Livius Andronicus
Greco-Roman poet, first to write Latin drama and literature.
via Wikipedia: Epic poetry · see source
Lucius Livius Andronicus, a Greco-Roman dramatist, actor, and epic poet, is recognized as the foundational figure of Roman drama and Latin literature. Born in Tarentum, a Greek city in southern Italy, he was likely a highly educated Greek who became a slave to a Roman noble family. His name combines the Greek Andronikos with the Roman family name Livius, given by his patron, and he gained his freedom as a freedman. His career began as an educator, for which he produced Latin translations of Greek works, most notably Homer’s *Odyssey* (the *Odusia*), originally intended as teaching tools for the school he founded. Only fragments of this translation survive, but it was a pioneering artistic effort, using Saturnian verse and archaising language to convey the epic’s solemnity. Livius also wrote stage works—both tragedies and comedies—considered the first dramatic pieces in Latin. His comedies, based on Greek New Comedy, featured Greek costumes, leading Romans to call the genre *comoedia palliata* or “cloaked comedy.” Later writers like Varro, Cicero, and Horace credited him as the originator of Latin literature. His first recorded performance in Rome was in 240 BC, and in 207 BC he composed a hymn performed by maidens to appease the gods. The biographer Suetonius later termed his genre “half-Greek,” a label referring to its style, not his ethnicity. Livius Andronicus thus established a literary tradition that later playwrights would imitate.
- field
- Dramatist, actor, epic poet
- nationality
- Greco-Roman
- known_for
- First dramatic works in Latin; translation of Homer's Odyssey into Latin (Odusia
Lore & Background
He was originally a highly educated Greek who was bought as a slave by Roman nobles. His name combines the Greek Andronicus with the Roman family name Livius, likely from his patron. He became a freedman by the grace of his master, one of the Livia gens. Andronicus began as an educator, producing Latin translations of Greek works, including Homer's Odyssey, for the school he founded. His translation, the Odusia, was in Saturnian verse; only parts of 46 scattered lines survive. He also wrote tragedies and comedies, regarded as the first dramatic works in Latin. His comedies were based on Greek New Comedy and featured characters in Greek costume, leading Romans to call the genre comoedia palliata or fabula palliata ('cloaked comedy'). He was also an actor and, after straining his voice, was the first to leave singing to singers and limit actors to dialogue.
Reader's Guide
Livius Andronicus holds a foundational place in Roman literary history. Varro, Cicero, and Horace all considered him the originator of Latin literature. His translation of the Odyssey was one of the first examples of translation as an artistic process, making a fundamental Greek text accessible to Romans and advancing literary culture in Latin. He faced enormous problems due to the lack of an epic tradition in Italy, using archaising forms to create solemnity. His dramatic works, written in iambic senarius and trochaic septenarius, included both lyric passages and dialogue, with a large element of solos for the chief actor. The titles of his known tragedies include Achilles, Aegisthus, and Ajax with the Whip; his comedies include Gladiolus and Ludius. The success of this hymn led to public honours when his professional organization, the collegium scribarum histrionumque, was installed in the Temple of Minerva on the Aventine. The genre of palliata was imitated by later generations, cementing his legacy as the father of Roman drama.
Did You Know?
- Livius Andronicus was the first to leave singing to singers and limit actors to dialogue, after straining his own voice.
- His translation of Homer's Odyssey, the Odusia, was written in Saturnian verse; only parts of 46 scattered lines survive.
- His comedies were called comoedia palliata or fabula palliata ('cloaked comedy') because characters wore Greek costumes.
- Varro, Cicero, and Horace all considered him the originator of Latin literature.
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