Fabius Dorsennus (also spelled Dossennus or Dossenus) was a
thespian
Thespian may refer to:
* A citizen of the Ancient Greek city of Thespiae
* An actor or actress
** Thespis, the first credited actor
* A member of the International Thespian Society
The International Thespian Society (ITS) is an honor society ...
and author of
Atellan Farce in
Ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
, known for his careless performances. According to
Seneca his epitaph was: "Halt, stranger, and understand Dossennus' wisdom".
[''Epistulae ad Lucilium'', 89, 7. ''hospes resiste et sophian Dossenni lege.'']
Description
There is some confusion regarding this figure from ancient Roman theater. In one of his epistles,
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...
mentions a Dossennus:
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...
, however, refers to a Fabius Dossennus as the author of "Acharistio," one of the
Atellanae Fabulae, in his ''Natural History''. Pliny writes:
Other uses
Dossennus was also the name of a
stock character
A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a type of character in a narrative (e.g. a novel, play, television show, or film) whom audiences recognize across many narratives or as part of a storytelling tradition or convention. Th ...
of the
Atellanae Fabulae, perhaps named after Fabius Dorsennus.
References
Sources
Pliny the Elder, ''Natural History'', Book XIV(Original text)
Pliny the Elder, ''Natural History'', Book XIV(English translation)
{{authority control
1st-century BC Romans
1st-century BC writers
Ancient Roman comic dramatists
Fabii