Titus Maccius Plautus, Poenulus [The Little Carthaginian]

Tommaso Gazzarri (Union College, New York)

Ed. by Sophia Papaioannou, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.2: Ancient Roman Writing and Culture (Republic and Empire), -750-476.
Vol. editors: Anca Dan (École Practique de Hautes Études PSL), Martine Diepenbroek (University of Johannesburg), William John Dominik (University of Otago), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Victoria Fendel (University of Oxford), Thomas Habinek (University of Southern California), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Sophia Papaioannou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Guendalina Daniela Maria Taietti (University of Liverpool), Jula Wildberger (American University of Paris)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 219 - c. 184

Places

Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire) (Country of Origin; Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Comedy
Drama

Resources

Save to Bookshelf

Poenulus

(“the little Carthaginian”) is 15th among Plautus’ comedies as selected and arranged by Varro (Varronian series). The text of the play is not particularly problematic, but the numerous sections in Punic have caused extensive textual and interpretative issues.

Date

All scholars agree that Plautus most likely composed Poenulus around the time of the second Punic war (218-201 BCE). Nonetheless the possibility of pinpointing a more specific date could prove most useful for the interpretation of the play. Indeed, there are several occasions in the play where one may identify allusions to specific historical events. The so described “period of peace” at ll. 524-5 could allude to the pacification of Aetolia – a location mentioned in the comedy – which dates to the year

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

2008 words

Citation: Gazzarri, Tommaso. "Poenulus". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 September 2016 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35813, accessed 26 December 2024.]