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{{Short description|Roman poet and literary scholar (170–c.86 BC)}}
{{Infobox writer
{{Infobox writer
| name = Lucius Accius
| name = Lucius Accius
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| birth_date = 170 BCE
| birth_date = 170 BC
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| birth_place = [[Pisaurum]]
| death_date = c.86 BCE
| death_date = c. 86 BC
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}}
}}

'''Lucius Accius''' (170 - c. 86 BC), or '''Lucius Attius''',<ref name="OCD">{{Cite book
'''Lucius Accius''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|k|s|i|ə|s}}; 170 – c. 86 BC), or '''Lucius Attius''',<ref name="OCD">{{Cite book | last = Jocelyn | first = H.D. | contribution = Accius, Lucius | editor-last = Hornblower | editor-first = Simon | title = [[Oxford Classical Dictionary]] | volume = 1 | pages = 3 | publisher = Oxford University Press | place = Oxford | year = 1996 }}</ref> was a [[Roman Republic|Roman]] tragic [[poet]] and literary scholar. Accius was born in 170 BC at [[Pisaurum]], a town founded in the [[Ager Gallicus]] in 184 BC.<ref>[[Livy|Titus Livius]], ''[[Ab urbe condita|Ab Urbe Condita]]'', xxxix, 44</ref> He was the son of a [[Freedman#Ancient Rome|freedman]] and a freedwoman,<ref name="DCA222">{{Cite book|last=Seyffert|first=Oskar|title=[[A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, Mythology, Religion, Literature & Art]]|publisher=Swan Sonneschein and Co.|year=1899|place=London|pages=2|contribution=Accius or Attius (Lucius)}}</ref> probably from Rome.<ref>[[Suetonius|Svetonius]], ''De Poetis, 8''</ref>
| last = Jocelyn

| first = H.D.
The year of his death is unknown, but he must have lived to a great age, since [[Cicero]]<ref>[[Cicero]], ''[[Brutus (Cicero)|Brutus]]'', 72–73</ref> (born 106 BC, hence 64 years younger) writes of having conversed with him on literary matters.<ref name="Chisholm">{{EB1911|inline=1|wstitle=Accius, Lucius|volume=1|page=114}}</ref>
| author-link =
⚫
| contribution = Accius, Lucius
| editor-last = Hornblower
| editor-first = Simon
| title = [[Oxford Classical Dictionary]]
| volume = 1
| pages = 3
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| place = Oxford
| year = 1996
| contribution-url =
| postscript = <!--None--> }}</ref> was a [[Roman Republic|Roman]] tragic [[poet]] and literary scholar. The son of a [[freedman#Ancient Rome|freedman]], Accius was born at [[Pisaurum]] in [[Umbria]], in 170 BC. The year of his death is unknown, but he must have lived to a great age, since [[Cicero]] (born 106 BC, hence 64 years younger) speaks of having conversed with him on literary matters.<ref>[[Cicero]], ''[[Brutus (Cicero)|Brutus]]'', 28</ref>


==Literary works==
==Literary works==
He was a prolific writer and enjoyed a very high reputation.<ref>[[Horace]], ''Epistles'', ii.i, 56; [[Cicero]], ''[[s:Pro Cn. Plancio|Pro Plancio]]'', 24</ref> The titles and considerable fragments (about 700 lines) of some fifty plays have been preserved. Judging from the titles and fragments, scholars have surmised that most, if not all, of these poems were tragic in nature (although [[Pliny the Younger]] does rank him among the erotic poets).<ref name="OCD"/><ref>[[Pliny the Younger]], ''[[Pliny the Younger#Epistulae|Epistulae]]'' 5.6</ref>
Accius was a prolific writer and enjoyed a very high reputation.<ref>[[Horace]], ''Epistles'', ii.i, 56; [[Cicero]], ''[[s:Pro Cn. Plancio|Pro Plancio]]'', 24</ref> The titles and considerable fragments (about 700 lines) of some fifty plays have been preserved.<ref name=Chisholm/> Judging from the titles and fragments, scholars have surmised that most, if not all, of these poems were tragic in nature, although [[Pliny the Younger]] ranks him among the erotic poets.<ref name="OCD"/><ref>[[Pliny the Younger]], ''[[Pliny the Younger#Epistulae|Epistulae]]'' 5.6</ref> His career as a poet can be traced over the course of 36 years from B.C. 140, to B.C. 104.<ref name="DCA">{{Cite book|last=Seyffert|first=Oskar|title=[[A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, Mythology, Religion, Literature & Art]]|publisher=Swan Sonneschein and Co.|year=1899|place=London|pages=2|contribution=Accius or Attius (Lucius)}}</ref>


