Titus Maccius Plautus (Plautus)
Titus Maccius Plautus (Plautus)
Circa 250-184 b.c.e.
Miller, playwright
Success. Plautus was probably named Titus Plautus (“Maccius” being a nickname). He was the most successful writer of Roman comedy, with at least twenty-one plays to his name. Born in Sarsina in Umbria, maybe before 250 B.C.E., he came to Rome as a stagehand. The story goes that he made a small fortune, which he lost in a speculative deal. He then got a backbreaking job in a mill, and there started writing comedies, including Stichus (200 B.C.E.) and Pseudolus (191 B.C.E.).
Sources
William S. Anderson, Barbarian Play: Plautus’ Roman Comedy (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1993).
Timothy J. Moore, The Theater of Plautus: Playing to the Audience (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1998).
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Titus Maccius Plautus (Plautus)
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