Editing Lucius Accius (section)

==Literary works==
Accius was a prolific writer and enjoyed a very high reputation.<ref>[[Horace]], ''Epistles'', ii.i, 56; [[Cicero]], ''[[s:Pro Cn. Plancio|Pro Plancio]]'', 24</ref>  The titles and considerable fragments (about 700 lines) of some fifty plays have been preserved.<ref name=Chisholm/> Judging from the titles and fragments, scholars have surmised that most, if not all, of these poems were tragic in nature, although [[Pliny the Younger]] ranks him among the erotic poets.<ref name="OCD"/><ref>[[Pliny the Younger]], ''[[Pliny the Younger#Epistulae|Epistulae]]'' 5.6</ref> His career as a poet can be traced over the course of 36 years from B.C. 140, to B.C. 104.<ref name="DCA">{{Cite book|last=Seyffert|first=Oskar|title=[[A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, Mythology, Religion, Literature & Art]]|publisher=Swan Sonneschein and Co.|year=1899|place=London|pages=2|contribution=Accius or Attius (Lucius)}}</ref>

Most of his poetical works were imitations or free translations of the Greek,<ref name=Chisholm/> especially [[Aeschylus]].  The earliest of these was most likely the ''Atreus'', which was performed in 140, but is now lost.<ref>[[Cicero]], ''[[Brutus (Cicero)|Brutus]]'' 229</ref>  He also wrote on some Roman subjects, one of which, an examination of the tyranny of [[Lucius Tarquinius Superbus|L.&nbsp;Tarquinius Superbus]]<!--Why is "Superbus" misspelled when "superbus" is a vocabulary word??--> and his expulsion by [[Lucius Junius Brutus]], was titled ''Brutus'', and was probably written in honor of his patron [[Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus|D. Brutus]].<ref name="OCD"/><ref>[[Cicero]] ''[[De Legibus]]''. ii.21, ''[[s:Pro A. Licinio Archia poeta|Pro Archia Poeta]]''. 11</ref>  His favorite subjects were the legends of the [[Trojan War]] and the house of [[Pelops]].<ref name=Chisholm />  While only fragments remain, the most important of which were preserved by Cicero, they seem sufficient to justify the terms of admiration in which Accius is spoken of by the ancient writers.  He is particularly praised for the strength and vigor of his language, and the sublimity of his thoughts.<ref>[[Cicero]] ''[[s:Pro Cn. Plancio|pro Plancio]]'' 24, ''[[s:Pro Sestio|pro Sestio]]'' 56, &c.; [[Horace]] ''[[Epodes (Horace)|Epodes]]'' ii.1.56; [[Quintilian]] x.1. § 97; [[Aulus Gellius]] xiii. 2</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia  | last = Smith  | first = William  | title = Accius, Lucius  | encyclopedia = [[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]  | volume = 1  | pages = 6  | year = 1867  | url = http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0015.html  | accessdate = 2007-08-18  | url-status = usurped  | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070405170239/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0015.html  | archivedate = 2007-04-05  }}</ref> Although the [[grandiloquence]] of his literary style was on occasion mocked by some of his peers,<ref>Porph. ''Hor. Serm.'' 1.10.53</ref> he continued to be cited by other writers long after his death.<ref name="OCD"/>

Accius wrote other works of a literary character: ''Libri Didascalicon'', a treatise in verse on the history of Greek and Roman poetry, and dramatic art in particular; also ''Libri Pragmaticon'', ''Parerga'', and ''Praxidica'', of which no fragments remain; and a [[hexameter]] ''Annales''<ref name=Chisholm/> containing the history of Rome, like that of [[Ennius]].