You can mark you interesting snippets of text that will be available through a unique link in your browser.


Accius, Lucius

Accius, Lucius

▪ Roman poet
Accius also spelled  Attius  
born 170 BC, Pisaurum, Umbria [Italy]
died c. 86 BC

      one of the greatest of the Roman tragic poets, in the view of his contemporaries. His plays (more than 40 titles are known, and about 700 lines survive) were mostly free translations from Greek tragedy, many from Euripides, with violent plots, flamboyant characterizations, and forceful rhetoric. His tragedies were performed until the end of the republic (c. 30 BC). Their themes were those of classical legend, particularly the Troy cycle, but Accius also composed two historical plays, Decius and Brutus, based on Roman history.

      He also wrote several treatises: the Didascalica, a work of at least nine books on the history of Greek and Latin poetry, and Annales, which seems to have dealt with Roman religious festivals. Gellius, Varro, and other later grammarians refer to his observations on grammar and orthography. Cicero records having met Accius in his youth and having seen his plays, which he admired and often quoted, including the famous line from Accius' Atreus, “Oderint, dum metuant!” (“Let them hate so long as they fear”), a motto that is said to have appealed to the tyrant Caligula.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

  
Share  

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Accius — Lucius Accius (* um 170 v. Chr. bei Pesaro, Marken; † um 90 v. Chr.) war ein römischer Tragödiendichter. Er entstammte einer Freigelassenenfamilie; sein genaues Todesjahr ist zwar unbekannt, er muss jedoch ein hohes Alter erreicht haben, da… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Accius — Lucius Accius Lucius Accius (ou Attius) est un célèbre auteur de tragédies latines et d ouvrages d érudition né à Pisaurum, aujourd hui Pesaro en Ombrie en 170 av. J. C. et mort à Rome en 86 av. J. C.. Pline l Ancien rapporte qu’il se fit dresser …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Lucius Accius — (ou Attius) est un célèbre auteur de tragédies latines et d ouvrages d érudition né à Pisaurum, aujourd hui Pesaro dans les Marches en 170 av. J. C. et mort à Rome en 86 av. J. C.. Pline l Ancien rapporte qu’il se fit dresser dans le temple des… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • ACCIUS — (ACCIUS 170 ? ACCIUS 86) Lucius Accius (parfois aussi écrit Attius) est, sans nul doute, le plus grand poète tragique romain. Il était fils d’un affranchi qui avait reçu un lot de terre près de Pisaurum, en Ombrie. On pense qu’il connut Pacuvius… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Accius (disambiguation) — Accius may refer to:* Accius, Latin poet of the 16th century * Lerema accius, butterfly commonly known as Clouded Skipper * Lucius Accius, Roman tragic poet born in 170 BC * Tiberius Accius, prosecutor in the murder trial of Aulus Cluentius… …   Wikipedia

  • Lucius Accius — (* um 170 v. Chr. bei Pesaro, Marken; † um 90 v. Chr.) war ein römischer Tragödiendichter. Er entstammte einer Freigelassenenfamilie; sein genaues Todesjahr ist zwar unbekannt, er muss jedoch ein hohes Alter erreicht haben, da Cicero (106–43 v.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Lucius Accius — Infobox Writer name = Lucius Accius imagesize = caption = pseudonym = birthname = birthdate = 170 BCE birthplace = deathdate = 86 BCE deathplace = occupation = nationality = Roman period = genre = subject = movement = notableworks = spouse =… …   Wikipedia

  • Lucius Livius Andronicus — Der Dichter Lucius Livius Andronicus († zwischen 207 und 200 v. Chr.) (griechisch: Libios Andronikos) galt im Altertum als Begründer der lateinischen bzw. römischen Literatur. Er stammte aus der griechischen Stadt Tarent, war somit kein… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Accius — Ạccius,   Lucius, vielseitiger römischer Dichter und Gelehrter, * Pisaurum (Umbrien) 170 v. Chr., ✝ um 86 v. Chr.; galt als der Vollender der lateinischen Tragödie. Daneben verfasste er grammatische und literarhistorische Werke. Erhalten sind… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Attius — Lucius Accius Lucius Accius (ou Attius) est un célèbre auteur de tragédies latines et d ouvrages d érudition né à Pisaurum, aujourd hui Pesaro en Ombrie en 170 av. J. C. et mort à Rome en 86 av. J. C.. Pline l Ancien rapporte qu’il se fit dresser …   Wikipédia en Français