Editing Latin literature (section)

=== Early Latin literature ===
{{Main|Old Latin}}

Although literature in Latin followed a continual development over several centuries, the beginnings of formal Latin literature started with the regular performance of comedies and tragedies in Rome in 240 BC, one year after the conclusion of the [[First Punic War]].<ref>{{cite book|author=George Eckel Duckworth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BuLEo5U9sb0C&pg=PA3|title=The nature of Roman comedy: a study in popular entertainment|publisher= University of Oklahoma Press|year=1994|page=3| isbn=9780806126203 }}</ref> These initial comedies and tragedies were adapted from [[Ancient Greek drama|Greek drama]] by [[Livius Andronicus]], a Greek prisoner of war who had been brought to Rome as a slave in 272 BC. Andronicus translated [[Homer]]'s ''[[Odyssey]]'' into Latin using a traditional Latin verse form called [[Saturnian (poetry)|Saturnian meter]]. In 235 BC, [[Gnaeus Naevius]], a Roman citizen, continued this tradition of producing dramas that were reworkings of Greek originals, or ''fabula palliata'', and he expanded on this by producing a new type of drama, ''fabula praetexta'', or tragedies based on Roman myths and history, starting in 222 BC. Later in life, Naevius composed an epic poem in Saturnian meter on the first Punic War, in which he had fought.<ref>{{cite book
 |last=Warmington
 |first=E.H.
 |author-link=E H Warmington
 |date=1936
 |title=Remains of Old Latin: Livius Andronicus, Naevius, Pacuvius and Accius
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=seEEzgEACAAJ
 |publisher=Harvard University Press
 |pages=ix-xvii
}}</ref>

Other epic poets followed Naevius. [[Quintus Ennius]] wrote an historical epic, the ''Annals'' (soon after 200 BC), describing Roman history from the founding of Rome to his own time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Annales-by-Ennius|title=Annales {{!}} work by Ennius|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2020-01-22}}</ref> He adopted the Greek dactylic hexameter, which became the standard verse form for Roman epics. He became well known for his tragic dramas. Successors in this field include [[Marcus Pacuvius]] and [[Lucius Accius]]. These three writers rarely used episodes from [[Roman history]], but they wrote Latin versions of tragic themes that the Greeks had already written about. Even when they copied the Greeks, their translations were not straightforward replicas of the original Greek works. Only fragments of their plays have survived.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

[[File:Ritratto maschile detto il vecchio di otricoli, 50 ac ca. (busto moderno), da otricoli (visconti), MT533, 03.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Cato the Elder]]]]

Considerably more is known about early Latin comedy, as 26 Early Latin comedies are extant – 20 of which were written by [[Plautus]]; the remaining six were written by [[Terence]].<ref>Shipley, Joseph Twadell. [https://books.google.com/books?id=AlUVAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA109 ''Dictionary of world literature: criticism, forms, technique.''] Taylor & Francis, 1964. p. 109. Web. 15 October 2011.</ref> These men modeled their comedies on Greek plays known as [[Ancient Greek comedy#New Comedy (nea)|New Comedy]], but treated the plots and wording of the originals freely. Plautus scattered songs throughout his plays and added to the humor with puns and wisecracks, as well as comic actions by the actors. Terence's plays were more austere in tone, dealing with domestic situations. His works provided the chief inspiration for French and English comedies of the 17th century AD.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

The prose of the period is best known through ''On Agriculture'' (160 BC) by [[Cato the Elder]]. Cato wrote the first Latin history of Rome and of other Italian cities.<ref>Mehl, Andreas. [https://books.google.com/books?id=0W1rpowMywYC&pg=PA52 ''Roman Historiography.''] Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. p 52. Web. 18 October 2011.</ref> He was the first Roman statesman to put his political speeches in writing as a means of influencing public opinion.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

Early Latin literature ended with [[Gaius Lucilius]], who created a new kind of poetry in his 30 books of ''Satires'' (2nd century BC). He wrote in an easy, conversational tone about books, food, friends, and current events.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}