10 - Terence, Plautus and the atellana

Summary

Comoedia atellana

The fabula atellana was developed by the Oscans in Campania and taken over by the Latins at an early stage (Livy 7.2 and Val. Max. 2.4). This form of comedy was particularly popular during the first century BC and took its literary form in the works of Pomponius Bononiensis – of his comedies seventy titles and almost two hundred lines have survived – and Novius, Pomponius' contemporary atellana author – of his work forty-four titles and 118 lines survives. Novius' sense of humour had the approval of Cicero, who praises three of his jokes in De or. 2.

Velleius Paterculus (Macr. Sat. II. 12) claims that Pomponius was a contemporary of Rutilius Rufus, Claudius Quadrigarius and Valerius Antia. Therefore one should place his floruit between 150 and 70 BC. Among his works one finds titles of togata plays (Augur, Fullones) and parodies of ancient myth (Agamemnon suppositus, Armorum iudicia). Most of the titles of his plays, however, show a real interest in the simple everyday life of Roman people and are full of the circular atellana figures (Bucco, Dossenus etc.). Novius started his dramatic activity a year after Pomponius. His plays also have typical atellana figures (Duo Dosseni, Bucco exsul etc.), present the life of the Italian countryside (Fullones, Decuma etc.) and have typical Italian titles in -aria (Gallinaria, Lignaria, Tabellaria, Togularia).