Fabula praetexta

Fabula praetexta is a Roman literary genre .

The fabulae praetextae are the tragedies of Latin literature named after the official costume of the higher Roman officials, the toga praetexta . The name should correspond to the high status of the tragedy with its high language. The fabula togata forms the contrast . It takes place in the Roman milieu.

The first example is the Praetexta Clastidium des Naevius , which describes the victory of Marcellus over a Gauls chief. Another piece is said to have been about Romulus.

The only completely preserved praetexta is Octavia . Although it is attributed to Seneca the Younger , it does not come from him, but from a poet of the Flavian period.

literature

• Michael von Albrecht : History of Roman Literature . Munich 2003.
• Eckard Lefèvre : The Roman drama . Darmstadt 1978.