Fragmentary Republican Latin, Volume II

The assimilated assimilator.

Quintus Ennius (239–169 BC), widely regarded as the father of Roman literature, was instrumental in creating a new Roman literary identity and inspired major developments in Roman religion, social organization, and popular culture. Born in the Calabrian town of Rudiae in Magna Graecia, Ennius claimed descent from Messapus, eponymous hero of Messapia, and was uncle to the tragic dramatist Pacuvius. Brought in 204 from Sardinia to Rome in the entourage of Cato, Ennius took up independent residence on the Aventine and, fluent in his native Oscan as well as Greek and Latin, became one of the first teachers to introduce Greek learning to Romans through public readings of… Keep Reading