How Roman Comedy Was a Product of its Time
This is an essay written for one of my undergraduate courses CLA387 Spectacle in the Roman World
When trying to understand the sudden introduction and acceptance of Roman comedy in the third century BCE, there is far more to unpack than the traditional Roman narrative would suggest. According to Cicero, the first Greek style play performed in Rome was by Livius Andronicus in 240 BCE. There is much to question about this date: the fact is, 240 BCE and Livius Andronicus seems to be, in part at least, a fabrication by later Romans. The Romans had access to performances, comedy, and theater long before the Greeks and Livius Andronicus brought in their own style. The Romans of 240 BCE would have had particular tastes and interests in what they wanted to see on the stage and it is this distinct cultural identity that caused playwrights to adapt Greek plays in specific ways that catered to the Roman audience. The plays created in this vein became massive successes, becoming a considerable part of the Roman festival tradition in the second century BCE. In 240 BCE, Rome emerged from its largest and most consequential war yet: the First Punic War. This year is the first year that sees Rome as a true superpower in the Mediterranean, and the entertainment that the Romans enjoy becomes more cosmopolitan, like their new empire.
