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Terence

File:Portrait_of_Terence_from_Vaticana,_Vat._lat.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Also known as Publius Terentius Afer, Terentius

Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a playwright during the Roman Republic. He was the author of six comedies based on Greek originals by Menander or Apollodorus of Carystus. All six of Terence's plays survive complete and were originally produced between 166 and 160 BC.

OverviewAI-generated

Publius Terentius Afer, known as Terence, was a male poet, writer, and playwright born in Carthage in 185 BCE. He wrote in Latin and Ancient Greek, producing works in the comedy genre. His social classification included freedman and slavery, and he held citizenship in Carthage and Ancient Rome. Terence died in 159 BCE at Lake Stymphalia due to drowning.

His literary output is recorded in various sources, with a total of 5 works listed by Crossref and 36 works identified by Europeana. One of his works is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. He is described in the Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition, Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Pauly–Wissowa, and The Nuttall Encyclopaedia.

Synthesized by Vinony from 41 facts across 8 sources: Wikidata, Crossref, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, Wikiquote, Europeana Sparql, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Key facts

Writer.name
Terence
Writer.birth_name
Publius Terentius Afer
Writer.image
Portrait of Terence from Vaticana, Vat. lat.jpg
Writer.caption
Terence, 9th-century illustration, possibly copied from 3rd-century original
Writer.years_active
166–160 BC
Writer.death_date
c. 159? BC
Writer.occupation
Playwright
Writer.language
Latin
Writer.genre
Fabula palliata
Writer.period
Roman Republic

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Gender
male
Citizenship
Ancient Rome
Place of birth
Carthage
Place of death
Lake Stymphalia
Occupation
playwright
Languages spoken
Ancient Greek
Notable work
Andria
Genre
comedy
Image
Terence cropped.png
Work location
Ancient Rome
Show 15 more facts
topic's main category
Category:Publius Terentius Afer
Commons category
Publius Terentius Afer
date of birth
0185-00-00
date of death
0159-00-00
Commons gallery
Publius Terentius Afer
praenomen
Publius
cause of death
drowning
Commons Creator page
Publius Terentius Afer
writing language
Latin
social classification
slavery
name in native language
P. Terentius Afer
topic has template
Template:Terence
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

Works in European collections

36 objects attributed to Terence, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana

~43 min read

Encyclopedic overview

19 sections
Contents
  • Life and career
  • Conditions of performance
  • The ''didascaliae''
  • The prologues
  • Suetonian biography
  • Name and ethnicity
  • Dates
  • Plays
  • Ancient commentary
  • Manuscripts of Terence
  • Cultural legacy
  • See also
  • References
  • Editions
  • Works of Terence
  • Individual plays
  • Ancient commentary
  • Further reading
  • External links

Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a playwright during the Roman Republic. He was the author of six comedies based on Greek originals by Menander or Apollodorus of Carystus. All six of Terence's plays survive complete and were originally produced between 166 and 160 BC.

According to ancient authors, Terence was born in Carthage and was brought to Rome as a slave, where he gained an education and his freedom; around the age of 25, Terence is said to have made a voyage to the east in search of inspiration for his plays, where he died either of disease in Greece, or by shipwreck on the return voyage. However, Terence's traditional biography is often thought to consist of speculation by ancient scholars who lived too long after Terence to have access to reliable facts about his life.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Terence” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (28)