common with their predecessors in central Italy. Even ability to absorb and combine outside ideas and create so, no other culture related to the Etruscans’ has ever something fresh from them. been found. Whatever their origins, they were to have a Rome’s history was a long one, beginning with the major eff ect on Italian life and on the growth of Rome foundation of the city in the eighth century bce. For and its culture [Fig. 4.3]. the fi rst two and a half centuries of its existence it was ruled by kings. The rest of the vast span of Roman Etruscan Art From the beginning of their history, history is divided into two long periods: Republican the Etruscans showed an outstanding sophistication Rome (509–31 bce), during which time democratic and technological ability. The sumptuous gold trea- government was fi rst developed and then allowed to sures buried in their tombs are evidence both of their collapse, and Imperial Rome (31 bce–476 ce), during material prosperity and of their superb craftsmanship. which the Roman world was ruled, at least in theory, The commercial contacts of the Etruscans extended by one man—the emperor. The date 476 ce marks the deposition of the last Roman emperor in the West; it forms a convenient, if artifi cial, terminus to the Imperial period. Shortly after the foundation of the Republic, the Romans began their conquest of neighboring peoples: fi rst in Italy, then throughout Europe, Asia, and North Africa. As their territory grew, Roman civilization developed along with it, assimilating the cultures of the peoples who fell under Roman domination. But long before the Romans conquered Greece or anywhere else, they were conquered by the Etruscans, and the story of Rome’s rise to power truly begins with the impact on Roman life made by Etruscan rule there. THE ETRUSCANS AND THEIR ART ◆ 4.3 Capitoline She-Wolf, c. 500–480 bce. Although this statue or one very like it became the mascot of Rome, it was The late eighth century bce was a time of great activ- probably made by Etruscan craftsmen. The twins Romulus ity in Italy. The Greeks had reached the south coast and and Remus, legendary founders of the city, were added dur- Sicily. In the valley of the Tiber, farmers and herdsmen ing the Renaissance. of a group of tribes known as the Latins (origin of the name of the language spoken by the Romans) were Bronze, 2´71⁄2˝ (80 cm) high, 4´4˝ (1.32 m) long. Musei Capitolini, Rome, Italy//© Scala/Art Resource, NY establishing small village settlements, one of which was 88 ◆ CHAPTER 4 The Roman Legacy This gifted people was bound to exert a strong infl uence on the development of civilization in Italy; Etruscan occupation of Rome (616–510 bce) marks a turning point in Roman history. According to later tra- dition, the city of Rome had been founded in 753 bce and was ruled in its earliest days by kings (in actual fact, Rome was probably not much more than a small coun- try town for most of this period). The later Romans’ own grandiose picture of the early days of their city was intended to glamorize its origins, but only with the arrival of the Etruscans did anything like an urban cen- ter begin to develop. Etruscan engineers drained a large marshy area, previously uninhabitable, which became the community’s center, the future Roman forum. They built temples and shrines and constructed roads. Among other innovations, the Etruscans introduced ◆ 4.4 Apollo of Veii, several things we are accustomed to think of as typically c. 510–500 bce. This Roman, including public games like chariot racing and Etruscan fi gure, which even the toga, the most characteristic form of Roman was originally painted, dress. strides forward ener- Most important, however, was the fact that under getically, the body Etruscan domination the Romans found themselves for clearly visible beneath the fi rst time in contact with the larger world. Instead the drapery. One of of being simple villagers living in a small community Apollo’s roles was as governed by tribal chiefs, they became part of a large god of music, and a lyre—the symbol cultural unit with links throughout Italy and abroad. of music—stands Within a hundred years Rome had learned the lessons between his legs. of Etruscan technology and culture, driven the Etrus- cans back to their own territory, and begun her unre- From the roof of the Portonac- lenting climb to power. cio Temple, Veii, Italy. Painted terracotta, 5´11˝ (1.78 m) The rise of Rome signaled the decline of the Etrus- high. Museo Nazionale di cans throughout Italy. In the centuries following their Villa Giulia, Rome, expulsion from Rome in 510 bce, their cities were con- Italy//© Araldo de quered and their territory taken over by the Romans. Luca/CORBIS In the fi rst century bce, they automatically received the right of Roman citizenship and became absorbed into the Roman Empire. The gradual collapse of their world is mirrored in later Etruscan art. The wall paintings in over most of the western Mediterranean and, in Italy, the tombs become increasingly gloomy, suggesting that Etruscan cities like Cerveteri and Tarquinia developed for an Etruscan of the third century bce, the misfor- rich artistic traditions. Etruscan art has its own special tunes of this life were followed by the tortures of the character, a kind of elemental force almost primitive in next. The old couple from Volterra whose anxious faces spirit, although the craftsmanship and techniques are are so vividly depicted on the lid of their sarcophagus highly sophisticated. Unlike the Greeks, the Etruscans [Fig. 4.6] give us some idea of the troubled spirit of the were less interested in intellectual problems of propor- fi nal days of Etruscan culture. tion or understanding how the human body works than in producing an immediate