Most of his poetical works were imitations or free translations of the Greek, especially [[Aeschylus]]. The earliest of these was most likely the ''Atreus'', which was performed in 140 BC, but which is now lost.<ref>[[Cicero]], ''[[Brutus (Cicero)|Brutus]]'' 229</ref> He also wrote on some Roman subjects, one of which, an examination of the tyranny of [[Lucius Tarquinius Superbus|L.&nbsp;Tarquinius Superbus]]<!--Why is "Superbus" misspelled when "superbus" is a vocabulary word??--> and his expulsion by [[Lucius Junius Brutus]], titled ''Brutus'', and was probably written in honor of his patron [[Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus|D. Brutus]].<ref name="OCD"/><ref>[[Cicero]] ''[[De Legibus]]''. ii.21, ''[[s:Pro A. Licinio Archia poeta|Pro Archia Poeta]]''. 11</ref> His favorite subjects were the legends of the [[Trojan War]] and the house of [[Pelops]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia
Most of his poetical works were imitations or free translations of the Greek,<ref name=Chisholm/> especially [[Aeschylus]]. The earliest of these was most likely the ''Atreus'', which was performed in 140, but is now lost.<ref>[[Cicero]], ''[[Brutus (Cicero)|Brutus]]'' 229</ref> He also wrote on some Roman subjects, one of which, an examination of the tyranny of [[Lucius Tarquinius Superbus|L.&nbsp;Tarquinius Superbus]]<!--Why is "Superbus" misspelled when "superbus" is a vocabulary word??--> and his expulsion by [[Lucius Junius Brutus]], was titled ''Brutus'', and was probably written in honor of his patron [[Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus|D. Brutus]].<ref name="OCD"/><ref>[[Cicero]] ''[[De Legibus]]''. ii.21, ''[[s:Pro A. Licinio Archia poeta|Pro Archia Poeta]]''. 11</ref> His favorite subjects were the legends of the [[Trojan War]] and the house of [[Pelops]].<ref name=Chisholm /> While only fragments remain, the most important of which were preserved by Cicero, they seem sufficient to justify the terms of admiration in which Accius is spoken of by the ancient writers. He is particularly praised for the strength and vigor of his language, and the sublimity of his thoughts.<ref>[[Cicero]] ''[[s:Pro Cn. Plancio|pro Plancio]]'' 24, ''[[s:Pro Sestio|pro Sestio]]'' 56, &c.; [[Horace]] ''[[Epodes (Horace)|Epodes]]'' ii.1.56; [[Quintilian]] x.1. § 97; [[Aulus Gellius]] xiii. 2</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia | last = Smith | first = William | title = Accius, Lucius | encyclopedia = [[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]] | volume = 1 | pages = 6 | year = 1867 | url = http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0015.html | accessdate = 2007-08-18 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070405170239/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0015.html | archivedate = 2007-04-05 }}</ref> Although the [[grandiloquence]] of his literary style was on occasion mocked by some of his peers,<ref>Porph. ''Hor. Serm.'' 1.10.53</ref> he continued to be cited by other writers long after his death.<ref name="OCD"/>
| last =
| first =
| authorlink =
| title = [[s:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Accius, Lucius|Accius, Lucius]]
| encyclopedia = [[Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition]]
| volume = 1
| pages =
| publisher =
| location =
| year = 1911
| url =
| accessdate = 2007-08-18 }}</ref> While only fragments remain, the most important of which were preserved by Cicero, they seem sufficient to justify the terms of admiration in which Accius is spoken of by the ancient writers. He is particularly praised for the strength and vigor of his language and the sublimity of his thoughts,<ref>[[Cicero]] ''[[s:Pro Cn. Plancio|pro Plancio]]'' 24, ''[[s:Pro Sestio|pro Sestio]]'' 56, &c.; [[Horace]] ''[[Epode#Epodes of Horace|Epodes]]'' ii.1.56; [[Quintilian]] x.1. § 97; [[Aulus Gellius]] xiii. 2</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia
| last = Smith
| first = William
| authorlink =
| title = Accius, Lucius
| encyclopedia = [[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]
| volume = 1
| pages = 6
| publisher =
| location =
| year = 1867
| url = http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0015.html
| accessdate = 2007-08-18 }}</ref> and although the [[grandiloquence]] of his literary style was on occasion mocked by some of his peers,<ref>Porph. ''Hor. Serm.'' 1.10.53</ref> he continued to be cited by other writers long after his death.<ref name="OCD"/>


