The poetry of Ennius was counted by Cicero, Virgil and many other major literary figures of the first century as the fountainhead of the most significant traditions of Roman poetry as they understood them. Ennius was an extraordinarily prolific and highly experimental writer, but he is best known today – and was perhaps then – for his epic Annales [“Annals”], a work in 18 books that covered Roman history from its origins to Ennius’ own day, which was written towards the end of his life. This epic was the first work of Roman poetry to be written in hexameter, the Greek metre in which the Homeric
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Citation: Elliott, Jacqueline. "Quintus Ennius". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 June 2006 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1431, accessed 26 April 2024.]
