Poenulus (‘little Carthaginian’), Roman comedy by Plautus. The two daughters of Hanno, a Carthaginian, who were stolen from him in their childhood, have been bought by a pimp and taken to Sicyon (in Greece). In the same place is living Agorastoclēs, son of Hanno's cousin (and the ‘little Carthaginian’ of the title); he likewise was stolen in infancy and has been adopted by a wealthy citizen of Sicyon. He has fallen in love with the elder of the sisters, not knowing of their kinship to him. He and his slave devise a plot for ruining the pimp in order to free the girl. Meanwhile Hanno, who has been searching every country for his daughters, arrives at Sicyon; he discovers them and his relative Agorastocles, recovers the girls, and bestows the elder on her lover. Some of Hanno's speeches appear to be in the Carthaginian language.
Poenulus
| Classical Literature Companion: Poenulus |
| Wikipedia: Poenulus |
| Poenulus | |
|---|---|
 Plautus |
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| Written by | Plautus |
| Characters | Agorastocles Milphio Adelphasium Anterastilus Lycus Antamonides counselors Collybisucus Syncerastus Hanno Giddenis slave boy |
| Setting | a street in Calydon, Before the houses of Agorastocles and Lycus, and the Temple of Venus |
Poenulus, also called The Little Carthaginian or The Puny Punic, is a Latin comedic play for the early Roman theatre by Titus Maccius Plautus. The play is noteworthy for containing text in Carthaginian Punic, spoken by the character Hanno in the fifth act.
Plot
Agorastocles is in love with Adelphasium, a slave belonging to the pimp Lycus. Like Agorastocles, she and her sister Anterastilus were stolen from Carthage when they were children and sold. Agorastocles was purchased not to become a slave but rather adopted as a son, whereas the girls were bought to become prostitutes.
Milphio, the slave of Agorastocles, attempts to help his master obtain Adelphasium. Their plan is to trick Lycus and get him into legal trouble. Eventually, Hanno arrives from Carthage, and they soon discover he is the cousin of Agorastocles' parents as well as the father of the two girls. The pimp loses in the end, and the story concludes with a happy family reunion. Hanno gives Agorastocles his blessing to marry his daughter.
Translations
- Henry Thomas Riley, 1912: Poenulus full text
- Paul Nixon, 1916-38
- Janet Burroway, 1970
External links
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 | Plautus (Ancient Roman writer) |
| Moderation in all things |
| A woman and a ship ever want mending |
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 | Classical Literature Companion. The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature. Copyright © 1993, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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Mentioned in
- Plautus (Ancient Roman writer)
- Moderation in all things
- A woman and a ship ever want mending
- comedy
