Biography of Ennius

Epic quests

July 16 239 B.c.
October 8 169 Bc
Ennius was born in 239 Bc on July 16 Rudiae As he likes to call himself is a trilingual. Rudiae is a place (now located on the outskirts of the city of Lecce) in which a series of different dominations: the messapians, Greek colonists and the Osca population, the Romans. Ennio likes to think of himself as a trilingual oscan, Greek and Roman culture. He soon becomes friend of Cato, met in Sardinia during the Second Punic War, in which he took part as a soldier. Thanks to this friendship moved to Rome in 203 Bc in the capital of the Kingdom is consumed but the rift between the two friends: an irreconcilable difference of opinion about the influences of Greek culture on Roman culture; influences stubbornly denied by Cato. At this time, like many of his countrymen, Ennius is employed as a tutor at nobles and wealthy families and particularly at gli Scipioni, who welcome him and intertwined with him a solid and lasting relationship of patronage. This relationship will make even more incurable rupture with Cato, who in his robes to censor strongly condemns this type of relations.
The turning point in the literary career of Ennio occurs in the years between 189 and 187 B.c. when accompanying the Roman general Nobilior in its military campaign in Greece. Ennio wears the role of courtesan and poet devoted to General a work, probably a pretexta, namely a tragedy of Roman origin. In the work to enhance the quality of General, and Ennio military doing so again draws the ire of Cato, as this type of written is usually composed in praise of brave characters passed to a better life, and not still living characters. The rise of Ennio becomes unstoppable despite differences with Cato, and thanks to pretexta, receives the support not only of Nobilior, but also of the whole family of Scipioni. The pretexta also earned him the grant of Roman citizenship. It seems that underlying the increasingly strong enmity between Cato and Ennio there is precisely the question of citizenship, which the poet had asked uselessly at his old friend.
In the last years of his life he devoted himself entirely to writing the first epic poem in Latin: the "Annales". The works for which they are best known, though Ennius is without a doubt, the tragedies, the composition of which is inspired by Euripides and Homer. But above all, the first of which particularly appreciative of the study of the psychology of the characters. Its tragedies, about twenty cothurnate, will also be cited by later authors, including Cicero. Ennio engages also in the comedy after Plautus but with lower results than the tragedy. Unfortunately all of these compositions have survived only in fragments. Ennio often translates the Greek tragedies by using a literary technique called Focus, which is to adapt the tragedy to Roman taste without making a mere translation. With Ennio is also the introduction to Rome like satirist's work "Saturae ', a collection of episodes probably belonging to the life of the author himself. Of this work there are only about twenty fragments composed in metres as varied as senario and pentameter. Belongs to this composition "Scipio", poem written in honour of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, winner of the famous battle of Zama.
Most of his life is absorbed by the composition of the Annales, initiated according to some critics in the year of his arrival in Rome (203 BC) until the day of his death; According to others began in the time of maturity. It is in any case of a monumental work in 18 books, which Ennio publishes in groups of six or three books. Have come down to us about four hundred verses on thirty thousand. The intent with which Ennio comprised the Annales is to offer a Roman epic poem as opposed to the great epics of Greek origin, such as the Iliad and the Odyssey. In the preface, they encountered even in dream Ennio tells Homer, who tells him to be reincarnated as him for epic tales in verse the story of Rome. There are reports of the existence, in addition to the works mentioned above, a number of other works including: "Hedyphagètica", a youth-themed poem, "Sota", a poem in homage to the culture osca, and "Precepta" moral and cultural teachings series by his contemporaries. Quinto Ennio died in Rome the 8 October 169 Bc and was buried in the tomb of the scipios for both the undoubted artistic merit that for friendship that linked to the powerful Roman family.
Article contributed by the team of collaborators.