Epitome

Herodotus (Greek: Ἡρόδοτος, Hērodotos) is one of Greece’s first historians. His major work was the Histories, which chronicled the rise of the Persian Empire and its subsequent clash with Greece during the Graeco-Persian Wars of the fifth century BCE. Life…

For this site, Old Latin is the name given to Latin from its first literary production with Livius Andronicus in c. 240 until the career of Cicero begins in 80 BCE. Latin from before this period is confined to inscriptions and…

Imperial Latin is defined as the literary output from the reign of Tiberius through the reign of Marcus Aurelius, the last of the so-called “Five Good Emperors,” after which the character of Rome began to falter. In earlier times, this period is…

Any classification of Latin (or any language!) into periods is arbitrary, but it is especially so in defining Classical Latin (Latina classica). The term originally was coined to refer to those authors deemed excellent (scriptores classici), though sometimes it refers, by virtue…

Life Very little is known of Grattius. Ovid mentions him as a contemporary, but he is otherwise not mentioned in any extant sources. One scholar reportedly saw the name Faliscus attached to Grattius in a now-lost manuscript, though that likely derives…

The Appendix Tibulliana contains various elegies that were transmitted under Tibullus’ name in the manuscripts, but in fact differ in authorship. Two of the authors are directly named (Lygdamus and Sulpicia) while the rest (some poems about Messalla and others about…

Life Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus (the name Asconius is uncertain) was born in the middle of the first half of the first century CE. His place of birth or early life is unknown (he is generally assumed from his…

Life Nothing for certain is known about the life of Aulus Cornelius Celsus. Pliny the Elder’s reference to his works in the Historia Naturalis (written 77 CE) provides the terminus ante quem for his life, and therefore his floruit is thought to be during the reign…

Life Thanks to a biography of him by Valerius Probus, we are fortunate to know a good amount about Aulus Persius Flaccus. He was born 6 December 34 CE in Volterra, a city in Etruria, to an equestrian family. His father,…

Life For a man who chronicled much of Roman history, the life of Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus is actually for the most part shrouded in mystery. His date of birth and death are both unknown, though from his interactions it can…