Roman Literature

The Roman Empire and Republic

produced a wide range of lasting literary
works, including poetry, comedies,
dramas, histories, and philosophy,
though they largely avoided tragedy.
Roman literature was heavily influenced
by Greek culture, especially Athens, and
many works were translations or
imitations of Greek originals. Educated
Romans often knew both Greek and
Latin, making such translations
somewhat redundant. Despite this strong
Greek influence, the Romans eventually
developed a distinctive and rich literary
tradition of their own.
COMIC PLAYWRIGHTS
Roman comic literature began to flourish after
the Punic Wars, around the late 3rd century
BCE, with playwrights like Plautus, Terence,
and Ennius leading the way. These comedies
were often performed at festivals for mostly
male audiences.
Plautus, once a stage
carpenter, wrote over 130
plays—20 of which survive
—and adapted Greek
comedies into Latin using
slapstick, jokes, and
musical elements, though
his settings and characters
remained Greek. Notable
works include Aulularia
and Captivi.
Terence, originally a North
African slave, gained
freedom and education in
Rome. His sophisticated
plays, such as Eunuchus,
drew criticism for being
too reliant on Greek
originals and not appealing
to the general public.
Ennius, considered the “father of
Latin poetry,” was born in
Calabria and came to Rome with
Cato the Elder. Though only
fragments of his work remain,
his epic Annals traced Rome’s
history from Aeneas to his own
time, showing how Latin poetry
could match Greek influence
while forming its own identity.
GOLDEN AGE OF ROMAN POETRY (c.
70 BCE – 14 CE)
marked the peak of Latin literature, producing
renowned poets like Virgil, Horace, Catullus,
Propertius, Tibullus, and Ovid, whose works
rivaled Greek classics in style and
sophistication.
• Virgil, from a modest farming family, idealized rural life in Eclogues and
Georgics, but his most famous work, The Aeneid, celebrated Rome's destiny
and Augustus' rule.

• Horace, an Epicurean and son of a freedman, embraced Roman life and

nature in his Satires, Epodes, and Odes, while admiring Greek culture.

• Catullus, a lyric poet inspired by Sappho and Callimachus, rejected politics

and expressed personal emotions and Roman life’s raw realities with sharp
wit.
8
Propertius and Tibullus, both from equestrian backgrounds, focused on love and loss in
their elegiac poetry, with Propertius refusing to glorify Augustus.

Ovid, the most famous of the group, celebrated love and mythology in Amores, Heroides,
and especially Metamorphoses. Though his elegant and lyrical style left a lasting legacy,
his themes led to exile under Augustus.

Together, these poets shaped a literary tradition that blended Roman values with Greek
influence, leaving a lasting impact on Western literature.

9
 SILVER AGE OF ROMAN POETRY

featured notable poets are Marcus Annaeus

Lucanus, better known as Lucan (39 – 65
CE), and Publius Papinius Statius (45 – 96
CE), who continued the literary tradition
with darker and more dramatic themes
Lucan (39–65 CE), nephew of Seneca, was known for his epic
Pharsalia, which depicted the 1st-century BCE civil war. He studied
Stoic philosophy in Athens but was forced to commit suicide due to
his suspected role in a conspiracy against Nero.

Surviving work:
• Pharsalia or De Bello Civili (On the Civil War), composed during the
1st century CE. The work centers on the tumultuous events of the Roman
Civil War, particularly the conflict between Julius Caesar and Pompey the
Great following the dissolution of the First Triumvirate.

Often attributed to him (but to others as well):

• Laus Pisonis (Praise of Piso), a panegyric of a member of the Piso
family
Statius (45–96 CE), was a Latin poet of the 1st century
CE. His surviving poetry includes an epic in twelve
books, the Thebaid; a collection of occasional poetry,
the Silvae; and an unfinished epic, the Achilleid.
 WORK
S

