Telling Tales on Caesar: Roman Stories from PhaedrusThis book contains a dozen entertaining stories written in colloquial Latin verse newly translated and commented on by John Henderson. The author, Phaedrus, was a freeman of Augustus who put Aesop's Fables into five books of verse during the reign of Tiberius. He included a number of stories and anecdotes on everyday life situations as well as assorted satirical bits. Rarely read today, they take the reader to the heart of ancient Rome, into everyday corners of classical life and culture, high and low, during the reigns of the first emperors, Augustus and Tiberius. |
Contents
Praefanda | 4 |
Divus Augustus and | 33 |
Phaedrus Tale | 57 |
Good Hand | 95 |
Its the Real Thing Grunt Piggy Grunt | 119 |
Pompey the Great and the Queens | 131 |
King Demetrius meets the Poet | 151 |
The King and Dr Cobbler | 165 |
Emperor | 177 |
Endnotes | 195 |
| 245 | |
Index of Chief Passages Discussed in the Text and Notes | 275 |
Common terms and phrases
Aarne and Thompson actor Aesop Aesopic fable alapa anecdote Athens audience Augustan Augustus Bathyllus Caesar Callimachus Carm Chapter Classical Claudius culture Demetrius Demetrius of Phaleron Emperor Epil Eutychus Fabulae Fabularum Aesopiarum Libri fabulist fiction freedman Gaius Greek Havet Henderson Hist ibid imperial king Latin lion Livy look Menander narration narrative Oakley once Orpheus Parmeno Petron Phaedri Augusti Liberti Phaedrus piper Pisistratus Pithou Plaut play Plin Plut poem poet poetry political Polyb Pompey Pompey's Postgate Prince Princeps Prol proverb quam quod readers Roman Rome Satire Sejanus Seneca Serm sibi slave social stage story storyteller Suet Suetonius tale tell theatre Thracian Tiberius tibicine told turn uero uitae Virg vols Weinreich wife word writing καὶ