Quintus Ennius (; c. 239 – c. 169 BC) was a writer and poet who lived during the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...
. He is often considered the father of
Roman poetry
The history of Latin poetry can be understood as the adaptation of Greek models. The verse comedies of Plautus, the earliest surviving examples of Latin literature, are estimated to have been composed around 205-184 BC.
History
Scholars conven ...
. He was born in the small town of
Rudiae
Rudiae (''Rusce'' in the local dialect and Ῥοδίαι in ancient Greek), was a former late 9th or early 8th centuries BCE human settlement. It is presently an archaeological park beside the San Pietro in Lama that runs south-west from the cit ...
, located near modern
Lecce,
Apulia
it, Pugliese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographic ...
, (Ancient
Calabria
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
, today
Salento
Salento (Salentino: ''Salentu'', Salentino Griko: ''Σαλέντο'') is a cultural, historical and geographic region at the southern end of the administrative region of Apulia in Southern Italy. It is a sub-peninsula of the Italian Peninsula, ...
), a town founded by the
Messapians
The Messapians ( grc, Μεσσάπιοι, Messápioi; la, Messapii) were a Iapygian tribe who inhabited Salento in classical antiquity. Two other Iapygian tribes, the Peucetians and the Daunians, inhabited central and northern Apulia respective ...
, and could speak
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
as well as
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and
Oscan
Oscan is an extinct Indo-European language of southern Italy. The language is in the Osco-Umbrian or Sabellic branch of the Italic languages. Oscan is therefore a close relative of Umbrian.
Oscan was spoken by a number of tribes, including th ...
(his native language). Although only fragments of his works survive, his influence in
Latin literature
Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings written in the Latin language. The beginning of formal Latin literature dates to 240 BC, when the first stage play in Latin was performed in Rome. Latin literature ...
was significant, particularly in his use of Greek literary models.
Biography
Very little is reliably known about the life of Ennius. His contemporaries hardly mentioned him and much that is related about him could have been embroidered from references to himself in his now fragmentary writings. Some lines of the ''Annales'', as well as ancient testimonies, for example, suggest that Ennius opened his epic with a recollection of a dream in which the ancient epic-writer
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
informed him that his spirit had been reborn into Ennius. It is true that the doctrine of the
transmigration of souls
Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...
once flourished in the areas of Italy settled by Greeks, but the statement might have been no more than a literary flourish. Ennius seems to have been given to making large claims, as in the report by
Maurus Servius Honoratus
Servius was a late fourth-century and early fifth-century grammarian. He earned a contemporary reputation as the most learned man of his generation in Italy; he authored a set of commentaries on the works of Virgil. These works, ''In tria Vir ...
that he claimed descent from Messapus, the legendary king of his native district. The partially Hellenised city of
Rudiae
Rudiae (''Rusce'' in the local dialect and Ῥοδίαι in ancient Greek), was a former late 9th or early 8th centuries BCE human settlement. It is presently an archaeological park beside the San Pietro in Lama that runs south-west from the cit ...
, his place of birth, was certainly in the area settled by the
Messapians
The Messapians ( grc, Μεσσάπιοι, Messápioi; la, Messapii) were a Iapygian tribe who inhabited Salento in classical antiquity. Two other Iapygian tribes, the Peucetians and the Daunians, inhabited central and northern Apulia respective ...
. And this, he used to say, according to
Aulus Gellius, had endowed him with a triple linguistic and cultural heritage, fancifully described as "three hearts… Greek, Oscan and Latin".
The public career of Ennius first really emerges in middle life, when he was serving in the army with the rank of
centurion
A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...
during the
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...
. While in
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
in the year 204 BC, he is said to have attracted the attention of
Cato the Elder
Marcus Porcius Cato (; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor ( la, Censorius), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, senator, and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He was the first to write histo ...
and was taken by him to Rome. There he taught Greek and adapted Greek plays for a livelihood, and by his poetical compositions gained the friendship of some of the greatest men in Rome whose achievements he praised. Amongst these were
Scipio Africanus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–183 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, most notable as one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the best military com ...
and
Fulvius Nobilior, whom he accompanied on his Aetolian campaign (189). Afterwards he made the capture of
Ambracia
Ambracia (; grc-gre, Ἀμβρακία, occasionally , ''Ampracia'') was a city of ancient Greece on the site of modern Arta. It was captured by the Corinthians in 625 BC and was situated about from the Ambracian Gulf, on a bend of the navigabl ...
, at which he was present, the subject of a play and of an episode in the ''Annales''. It was through the influence of Nobilior's son
Quintus
Quintus is a male given name derived from '' Quintus'', a common Latin forename (''praenomen'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Quintus derives from Latin word ''quintus'', meaning "fifth".
Quintus is an English masculine given name and ...
that Ennius subsequently obtained Roman citizenship. But he himself lived plainly and simply in the literary quarter on the
Aventine Hill with the poet
Caecilius Statius
Statius Caecilius, also known as Caecilius Statius (; c. 220 BC – c. 166 BC), was a Roman comic poet.
Life and work
A contemporary and intimate friend of Ennius, according to tradition he was born in the territory of the Insubrian Ga ...
