or A'TTIUS, an early Roman tragic poet and the son of a freedman, was born according to
Jerome Brut. 28.)
His tragedies were chiefly imitated from the Greeks, especially from Aeschylus.
he also wrote some on Roman subjects (
We possess only fragments of his tragedies, of which the most important have been
preserved by Cicero, but sufficient remains to justify the terms of admiration in which he
is spoken of by the ancient writers. He is particularly praised for the strength and vigour
of his language and the sublimity of his thoughts. (Cic. pro Planc. 24,
pro Sest. 56, &c. ;
The fragments of his tragedies have been collected by
Besides the tragedies, he also wrote Annales in verse, containing the
history of Rome, like those of Ennius.
The prose
The