1786 oil painting by

Henry Fuseli depicting the
curse of Oedipus

The Silvae by Statius is a

Thebaid is a classical epic of collection of occasional The Achilleid is an
fratricide and war, the poems written to praise unfinished epic poem by
Thebaid retells the legendary wealthy patrons, celebrate Publius Papinius Statius
conflict between the sons of events, and describe daily that was intended to
Oedipus—Polynices and Roman life, nature, and present the life of
Eteocles—for control of the architecture. It gives a vivid, Achilles from his youth
city of Thebes. personal glimpse into Roman to his death at Troy.
society during the 1st century
CE.
The works of Lucan and Statius reflect the political tension
and complexity of the Roman Empire during their time.
 ROMAN PROSE
While there was an abundance of poets in Rome,
there were also many outstanding writers of
prose. The city was alive with orators who took
to the stage in the Roman Forum to voice their
views to the masses. It was a platform as well for
lawyers who wished to plead for their clients.
15
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 – 43 BCE)
— not only a brilliant statesman and author but also an orator who, besides his 911
letters, wrote on subjects ranging from art to education. In a series of caustic
letters, he spoke out against the corrupt ex-governor of Sicily Verres forcing him
into retirement, though the ex-governor would later be set free by Caesar. He wrote
political essays such as De re publica (On the State) and De legibus (On the Laws)
as well as five books in Latin on ancient philosophy – De finibus bonorum et
malorum. His Epistulae ad familiares (Letters to family and friends) act as vivid
historical and cultural documents of the period and give an insight into the inner
workings of late Republic. Unfortunately, he had spoken out against Julius Caesar,
something that angered the dictator's heir Octavian (Augustus). Having been exiled
once, Cicero could not save himself and was executed before he could escape
Rome.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BCE – 65 CE)
— was a student of Stoic philosophy and tutor to
Emperor Nero. Not only an essayist, he wrote nine
plays based on such Greek legends as Oedipus,
Heracles, and Medea. He also authored 124 essays on
subjects ranging from vegetarianism to the humane
treatment of slaves. After being implicated in the Piso
conspiracy, he was forced to commit suicide by Nero .
Pliny the Elder or Gaius Plinius Secundus (23- 79 CE)
— was a Roman administrator who wrote on the Germanic wars and whose Natural
History (Naturalis Historia) contained information on the known universe as well as
tracts on animals, trees, and plants, all in 37 volumes.

Volume III, for example, describes the geography of Italy and the topography of Rome:

If one were further to take into account the height of the buildings, a very fair estimate
would be formed, that would bring us to admit that there has been no city in the whole
world that could be compared to Rome in magnitude. (Pliny the Elder, Natural History,
Book III, 67)

18
Observing the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE, Pliny the Elder
died after inhaling fumes. His nephew Pliny the Younger (61 – c.
112 CE) had a successful career as both a senator and consul under
Emperor Trajan. He is most noted for his long series of letters on a
variety of topics to the emperor.
There were also a number of Roman novelists:

Petronius or Gaius Petronius Arbiter (c. 27 – 66 CE)

— served as both a consul and governor of Bithynia. His most famous work and
the only one to survive is the Satyricon, a work considered witty but amoral and
hedonistic. Unfortunately, like several of his contemporaries, he was implicated
in the Piso conspiracy during Nero's reign and was forced to commit suicide in
66 CE.

Lucius Apuleius (c. 124 – c. 170)

— from North Africa wrote a number of excellent works including the amoral
The Golden Ass which is the only complete Roman novel to survive. One of the
eleven separate books included in the novel spoke of the adventures of a young
man named Lucius who is transformed into an ass. His other works include
Apologia, Florida, and De Deo Socrates.
Marcus Valerius Martialis (c. 40 – c. 104 CE), better know
as Martial, although originally from Spain, spent most of his
life in Rome. A close friend of Emperor Domitian, he wrote
epigrams on a variety of subjects, some of which might be
called pornography:

