long narrative poem that, for the ancients, detailed the deeds
of a single hero or band of heroes. Th is heroic story plays out
among a large cast of other characters, both human and di-
vine, with the latter oft en aiding or hindering the hero. It was
the heroic nature of the epic that led the Romans and Greeks
to hold it in such high regard. Th e Greek models for the Ro-
man epics were the Iliad and Odyssey of the poet Homer (fl.
ca. ninth century b.c.e.).
Th e common meter for the epic is dactylic hexameter.
Meter is the poem’s rhythm, which is determined by the pat-
tern of its lines. Each line of classical poetry is divided into
sections known as feet; in each foot a set number of syllables
occurs in a specifi c order. In classical verse some of these syl-
lables are long and some short, the longer taking more time to
say than the shorter. Long syllables generally contain a long
vowel or a short vowel followed by two consonants, while
short syllables have a short vowel. For example, in English the
“a” in day is long, while that in hat is short. A line of dactylic
hexameter has six feet; in each foot, known as a dactyl, is a
long syllable followed by two short ones. Other types of feet
also exist. Th e iamb, for example, has a short syllable followed
by a long one.
OTHER GREEK-INSPIRED ROMAN POETRY
Also borrowed from the Greek is the elegy, a short poem that
alternates a line of dactylic hexameter with one of dactylic
pentameter, a line of fi ve rather than six feet. A hexameter
and pentameter line together form a two-line unit, known as
an elegiac couplet, with each couplet presenting a complete
thought. Th e subject of the Roman elegy is mainly love, de-
tailing the passion and trials of a lover.
Lyric poetry also entered Rome from Greece. Generally
short, lyric poetry expresses the poet’s emotions or state of
mind. A lyric poem usually has a single focus: love, sadness,
or regret, for instance. Originally meant to be sung, this po-
etic form derives its name from the lyre, the stringed musi-
cal instrument that once accompanied the singer. For the
most part, however, Roman lyric poetry was meant to be read
rather than sung.
Th e epigram is another Roman form derived from the
Greek. Typically composed of a single elegiac couplet, it pres-
ents a witty observation about love, the gods, morality, or hu-
man activities. Pastoral poetry, which idealizes country life
and oft en focuses on the loves of shepherds and shepherd-
esses, is also of Greek origin.
THE ROMAN NATURE OF LATIN POETRY
Although Roman poetry owes much to Greek poetry, it re-
tains features of earlier Roman verse, such as the favorite
device of alliteration. In alliteration two or more words in a
line have the same initial sound. In English, for instance, the
words of the childhood jingle “Peter Piper picked a peck of
pickled peppers” are alliterative. More important, the subject
matter of Latin verse is Roman. Roman deeds, heroes, history,
and values provided the subjects of Roman verse. Roman fail-
ings also became the subject of satire, the only important na-
t ive Roma n form of poet r y a ft er the third century b.c.e. Satire
criticizes, oft en both humorously and harshly, the faults of
Romans, particularly hypocrisy and bad behavior. In satire
the author typically addresses the reader directly; sometimes
the writer’s tone is mocking, while at other times it is cynical
or sneering, and the language can be obscene. Roman epi-
grams are frequently satiric.ROMAN PROSE
Although much satire was written in verse, it could also be in
prose or a combination of poetry and prose. Roman prose was
much less strongly infl uenced by Greek traditions than was
poetry. Out of funeral orations came biographies and, later,
imperial autobiographies. From Roman public speeches grew
a whole body of political and judicial writing. From a desire
to argue persuasively in public debate came a host of works
on rhetoric, the study of principles and techniques that aid in
the eff ective presentation and defense of a line of reasoning.
Other native Roman prose works included letters, frequently
meant for publication, and novels; the latter were considered
mainly a low form of entertainment, however.
Despite its generally native roots, Roman prose shows
Greek infl uence, particularly in the writing of histories and
philosophy that used Greek models (some history and phi-
losophy appeared as verse). Initially, Roman histories were
written in Greek because Latin was thought to lack the vo-
cabulary needed for historical writing. Using Greek also al-
lowed Roman authors to propagandize Rome’s right to rule
the Greek city-states.THE NEW LITERATURE
Greek-inspired Roman literature began with Livius Androni-
cus (ca. 284–ca. 204 b.c.e.), a Greek slave from Tarentum
who eventually won his freedom. Although he was mostly a
playwright, Livius also translated the Odyssey into Latin; his
translation would prove to be popular for the next two cen-
turies. Instead of the Greek dactylic hexameter, Livius used a
native Roman meter known as Saturnian. Each line of Satur-
nian verse is divided into just two feet, separated by a caesura,
that is, a break denoting a pause. Th e second foot is either
shorter or the same length as the fi rst. Reading Saturnian
verse may have depended on a sequence of long and short syl-
lables or on a succession of accented and unaccented syllables,
the former being emphasized, or stressed, during pronuncia-
tion. Livius probably used Saturnian meter to make his work
more accessible to the Romans, who were still mostly unfa-
miliar with Greek poetry. Gnaeus Naevius (ca. 270–ca. 201
b.c.e.) also used Saturnian meter in his epic poem on the First
Punic War, Bellum Punicum. Aft er Naevius, Saturnian meter
disappeared from Roman poetry.
It was Quintus Ennius (239–169 b.c.e.) who fi rst intro-
duced Greek meter to Roman verse. Born of Greek and Italian
parents in southern Italy, in 204 b.c.e. he arrived in Rome,
where he became one of the foremost authors of his time. Aliterature: Rome 661