Lucius Afranius (poet)

Lucius Afranius was an ancient Roman comic poet, who lived at the beginning of the 1st century BC.^[1]

Life

Afranius' comedies described Roman scenes and manners (the genre called comoediae togatae) and the subjects were mostly taken from the life of the lower classes (comoediae tabernariae).^[2][3] They were considered by some ancients to be frequently polluted with disgraceful amours, which, according to Quintilian, were only a representation of the conduct of Afranius.^[4] He depicted, however, Roman life with such accuracy that he is classed with Menander, from whom indeed he borrowed largely.^[5][6][7] He imitated the style of Gaius Titius, and his language is praised by Cicero.^[8] His comedies are spoken of in the highest terms by the ancient writers, and under the Empire they not only continued to be read, but were even acted, of which an example occurs in the time of Nero.^[9][10][11] They seem to have been well known even at the latter end of the 4th century AD.^[12]

Quintilian's judgement

The Spanish-Roman teacher of rhetoric Quintilian wrote of Afranius's plays:^[13]

Togātīs excellit Afrānius: utinam non inquināsset argūmenta puerōrum foedīs amōribus, mōrēs suōs fassus.

("Afranius excelled in Roman-style comedies: if only he hadn't polluted his plots with disgusting sexual affairs with boys, confessing his own habits.")

Surviving titles and fragments

Afranius wrote many comedies. The titles of forty-two of his plays are still preserved, along with associated fragments and quotations:

References