Accius wrote other works of a literary character: ''Libri Didascalicon'', a treatise in verse on the history of Greek and Roman poetry, and dramatic art in particular; also ''Libri Pragmaticon'', ''Parerga'', and ''Praxidica'', of which no fragments remain; and a [[hexameter]] ''Annales'' containing the history of Rome, like that of [[Ennius]].
Accius wrote other works of a literary character: ''Libri Didascalicon'', a treatise in verse on the history of Greek and Roman poetry, and dramatic art in particular; also ''Libri Pragmaticon'', ''Parerga'', and ''Praxidica'', of which no fragments remain; and a [[hexameter]] ''Annales''<ref name=Chisholm/> containing the history of Rome, like that of [[Ennius]].


==As a grammarian==
==As a grammarian==
Accius also attempted to introduce innovations in Latin [[orthography]] and [[grammar]], most of which were attempts to change written Latin to more faithfully reproduce its actual pronunciation. Few of these caught on,<ref name="OCD"/> although his preference against giving Greek names Latin endings had quite a few supporters, particularly [[Marcus Terentius Varro|Varro]], who dedicated his ''De antiquitate litterarum'' to Accius.<ref>[[Marcus Terentius Varro|Varro]], ''De lingua Latina'' 10.70</ref>
Accius also attempted to introduce innovations in Latin [[orthography]] and [[grammar]], most of which were attempts to change written Latin to more faithfully reproduce its actual pronunciation. Few of these caught on,<ref name="OCD"/> although his preference against giving Greek names Latin endings had quite a few supporters, particularly [[Marcus Terentius Varro|Varro]], who dedicated his ''De antiquitate litterarum'' to Accius.<ref>[[Marcus Terentius Varro|Varro]], ''De lingua Latina'' 10.70</ref>


A spelling convention of writing long vowels double (such as ''aa'' for long ''ā'') is also associated with him, and is found in texts concurrent with his lifetime {{Citation needed|date=June 2009}}.
A spelling convention of writing long vowels double (such as ''aa'' for long ''ā'') is also associated with him and is found in texts concurrent with his lifetime.<ref>{{cite book| last =Allen| first =W. Sidney| author-link =W._Sidney_Allen| title =Vox Latina: a Guide to the Pronunciation of Classical Latin| publisher =Cambridge University Press| edition =2nd| date =1978| pages =64| language =English| isbn =0521379369}}</ref>


==Politics and temperament==
==Politics and temperament==
Accius was politically conservative, and generally noted for his dignity and reserve. He did however believe that one with literary gifts, such as himself, ought to be accorded more respect than someone who, through no effort of their own, was merely born to nobility.<ref name="OCD"/> He was, by some accounts, a self-important man,<ref>''[[Rhetorica ad Herennium]]'' 1.24</ref> and some writers expressed a wry amusement at the larger-than-life statues of himself he had erected in the temple of the [[Muse]]s.<ref>[[Pliny the Elder]], ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historia]]'' 34.19</ref>
Accius was politically [[conservative]], and generally noted for his dignity and reserve. He did, however, believe that one with literary gifts, such as himself, ought to be accorded more respect than someone who, through no effort of their own, was merely born into the nobility.<ref name="OCD"/> He was, by some accounts, a self-important man,<ref>''[[Rhetorica ad Herennium]]'' 1.24</ref> and some writers expressed a wry amusement at the larger-than-life statues of himself that he had erected in the temple of the [[Muse]]s.<ref>[[Pliny the Elder]], ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historia]]'' 34.19</ref>


''Atreus'' featured the line ''[[List of Latin phrases: O|oderint dum metuant]]'' ("let them hate, so long as they fear"), later an infamous motto of [[Caligula]].
A fragment of Accius' play ''Atreus'' features the line ''[[List of Latin phrases: O|oderint dum metuant]]'' ("let them hate, so long as they fear").


