Ennius, Quintus
Ennius, Quintus (239–169 BC),an immigrant of upper-class Messapian origin brought to Rome in 204 by Cato the Elder (consul 195) and given the citizenship in 184 by Quintus Fulvius Nobilior (consul 153). Cato found him serving in a Calabrian regiment of the Roman army in Sardinia. At Rome he made himself acceptable to the Cornelii, the Sulpicii, and the Caecilii as well as to the Fulvii. He lived in a modest house on the Aventine and taught Greek and Latin grammar to the young men of the great families. He composed plays for the public festivals down to the year of his death, although never, like Livius Andronicus, acting roles in them. He also composed a large amount of non-dramatic verse and at least one work in prose. Marcus Fulvius Nobilior took him on his staff to Aetolia in 189. Biographers noted a fondness for alcohol and declared him to have died of gout.
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