Life
Lucius Accius was born around 170 BCE in Pisaurum to a freedman. His early life is unknown, though he was said to have steered clear of a legal career. He pioneered literary criticism and the philological history of Roman authors, engaging, for example, in the discussions on the authenticity of plays attributed to Plautus. He was also a tragedian in his own right.
He was elected to the College of Poets (Collegium Poetarum) on account of his critical acclaim, though with that went ideas of self-importance: he wanted a large statue of himself placed in the Temple of the Muses (aedes Camenarum), for which the satirist Lucilius criticized him.
Accius survived long enough to discuss with a young Cicero, who was 64 years his junior, on literary matters. He died sometime in the 80s BCE.
Works
Over forty tragedies of Accius are known to have been performed. Like Pacuvius, the vast majority of them are connected to Greek mythology, though at least two dealt with Roman historical legends (Aeneadae and Brutus).
Non-dramatic works by Accius are the Didascalica, his treatise on spelling reforms; the Sotadicorum Liber; Parega; Pragmatica; Praxidica; and love poems in uncertain meters, perhaps elegiac couplets.
Reception
After Lucilius, reception of Accius was positive. To Horace, Accius was “lofty”, as Pacuvius, his senior rival, was “learned” (Pacuvius docti famam senis, Accius alti, Epist. 2.1.56). Quintilian (10.1.97) expounds on that comment, calling them the best of the older Roman tragedians; whereas Pacuvius is more learned, Accius is loftier, echoing Horace’s compliments. He was frequently quoted by later authors, allowing for over 700 lines to be preserved.
Texts Online
Latin: PHI Latin Texts
Further Reading
- Gesine Manuwald 2011. Roman Republican Theatre. Cambridge.
