Editing Plautus (section)

==Biography==
Not much is known about Titus Maccius Plautus's early life. It is believed that he was born in [[Sarsina]], a small town in [[Emilia Romagna]] in northern Italy, around 254 BC.<ref name=oxford>''The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature'' (1996) Ed. M.C. Howatson and Ian Chilvers, Oxford University Press, Oxford Reference Online</ref> According to Morris Marples, Plautus worked as a stage-carpenter or scene-shifter in his early years.<ref>M. Marples. "Plautus," ''Greece & Rome'' 8.22 (1938), p. 1.</ref> It is from this work, perhaps, that his love of the theater originated. His acting talent was eventually discovered; and he adopted the [[gens (Roman)|nomen]] "Maccius" (from Maccus, a clownish stock character in [[Atellan Farce]]) and [[agnomen]] "Plautus" ("trampled flat", usually in reference to "flat-footed" but sometimes intending "flat-eared" like the ears of a hound).<ref>S. O'Bryhim. ''Greek and Roman Comedy'' (University of Texas Press, 2001), p. 149.</ref>  Tradition holds that he made enough money to go into the nautical business, but that the venture collapsed. He is then said to have worked as a manual laborer and to have studied Greek drama—particularly the [[Ancient Greek comedy#New Comedy|New Comedy]] of [[Menander]]—in his leisure. His studies allowed him to produce his plays, which were released between {{Circa|205}} and 184 BC. Plautus attained such popularity that his name alone became a hallmark of theatrical success.

Plautus's comedies are mostly adapted from Greek models for a Roman audience, and are often based directly on the works of the Greek playwrights. He reworked the Greek texts to give them a flavour that would appeal to the local Roman audiences. They are the earliest surviving intact works in Latin literature.

Plautus's [[epitaph]] read:

<blockquote>
{{lang|la|postquam est mortem aptus Plautus, Comoedia luget,<br />
scaena deserta, dein risus, ludus iocusque<br />
et numeri innumeri simul omnes conlacrimarunt.}}
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
Since Plautus is dead, Comedy mourns,<br />
The stage is deserted; then Laughter, Jest and Wit,<br />
And all Melody's countless numbers wept together.<br />
</blockquote>