Quintus Ennius (239 - c. 169 BC) was a writer during the period of the Roman Republic, and is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was of Calabrian descent. Although only fragments of his works survive, his influence in Latin literature was significant.
Ennius was born at Rudiae, a Messapian town near Lecce. Here the Messapian, Greek, Oscan, and Latin languages were in contact with one another.
Ennius continued the nascent literary tra...
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Quintus Ennius (239 - c. 169 BC) was a writer during the period of the Roman Republic, and is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was of Calabrian descent. Although only fragments of his works survive, his influence in Latin literature was significant.
Ennius was born at Rudiae, a Messapian town near Lecce. Here the Messapian, Greek, Oscan, and Latin languages were in contact with one another.
Ennius continued the nascent literary tradition by writing praetextae, tragedies, and palliatae, as well as his most famous work, a historic epic called the Annales. Other minor works include the Epicharmus, the Euhemerus, the Hedyphagetica, and Saturae.
The Epicharmus presented an account of the gods and the physical operations of the universe. In it, the poet dreamed he had been transported after death to some place of heavenly enlightenment.
The Euhemerus presented a theological doctrine of a vastly different type in a mock-simple prose style modelled on the Greek of Euhemerus of...
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