Why don't I kiss you, Philaenis? You're bald. Why don't I kiss
you, Philaenis? You're red-headed. Why don't I kiss you,
Philaenis? You're one-eyed. Whoever kisses all that,
Philaenis, sucks. (Martial, Epigram 2.33, in Williams, 128)
Decius Junius Juvenalis or Juvenal (c. 60 – c. 130
CE) is considered the greatest of the Roman
satirists. Unfortunately, he ran afoul of Emperor
Domitian who believed he had been portrayed
negatively in the writer's Satires and may have been
exiled to Egypt; his place of death is unknown.
 LATER ROMAN LITERATURE
The spread of Christianity gave rise to a new type of literature
from the 4th century CE, with clerics writing on Christian
morality in sharp contrast to the amoral and often sexually
explicit works of the previous centuries. One of the premier
clerics of the 4th century was St. Ambrose.
St. Ambrose(c. 340 – 397 CE). Ambrosius was the son of the praetorian
prefect of Gaul and schooled in the classical Greek tradition. He served as
bishop of both Rome and Milan as well as governor of Aemilia-Liguria
despite often challenging the Emperor Theodosius. Among his writings are
De officiis ministrorum, a discussion of morality and ecclesial discipline as
well as De obitu Valentiniani and De obitu Theodocii which established the
concept that a Christian emperor was a son of the church.

Decimus Magnus Ausonius (310 – 395 CE) came from Bordeaux and
served as the tutor for the future emperor Gratian; he was a noted
grammarian and rhetorician. He was less concerned with Christian values and
wrote on a variety of subjects. His more noted works are Praefatiunculae
(Prefaces) and Eclogarum Liber (Eclogues), verses on astronomy and
astrology.
St. Augustine (354-430 CE). He is most famous for
his De civitate Dei (The City of God) which he
wrote near the end of Western Roman Empire at the
time of the invasion of 410 CE and his Confessions.

While Ambrosius, Augustine, and Ausonius

represented the emergence of Christian writers, one
pagan author also appeared on the scene,
Claudius Claudianus (370 – 404 CE). Claudianus, a native of
Alexandria, was the court poet under Emperor Honorius. He wrote
panegyrics for Honorius and Stilicho, the Roman general. Influenced
by earlier poets, both Roman and Greek, he is considered the last
important poet of the classical tradition.
 ROMAN HISTORIANS
INCLUDED NOTABLE
FIGURES SUCH AS
SALLUST, TACITUS, LIVY,
AND SUETONIUS,
HISTORIAN ALTHOUGH MUCH
EARLY ROMAN HISTORY
OF

WAS BASED ON MYTH,

WHICH SOME
HISTORIANS ACCEPTED
AS FACT.
Gaius Sallustius Crispus or Sallust (c. 86 – 35 BCE), a former senator
expelled for immorality. So inspired by the Greek historian Thucydides, he
turned to writing history. An enemy of Cicero, he sided with dictator-for-life
Julius Caesar who helped him fight charges of malpractice while governor of
Africa. His most famous works include Bellum Catilinae, which dealt with
the Catiline conspiracy, Bellum Iugurthinum, a book concerned with the
Roman war against the Numidian king Jugurtha, and Histories, which
remains only in fragments.
Livy (59 BCE – 17 CE) wrote a detailed history of Rome in 142 books,
however, unfortunately only 35 survive. Although he accepted many myths as
fact, his history demonstrated his belief in Rome’s destiny.

Livy’s Roman History, 1664

Andy Brill (CC BY-NC-SA)
Cornelius Tacitus’ (58 – 120 CE) works include De vita Iulii Agricolae,
which spoke of his father-in-law’s time as governor of Britain; Germania,
dealing with the wars against the tribes of Germany; and the fragmented
Annals and Histories.

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (c. 69 – c. 130 CE) must be mentioned. His

De viris illustribus included short biographies of Roman men of letters;
poets, grammarians, orators, and philosophers. His De vita Caesarum (The
Twelve Caesars) spoke of the Roman ‘caesars’ from Julius Caesar to
Domitian. Using earlier histories as sources, his works are considered
interesting but not totally reliable. They are concerned more with an
emperor’s personal habits than with his political accomplishments.
Unfortunately, Rome did not produce many philosophers
like Greece; however, there are two who should, at least, be
mentioned. Marcus Aurelius was not only an excellent
emperor but also a Stoic philosopher; his Meditations was
written Greek.

T.Lucretius Carus (99 – 55 BCE) wrote On the Nature of

the Universe, an Epicurean doctrine that said the world was
mechanistic, operating without divine intervention and true
happiness existed from complete withdrawal from public
life.
32