is Plautus' most exotic play, and was one of the sources for Shakespeare's
The Tempest(1611): see further Louden (1999). Though no internal evidence definitively dates
Rudens, it is usually assumed to be one of Plautus' later plays (ca 190-185 BCE). In the prologue (32), Plautus' Greek source play is revealed to be by Diphilus (b. 360-350 BCE), though the title is not given.
Rudens is set on the Libyan coast near Cyrene, which was a Greek colony dating back to the 7th century BCE. In contrast to the typically urban setting of Roman comedy (usually Athens), the action takes place near the seashore in a largely uninhabited and uncultivated locale, save for the small cottage and farm of Daemones, an Athenian ex-patriot, and a shrine of Venus that is staffed by a single priestess
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Citation: Christenson, David M.. "Rudens". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 May 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=26471, accessed 22 November 2024.]