, a fellow adapter of Greek plays.
At about the age of 70 Ennius died, immediately after producing his tragedy ''Thyestes''. In the last book of his epic poem, in which he seems to have given various details of his personal history, he mentioned that he was in his 67th year at the date of its composition. He compared himself, in contemplation of the close of the great work of his life, to a gallant horse which, after having often won the prize at the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
, obtained his rest when weary with age. A similar feeling of pride at the completion of a great career is expressed in the memorial lines which he composed to be placed under his bust after death: “Let no one weep for me, or celebrate my funeral with mourning; for I still live, as I pass to and fro through the mouths of men.”
Literature
Ennius continued the nascent literary tradition by writing plays in Greek and Roman style (
praetexta The ''praetexta'' or ''fabula praetexta'' was a genre of Latin tragedy introduced at Rome by Gnaeus Naevius in the third century BC. It dealt with historical Roman figures, in place of the conventional Greek myths. Subsequent writers of ''praetexta ...
e and
palliatae), as well as his most famous work, a historic epic in hexameters called the ''
Annales
Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts.
List of works with titles contai ...
''. Other minor works include the ''Epicharmus'', ''Epigrammata'', the ''Euhemerus'', the ''Hedyphagetica'', ''Praecepta''/''Protrepticus'', ''Saturae'' (or ''Satires''), ''Scipio'', and ''Sota''.
[ La Barbera (2014).]
The ''Annales''
The ''
Annales
Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts.
List of works with titles contai ...
'' was an
epic poem
An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants.
...
in fifteen books, later expanded to eighteen, covering Roman history from the fall of
Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...
in 1184 BC down to the censorship of
Cato the Elder
Marcus Porcius Cato (; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor ( la, Censorius), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, senator, and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He was the first to write histo ...
in 184 BC. It was the first Latin poem to adopt the
dactylic hexameter
Dactylic hexameter (also known as heroic hexameter and the meter of epic) is a form of meter or rhythmic scheme frequently used in Ancient Greek and Latin poetry. The scheme of the hexameter is usually as follows (writing – for a long syllable ...
metre used in Greek epic and didactic poetry, leading it to become the standard metre for these genres in Latin poetry. The ''Annals'' became a school text for Roman schoolchildren, eventually supplanted by
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...
's ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...
''. About 600 lines survive.
Minor works
The ''Epicharmus'' was inspired by the philosophical hypotheses developed by the Sicilian poet and philosopher
Epicharmus of Kos
Epicharmus of Kos or Epicharmus Comicus or Epicharmus Comicus Syracusanus ( grc-gre, Ἐπίχαρμος ὁ Κῷος), thought to have lived between c. 550 and c. 460 BC, was a Greek dramatist and philosopher who is often credited wit ...
, after which Ennius's work took its name.
[ Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (2016).] In the ''Epicharmus'', the poet describes a dream he had in which he died and was transported to some place of heavenly enlightenment. Here, he met Epicharmus, who explained the nature of the gods and taught Ennius the physics of the
universe
The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...
.
The ''Euhemerus'' presented a
theological
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
doctrine based on the ideas Greek of
Euhemerus
Euhemerus (; also spelled Euemeros or Evemerus; grc, Εὐήμερος ''Euhēmeros'', "happy; prosperous"; late fourth century BC) was a Greek mythographer at the court of Cassander, the king of Macedon. Euhemerus' birthplace is disputed, with M ...
of Messene, who argued that the gods of
Olympus were not supernatural powers that interference in the lives of humans, but rather heroes of old who
after death were eventually regarded as deities due to their valor, bravery, or cultural impact (this belief is now known as
euhemerism). Both
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
and
Lactantius write that the ''Euhemerus'' was a "translat
onand a recount
ng of Euhemerus's original work the ''Sacred History'', but it is unclear if this means Ennius simply translated the original from Greek into Latin, or added in his own elements. Most of what is preserved of this work comes to us from Lactantius, and these snippets suggest that the ''Euhemerus'' was a prose text.
The ''Hedyphagetica'' took much of its substance from the
gastronomical epic of
Archestratus
Archestratus ( grc-gre, Ἀρχέστρατος ''Archestratos'') was an ancient Greek poet of Gela or Syracuse, in Sicily, who wrote some time in the mid 4th century BCE, and was known as "the Daedalus of tasty dishes". His humorous didactic poe ...
of Gela. The extant portions of Ennius's poem discuss where a reader might find the best type of fish. Most of the fragments, replete with unique terms for fish and numerous place names, are corrupt or damaged. The ''Hedyphagetica'' is written in
hexameter
Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek and Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It w ...
s, but differs from the ''Annales'' in regards to "metrical practices"; this difference is largely due to each works' distinct subject matter.
The titles ''Praecepta'' and ''Protrepticus'' were likely used to refer to the same (possibly exhortatory) work. However, given this work's almost non-existent nature (only the word ''pannibus''an "unusual" form of the word ''pannis'', meaning "rags"is preserved in the work of the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
grammarian Charisius
Flavius Sosipater Charisius ( 4th century AD) was a Latin grammarian.
