The Rope (Latin: Rudens) is a Latin comedy by Plautus, written in the late third century BCE. Set in Cyrene in North Africa, it is one of the best regarded of his surviving plays. The story centres on the girl Palaestra, who is in thrall to the pimp Labrax, until their shipwreck off the coast initiates a sequence of events which will reveal her true identity. Read more
Authors & Books
Pseudolus is a Latin comedy by Plautus, originally produced in 191 BC. The title character is a slave whose master's son is in love with a girl who is to be sold to a Macedonian soldier. The play was probably based on an unknown Greek model, and its characters feature many stock types from the New Comedy. Read more
The Epistles (Latin: Epistulae) of Horace are two volumes of poems of which the first was probably published in 20 or 19 BCE. They are written in the form of letters, and critics have long debated whether this is simply a literary device, or reflects some genuine correspondence. In Epistle 1, Horace claims to have abandoned lyric poetry for philosophy, and a strong element of epicureanism pervades the work, informing many memorable sayings. Read more
