Publilius Syrus

Publilius Syrus ( also wrong Publius Syrius, first name and dates unknown ) was a Roman mime -author in the 1st century BC

According to Pliny the Elder Publilius Syrus came from Antioch and came to Rome as a slave. His real name is unknown, Syrus, the slave name that indicates its origin. The name Publilius he received after his last master, who freely let him. After his release he had with his literary mimes, in which he also appeared himself as an actor, success in the cities of Italy. In 46 BC he won in a Improvisation Competition at the Games, which were hosted by Julius Caesar, against his literary rivals, the Roman knights Decimus Laberius. This had been forced Caesar to participate in the contest.

The mimes of Publilius Syrus are all lost. His after-effect is due to a collection of his sayings, the Sententiae. These were soon school curriculum and were widely according to the Late Antiquity. It is about 700 iambic or trochaic one-liners, in alphabetical order, with moral maxims (eg " Many must fear, whom many fear "). It is thought that the collection was greatly expanded in the Middle Ages, so that only a part of Proverbs can be regarded as authentic. Especially in the Sententiae humanism were popular reading; demonstrate the numerous issues at this time.

The sentences have been preserved in various manuscripts: the Collectio Palatina, the Collectio Senecae ( compilation of Seneca ), the Caecilii Balbi collectio minor and maior ( smaller and larger the Caecilius Balbus attributed compilation ), the Collectio Turicensis (Zurich collection ), the Collectio frisingensis ( Freising collection ) and the Collectio Veronensis ( Veronese collection).

Expenditure

  • Hermann Beckby (ed. ): The sayings of Publilius Syrus. Latin - German ( Tusculum library ). Heimeran, Munich 1969.
  • Otto Friedrich ( ed.): Publilii Syri Mimi Sententiae. Olms, Hildesheim, 1964 ( reprint of the edition Berlin 1880).
  • Otto Skutsch: Publilius 28). In: Pauly Realencyclopädie of classical archeology (RE). Volume XXIII, 2, Stuttgart 1959, Sp 1920 to 1928.
Roman aristocracy Integrated Authority File
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