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Roman Literature. FACT OR FICTION?. Roman Literature Fact or Fiction? Cicero. Cicero’s banker friend, Atticus, had a slave make copies of his works. FACT A bibliopolae was a slave who took dictation or copied books for authors.
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Roman Literature FACT OR FICTION?
Roman LiteratureFact or Fiction?Cicero Cicero’s banker friend, Atticus, had a slave make copies of his works. FACT A bibliopolaewas a slave who took dictation or copied books for authors. FICTION - A librarius was the slave who took dictation or copied books for authors. The bibliopolaewere book sellers. Cicero was a senator who wished to protect the Republic of Rome from dictators. FACT Cicero believed that Julius Caesar posed a threat to the republic and wrote many famous speeches against Julius Caesar and Marc Antony. FACT
Roman LiteratureFact or Fiction?Cicero As a direct result of the eloquent words of Cicero, Caesar was assassinated. FACT Although the senator desired the removal of the emperor from power, he felt ashamed and responsible for the death of another man. Ultimately, the heavy burden of guilt caused Cicero to abandon the life of a senator, and retreat to the countryside where his new found respect for the power of words gave birth to the ethical codes of rhetoric that we use to this day. FACT Cicero died from forced suicide. FACT Marc Antony had Cicero’s hands cut off and nailed to the roster in the Roman forum. FACT
Roman LiteratureFact or Fiction?Ovid Ovid was a popular author and contemporary of Cicero. FACT Ovid fell out of favor with Emperor Augustus because of a scandal with the Emperor’s family and because he wrote a rather raunchy book about love for young men to read, ArsAmatoria. Ovid was exiled because of this. FACT Ovid died when an eagle mistook his bald head for a rock and dropped a large tortoise on it. FICTION – This did happen but to the Greek poet Aeschylus who wrote the Agamemnon.
Roman LiteratureFact or Fiction?Martial Martial knew that the penalty for offending an emperor could be great; therefore he often wrote & recited verse which flattered Emperor Domitian. FACT Martial’s first book of epigrams sold for 20 sesterces. FACT Most Roman booksellers had their shops on RodeusDrivus in Rome. FICTION – Most shops were in the Argiletum. When books were sold, the profits were split between the book seller and the author. FICTION – The book seller kept all of the profits, so no author in ancient Rome could hope to make a living as an author.
Roman LiteratureFact or Fiction?Vergil Vergil wrote the Aeneid. His last wish was that it be destroyed upon his death. FACT Most Roman authors wrote for a small, highly educated group of readers who were familiar with both Latin & Greek literature. FACT Many people saw the comic plays of Plautus when they were performed in the theater. The most important difference between Latin and modern literature is that Latin literature was written to torture students at HPHS. FICTION – Latin literature was written to be read aloud.
Roman LiteratureFact or Fiction?Vergil Vergil was the cliens of Maecenas and Augustus. FACT Pliny the Younger could afford to write as a hobby because he was a wealthy landowner. FACT
Roman LiteratureFact or Fiction?Quintilian Quintilian published the first comic book, ArachnidVir . FICTION – Quintilian wrote The Education of an Orator. Quintilian was the first teacher to obtain a salary from the state. FACT – He was appointed instructor of rhetoric by Domitian. Besides rhetor to Domitian’s adopted sons, he also taught Pliny the Younger. Ancient literature was heavily influenced by the rhetorical nature of the author’s education. FACT
