Livius Andronīcus, Lucius (c.284–204 BC), Roman writer. He was probably by origin a Greek of Tarentum, taken as a prisoner of war, after the fall of that city, to Rome in 272. (An alternative chronology in antiquity made him come to Rome in 209 after the Romans recaptured Tarentum from Hannibal.) He probably became tutor to the family of the father of M. Livius Salinātor, from whom he took his name when he was freed. It can be claimed that he is the father of Roman literature. He seems to have wanted to introduce Greek literature to the Romans, and translated Homer's Odyssey into the long-established Italian saturnian metre (see METRE, LATIN 1). His translation remained a school text-book for more than two centuries; forty-six lines of it survive. He is credited by Livy with introducing plot into the hitherto plotless Roman stage performances (see COMEDY, ROMAN 1); he did so for the first time in 240 (according to the earlier chronology), producing a tragedy and a comedy, probably based on a classical Greek tragedy and a play of New Comedy (see COMEDY, GREEK 6), for the celebrations to mark the end of the (First) Punic War. He continued as a playwright; the titles of at least eight tragedies are known, but very few lines; even less is known of the comedies. In 207 BC he was commissioned to compose a ‘maiden-song’ to Juno (see LYRIC POETRY 2). This does not survive; Livy considered the words too ‘unpleasing and graceless’ to quote, though good enough for the time at which they were written. As reward the temple of Minerva on the Aventine was set aside as a place where writers and actors might meet and make dedications as a collegium (‘guild’). His work was regarded by Cicero as antiquated and not worth reading, but his historical importance is considerable; he introduced to Roman literature Greek epic, drama, and lyric. Horace tells us that he used to learn Livius' Odyssey by heart, under threat of beating by Orbilius.

(lĭ'vēəs ăndrənī'kəs) , fl. 3d cent. B.C., Roman poet, a Greek, b. Tarentum (Taranto). He was captured and made a slave at the fall of Tarentum and was freed by his master, a Livian noble, hence his name. Later he became a teacher and an actor. He introduced Greek literature into Rome, translating the Odyssey and adapting Greek plays that he first produced in c.240 B.C. Sometimes called the founder of Roman drama, he composed and acted in the first comedy and the first tragedy in Latin (both adopted from Greek models). Only fragments of his works remain.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)