impact on the view- er. The famous statue of Apollo found in 1916 at Veii REPUBLICAN ROME [Fig. 4.4] is unquestionably related to Greek models, (509–31 ) but the tension of the god’s pose and the sinister quality BCE of his smile produce an effect of great power in a typi- cally Etruscan way. Other Etruscan art is more relaxed, With the expulsion of the Etruscans, the Romans began showing a love of nature rarely found in Greek art. their climb to power, free now to rule themselves. The paintings in the Tomb of Hunting and Fishing at Instead of choosing a new king, Rome constituted itself Tarquinia [Fig. 4.5] convey a marvelous sense of light a Republic, governed by the people somewhat along and air, the hazy blue background evoking the sensa- the lines of the Greek city-states, although less demo- tions of sea and spray. cratically. Two chief magistrates or consuls were elected Republican Rome (509–31 BCE) ◆ 89 ◆ 4.5 Etruscan Scene of Fishing and Fowling, c. 520 bce. Men, fi sh, and birds are all rendered naturalistically, with acute observation. From the Tomb of Hunting and Fishing, Tarquinia, Italy. Fresco, detail 5´6˝ (1.67 m) high. © SEF/Art Resource, NY ◆ 4.6 Lid of a Funerary Urn, 1st century bce. Realistic sculptures occupy the top of the urn containing the couple’s ashes. Note the detailed depiction of the lines and wrinkles on the two faces, which give them character. The Etruscans invented the idea of realistic portraiture, which the Romans then popularized. Terracotta, 18˝ (47 cm) long. Museo Etrusco Guarnacci, Volterra, Italy//© Scala/Art Resource, NY 90 ◆ CHAPTER 4 The Roman Legacy ◆ 4.7 Ruins of the Roman Forum, Rome, Italy. As the center of the evolving political, economic, and religious life of the Roman world, the Forum’s build- ings were constructed over a period of more than a thousand years. The small round Temple to Vesta in the bottom left corner dates to shortly after 500 bce; the columns to the right are part of the Temple of Con- cord, built in 367 bce; and the Arch of Titus in the dis- tance dates to around 81 ce. In the background are the remains of the Colosseum (69–79 ce). (© Richard T. Nowitz/Photo Researchers, Inc.) for a one-year term by all the male citizens, but the nicians around 800 bce, and by the third century the principal assembly, the Senate, drew most of its mem- independent ruler of territories in North Africa, Spain, bers from Roman aristocratic families. From the begin- and Sicily. In the Punic Wars (called after the Roman ning, therefore, power was concentrated in the hands name for the Phoenicians, Poeni) the Romans decisively of the upper class (the patricians), although the lower defeated the Carthaginians and confi scated their ter- class (the plebeians) was permitted to form its own ritories. By the fi rst century bce the entire Hellenistic assembly. The leaders elected by the plebeian assembly, world had been conquered. From Spain to the Middle the tribunes, represented the plebeians’ interests and East stretched a vast territory consisting of subject prov- protected them against state offi cials who treated them inces, protectorates, and nominally free kingdoms, all of unjustly. The meeting place for both the Senate and the which depended on Roman goodwill and administra- assemblies of the people was the forum, the large open tive effi ciency. space at the foot of the Palatine and Capitoline hills that Unfortunately, the Romans had been too busy had been drained and made habitable by the Etruscans acquiring their empire to think very hard about how [Fig. 4.7]. to rule it; the results were frequently chaotic. Provincial From the founding of the Roman Republic to its administration was incompetent and often corrupt. The bloody end in the civil wars following the murder of long series of wars had hardened the Roman character, Julius Caesar (44 bce), its history was dominated by leading to insensitivity and, frequently, brutality in the agitation for political equality. Yet the fi rst major con- treatment of conquered peoples. This situation was not frontation—the confl ict between patricians and plebe- helped by increasing political instability at home. The ians—never seriously endangered political stability in old balance of power struck between the patricians and Rome or military campaigns abroad. Both sides showed plebeians was being increasingly disturbed by the rise of a fl exibility and spirit of compromise that produced a a middle class, the equites, many of whom were plebeians gradual growth in plebeian power while avoiding any who had made their fortunes in the wars. Against this split disastrous enough to interrupt Rome’s growing background were fought bitter struggles that eventually domination of the Italian peninsula. The fi nal plebeian caused the collapse of the Republic. victory came in 287 bce with the passage of the Hor- tensian Law, which made the decisions of the plebe- The End of the Roman Republic By the first ian assembly binding on the entire Senate and Roman century bce it was apparent that the political system that people. By then most of Italy had already fallen under had been devised for a thriving but small city five hun- Roman control. dred years earlier was hopelessly inadequate for a vast Increasing power brought new problems. In the third empire. Discontent among Rome’s Italian allies led to and second centuries bce, Rome began to build its open revolt. Although the Romans were victorious in empire abroad. The fi rst major target of Roman aggres- the Social War of 90–88 bce, the cost in lives and eco- sion was the city of Carthage, founded by the Phoe- nomic stability was tremendous. The ineffectuality of Republican Rome (509–31 BCE) ◆ 91 the Senate and the frustration of the Roman people led sophisticated style