He was probably an African by birth, summoned to Constantinople to take the place of Euanthius, a learned commentator on Terence.
''Ars Grammatica''
The ''Ars Grammatica'', ...
), this position is extremely difficult to verify.
[
The ''Saturae'' is a collection of about thirty lines from satirical poemsmaking it the first extant instance of Roman satire.][ These lines are written in a variety of poetic metres.][ The poems in this collection "were mostly concerned with practical wisdom, often driving home a lesson with the help of a fable."][
Ennius's ''Scipio'' was a work (possibly a panegyric poem) that apparently celebrated the life and deeds of ]Scipio Africanus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–183 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, most notable as one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the best military com ...
. Hardly anything remains of this work, and what is preserved is embedded in the works of others. Unfortunately, "no quotation of 'Scipio''supplies a context".[ Some have proposed that the work was written before the ''Annales'', and others have said that the work was written after Scipio's 201 BC triumph that followed the ]Battle of Zama
The Battle of Zama was fought in 202 BC near Zama, now in Tunisia, and marked the end of the Second Punic War. A Roman army led by Publius Cornelius Scipio, with crucial support from Numidian leader Masinissa, defeated the Carthaginian ...
(202 BC).[ Ennius, Goldberg, & Manuwald (2018), pp. 28687.]
The ''Sota'' was a poem, potentially of some length, named after the Greek poet Sotades
Sotades ( el, Σωτάδης; 3rd century BC) was an Ancient Greek literature#Hellenistic poetry, Ancient Greek poet.
Biography
Sotades was born in Maroneia, either the one in Thrace, or in Crete. He lived in History of Alexandria#Ptolemaic era, ...
. The work, which followed a metre established by Sotades known as the "Sotadeus", concerned itself with a number of disparate topics and ideas.[ Ennius, Goldberg, & Manuwald (2018), pp. 29697.]
Editions
* Quinto Ennio. ''Le opere minori, Vol. I. Praecepta, Protrepticus, Saturae, Scipio, Sota''. Ed., tr., comm. Alessandro Russo. Pisa: Edizioni ETS, 2007 (Testi e studi di cultura classica, 40).
* Warmington, E. H. (1935). Ennius (Q. Ennius). ''Remains of Old Latin.'' Edited by Eric Herbert Warmington. Vol. 2: Ennius and Caecilius. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
See also
*Latin literature
Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings written in the Latin language. The beginning of formal Latin literature dates to 240 BC, when the first stage play in Latin was performed in Rome. Latin literature ...
*List of ancient Romans
This an alphabetical List of ancient Romans, including citizens of ancient Rome remembered in history.
:''Note that some people may be listed multiple times, once for each part of the name.''
A
* Titus Accius -
* Gaius Acilius -
*Claudia Ac ...
*Prosody (Latin)
Latin prosody (from Middle French ''prosodie'', from Latin ''prosōdia'', from Ancient Greek προσῳδία ''prosōidía'', "song sung to music, pronunciation of syllable") is the study of Latin poetry and its laws of meter. The following artic ...
Footnotes
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
*
* Elliott, J. (2010). "Ennius as Universal Historian: The Case of the Annales." ''Historiae Mundi: Studies in Universal History.'' Ed. Peter Liddel and Andrew Fear. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 148–161.
*
* Fisher, J. (2014). The 'Annals' of Quintus Ennius and the Italic Tradition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
* Fitzgerald, W., and Emily Gowers
Emily Joanna Gowers, ( Thomas; born 27 September 1963) is a British classical scholar. She is Professor of Latin Literature at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge. She is an expert on Horace, Augustan li ...
, eds. (2007). Ennius Perennis. The Annals and Beyond. Proceedings of the Cambridge Philolological Society, Supplementary Volume 31. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
*
*
*
*
*Jocelyn, H. D. Ennius (Q. Ennius). (1967). ''The Tragedies of Ennius: The Fragments''. Edited by Henry David Jocelyn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
*
*
*
*Skutsch, O. (1968). ''Studia Enniana''. London: Athlone.
*
External links
*
*
*
Fragments of Ennius' ''Annals''
at The Latin Library
The Latin Library is a website that collects public domain Latin texts. It is run by William L. Carey, adjunct professor of Latin and Roman Law at George Mason University. The texts have been drawn from different sources, are not intended for rese ...
; text from Wordsworth (1874), line numbering from Warmington (1935)
Ennius' ''Annales'': text and translation of all fragments
at ''attalus.org''; adapted from Warmington (1935)
at ''elfinspell.com''; from ''Specimens of the Poets and Poetry of Greece and Rome by Various Translators'' (1847)
* ''Remains of old latin. Vol. 1: Aennius and Caecilius'', E. H. Warmington (a cura di), Cambridge-London, 1935
pagg. 1–465
*
{{Authority control
Epic poets
3rd-century BC poets
2nd-century BC poets
2nd-century BC Romans
3rd-century BC Romans
3rd-century BC Latin writers
2nd-century BC Latin writers
People from the Province of Lecce
Ancient Roman tragic dramatists
Old Latin-language writers
Roman-era poets
230s BC births
160s BC deaths
Ennii
Italic people