==References==
== Citations ==
{{Reflist|colwidth=35em}}
{{Reflist|colwidth=35em}}


== General sources ==
==Bibliography==
* G. Manuwald, ''Accius und seine Zeit'' (Würzburg 2002).
* G. Manuwald, ''Accius und seine Zeit'' (Würzburg 2002).
* B. Baldarelli, ''Accius und die vortrojanische Pelopidensage'' (Paderborn 2004).
* B. Baldarelli, ''Accius und die vortrojanische Pelopidensage'' (Paderborn 2004).
⚫
* {{SmithDGRBM| title= Accius, Lucius}}


The cited {{EB1911|noprescript=1|wstitle=Accius, Lucius|volume=1|page=114|postscript=none}} also includes these authorities:
⚫
{{wikiquote}}

*{{1911}}
* Boissier, ''Le Poète Accius'', 1856
*{{SmithDGRBM}}
* [[Lucian Müller|L. Müller]], ''De Accii fabulis Disputatio'' (1890)
* [[Otto Ribbeck|Ribbeck]], ''Geschichte der römischen Dichtung'' (1892)
* Editions of the tragic fragments by Ribbeck (1897), of the others by [[Emil Baehrens|Bährens]] (1886)
* Plessis, ''Poésie latine'' (1909)

==External links==
⚫
* {{wikiquote-inline}}
* {{wikisourcelang-inline|la|Scriptor:Lucius Accius|Lucius Accius}}

⚫
{{Authority control}}


⚫
{{Authority control|VIAF=4905872}}
{{Persondata
| NAME = Accius, Lucius
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Poet; scholar
| DATE OF BIRTH =
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Accius, Lucius}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Accius, Lucius}}
[[Category:170 BC births]]
[[Category:170 BC]]
[[Category:1st-century BC deaths]]
[[Category:80s BC deaths]]
[[Category:2nd-century BC Romans]]
[[Category:2nd-century BC Romans]]
[[Category:1st-century BC Romans]]
[[Category:1st-century BC Romans]]
[[Category:2nd-century BC writers]]
[[Category:1st-century BC writers]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman tragic dramatists]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman tragic dramatists]]
[[Category:People from Pisaurum]]
[[Category:People from Pisaurum]]
[[Category:170s BC births]]
[[Category:Attii]]
[[Category:170 BC births]]
[[Category:Accii]]

Latest revision as of 13:00, 19 August 2023

Lucius Accius
Born170 BC
Pisaurum
Diedc. 86 BC
NationalityRoman

Lucius Accius (/ˈæksiəs/; 170 – c. 86 BC), or Lucius Attius,[1] was a Roman tragic poet and literary scholar. Accius was born in 170 BC at Pisaurum, a town founded in the Ager Gallicus in 184 BC.[2] He was the son of a freedman and a freedwoman,[3] probably from Rome.[4]

The year of his death is unknown, but he must have lived to a great age, since Cicero[5] (born 106 BC, hence 64 years younger) writes of having conversed with him on literary matters.[6]

Literary works

[edit]

Accius was a prolific writer and enjoyed a very high reputation.[7] The titles and considerable fragments (about 700 lines) of some fifty plays have been preserved.[6] Judging from the titles and fragments, scholars have surmised that most, if not all, of these poems were tragic in nature, although Pliny the Younger ranks him among the erotic poets.[1][8] His career as a poet can be traced over the course of 36 years from B.C. 140, to B.C. 104.[9]