was much admired. His plays were to a series of struggles among the leading statesmen for studied and imitated both during the Middle Ages and supreme power. The popular leader Marius briefly held more recently. Both authors were fond of extremely power but was replaced by his aristocratic rival, Roman elaborate plots involving mistaken identities, identical general Sulla, who ruled as dictator for a brief and vio- twins, and general confusion, with everything sorted lent period beginning in 82 bce, only to resign suddenly out in the last scene. three years later, in 79 bce. There followed a protracted In general, however, when educated Romans of the series of political skirmishes between Pompey, the self- late Republic stopped to think about something other appointed defender of the Senate, and Julius Caesar, than politics, it was likely to be love. Roman lyric poetry, culminating in Caesar’s withdrawal to Gaul and subse- often on a romantic theme, is one of the most rewarding quent return to Rome in 49 bce. After a short but bitter genres of Latin literature. The fi rst great Roman lyric conflict, Caesar defeated Pompey in 48 bce at the Battle poet, Catullus (c. 80–54 bce), is one of the best loved of Pharsalus and returned to Rome as dictator, only to of all Roman authors. Instead of philosophical or his- be assassinated in 44 bce. The civil wars that followed torical themes, he returned to a traditional subject from brought the Republic to its unlamented end. Sappho’s time—personal experience—and charted the The years of almost uninterrupted violence had a course of his own love aff air with a woman whom he profound eff ect on the Roman character, and the relief calls Lesbia. Among his works are twenty-fi ve short felt when a new era dawned under the fi rst emperor, poems describing the course of that relationship, which Augustus, can only be fully appreciated in this light. range from the ecstasy of its early stages to the disillu- sionment and despair of the fi nal breakup. The clarity of his style is the perfect counterpart to the direct expres- LITERARY DEVELOPMENTS sion of his emotions. These poems, personal though they D R are, are not simply an outpouring of feelings. Catullus URING THE EPUBLIC makes his own experiences universal. However trivial The Romans put most of their energy into political and one man’s unhappy love aff air may seem in the context military aff airs, leaving little time for art or literature. of the grim world of the late Republic, Lesbia’s incon- By the second century bce, when most of the Mediter- stancy has achieved a timelessness unequaled by many ranean was under their control and they could aff ord to more serious events. relax, they were overwhelmed intellectually and artisti- Two of the principal fi gures who dominated those cally by the Greeks. Conquest of the Hellenistic king- events also made important contributions to Republi- doms of the East and of Greece brought the Romans can literature. Julius Caesar (100–44 bce) is perhaps the into contact with Hellenistic Greek culture (see Chap- most famous Roman of them all. Brilliant politician, ter 3, “The Hellenistic Period”). Thus, from the third skilled general, expert administrator and organizer, he century bce, most Roman works of art followed Greek was also able to write the history of his own military models in form and content. Roman plays were based campaigns in his Commentaries, in a simple but gripping on Greek originals, Roman temples imitated Greek style. In the four years during which he ruled Rome, buildings, and Roman sculpture and painting depicted he did much to repair the damage of the previous episodes from Greek mythology. decades. Caesar’s assassination on March 15, 44 bce, at Greek infl uence extends to the works of Ennius the hands of a band of devoted republicans, only pro- (239–169 bce), known to later Romans as the father longed Rome’s agony for another thirteen years—as of Roman poetry. Almost all of his works are lost, but well as provided Shakespeare with the plot for one of from later accounts Ennius’s tragedies appear to have his best-known plays: Julius Caesar. been adapted from Greek models. His major work was Perhaps the most endearing fi gure of the late Repub- the Annals, an epic chronicle of the history of Rome, lic was Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 bce), who fi rst in which for the fi rst time a Greek metrical scheme was made his reputation as a lawyer. He is certainly the fi gure used to write Latin verse. of this period about whom we know the most, for he The two comic playwrights—Plautus (c. 254– took part in several important legal cases and embarked 184 bce) and Terence (c. 185–159 bce)—are the fi rst on a political career. In 63 bce he served as consul. A Roman writers whose works have survived in quantity. few years later, the severity with which he had put down Their plays are adaptations of Greek comedies; whereas a plot against the government during his consulship the Greek originals are comic satires, the Roman ver- earned him a short period in exile as the result of the sions turn human foibles into pure comedy. Plautus, the scheming of a rival political faction. Cicero returned in more boisterous of the two, is fond of comic songs and triumph, however, and in the struggle between Pompey farcical intrigues. Terence’s style is more refi ned, and his and Caesar supported Pompey. Although Caesar seems characters show greater realism. It says something about to have forgiven him, Cicero never really trusted Cae- the taste of the Roman public that Plautus was by far sar, despite his admiration for the dictator’s abilities. His the more successful. In later times, however, Terence’s mixed feelings are well expressed in a letter to his friend