Clodius Aesopus

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Clodius Aesopus was a Roman tragedy poet who worked primarily in the time of Cicero , although his life data are unknown. The name seems to indicate that he was a freedman of a member of the gens Clodia .

Cicero was on friendly terms with him and with Roscius , the equally well-known actor , and did not disdain to benefit from her lessons. Plutarch (Cicero, 5) mentions this when he reports from Aesopus that during the portrayal of Atreus contemplating his revenge on Thyestes , in the heat of the performance the actor struck with his club and killed a servant who at that moment crossed the stage.

Aesopus was last found in 55 BC. Mentioned as a spectator at the games that were organized by Pompeius on the occasion of the opening of his theater. Cicero reports that he is of an advanced age. Despite his flamboyant life, he left an extensive fortune on his lavish son, who in turn did his best to squander it as quickly as possible. Horace ( Sat. iii. 3, 239) mentions that he took a pearl from the earrings of Caecilia Metella and dissolved it in vinegar for the pleasure of having a swallow value of 8,000 pounds (the original text is from the Encyclopædia Britannica from 1911, meaning pounds sterling in its value at the time).

swell

  • Cicero, De Divinatione , i. 37; per sestio , 56, 58
  • Quintilian , Instit. xi. 3, in
  • Macrobius , Sat. iii. 14th
personal data
SURNAME Aesopus, Clodius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman tragedy poet
DATE OF BIRTH 2nd century BC BC or 1st century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH after 55 BC Chr.