Most of his poetical works were imitations or free translations of the Greek,[6] especially Aeschylus. The earliest of these was most likely the Atreus, which was performed in 140, but is now lost.[10] He also wrote on some Roman subjects, one of which, an examination of the tyranny of L. Tarquinius Superbus and his expulsion by Lucius Junius Brutus, was titled Brutus, and was probably written in honor of his patron D. Brutus.[1][11] His favorite subjects were the legends of the Trojan War and the house of Pelops.[6] While only fragments remain, the most important of which were preserved by Cicero, they seem sufficient to justify the terms of admiration in which Accius is spoken of by the ancient writers. He is particularly praised for the strength and vigor of his language, and the sublimity of his thoughts.[12][13] Although the grandiloquence of his literary style was on occasion mocked by some of his peers,[14] he continued to be cited by other writers long after his death.[1]

Accius wrote other works of a literary character: Libri Didascalicon, a treatise in verse on the history of Greek and Roman poetry, and dramatic art in particular; also Libri Pragmaticon, Parerga, and Praxidica, of which no fragments remain; and a hexameter Annales[6] containing the history of Rome, like that of Ennius.

As a grammarian

[edit]

Accius also attempted to introduce innovations in Latin orthography and grammar, most of which were attempts to change written Latin to more faithfully reproduce its actual pronunciation. Few of these caught on,[1] although his preference against giving Greek names Latin endings had quite a few supporters, particularly Varro, who dedicated his De antiquitate litterarum to Accius.[15]

A spelling convention of writing long vowels double (such as aa for long ā) is also associated with him and is found in texts concurrent with his lifetime.[16]

Politics and temperament

[edit]

Accius was politically conservative, and generally noted for his dignity and reserve. He did, however, believe that one with literary gifts, such as himself, ought to be accorded more respect than someone who, through no effort of their own, was merely born into the nobility.[1] He was, by some accounts, a self-important man,[17] and some writers expressed a wry amusement at the larger-than-life statues of himself that he had erected in the temple of the Muses.[18]

A fragment of Accius' play Atreus features the line oderint dum metuant ("let them hate, so long as they fear").

Citations

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f Jocelyn, H.D. (1996). "Accius, Lucius". In Hornblower, Simon (ed.). Oxford Classical Dictionary. Vol. 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 3.
  2. ^ Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, xxxix, 44
  3. ^ Seyffert, Oskar (1899). "Accius or Attius (Lucius)". A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, Mythology, Religion, Literature & Art. London: Swan Sonneschein and Co. p. 2.
  4. ^ Svetonius, De Poetis, 8
  5. ^ Cicero, Brutus, 72–73
  6. ^ a b c d e  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Accius, Lucius". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 114.
  7. ^ Horace, Epistles, ii.i, 56; Cicero, Pro Plancio, 24
  8. ^ Pliny the Younger, Epistulae 5.6
  9. ^ Seyffert, Oskar (1899). "Accius or Attius (Lucius)". A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, Mythology, Religion, Literature & Art. London: Swan Sonneschein and Co. p. 2.
  10. ^ Cicero, Brutus 229
  11. ^ Cicero De Legibus. ii.21, Pro Archia Poeta. 11
  12. ^ Cicero pro Plancio 24, pro Sestio 56, &c.; Horace Epodes ii.1.56; Quintilian x.1. § 97; Aulus Gellius xiii. 2
  13. ^ Smith, William (1867). "Accius, Lucius". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 1. p. 6. Archived from the original on 2007-04-05. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
  14. ^ Porph. Hor. Serm. 1.10.53
  15. ^ Varro, De lingua Latina 10.70
  16. ^ Allen, W. Sidney (1978). Vox Latina: a Guide to the Pronunciation of Classical Latin (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 64. ISBN 0521379369.
  17. ^ Rhetorica ad Herennium 1.24
  18. ^ Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia 34.19

General sources

[edit]

The cited  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Accius, Lucius". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 114 also includes these authorities:

  • Boissier, Le Poète Accius, 1856
  • L. Müller, De Accii fabulis Disputatio (1890)
  • Ribbeck, Geschichte der römischen Dichtung (1892)
  • Editions of the tragic fragments by Ribbeck (1897), of the others by Bährens (1886)
  • Plessis, Poésie latine (1909)
[edit]
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