Titus Maccius Plautus, Curculio [The Weevil]

Sophia Papaioannou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens)

Ed. by Jula Wildberger, The American University of Paris, William John Dominik, University of Otago
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.2: Ancient Roman Writing and Culture (Republic and Empire), -750-476.
Vol. editors: William John Dominik (University of Otago), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Thomas Habinek (University of Southern California), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Sophia Papaioannou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Jula Wildberger (The American University of Paris)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. -193

Places

Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire) (Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Comedy
Play

Resources

The Date

We lack specific external information regarding the date of Curculio; no evidence is available about the festival at which the play was first brought on stage, either. The date of the play, however, may be estimated with high probability because it is entwined with the date of Trinummus: the name of Curculio, the leading character in the play, is reported in Trinummus 1016; there, the play’s slave Stasimus, who, contrary to the etymology of his name (“he who may stay still / behind”), enters the stage as a servus currens, is called “a trainee of Curculio” ([huic] Curculiost exercitor: is hun hominem cursuram docet, “Curculio is his trainer: he has been …

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4407 words

Citation: Papaioannou, Sophia. "Curculio". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 September 2011 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=33492, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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