Description: An introduction to this comedy about family, home, displacement, and identity in a Mediterranean world transformed by Rome's foreign wars.
Brief description: Thomas Biggs is Lecturer in Latin at the University of St Andrews, UK. He is the author of Poetics of the First Punic War (2020) and co-editor of The Epic Journey in Greek and Latin Literature (2019).
Review Quotes:
"With extraordinary learning, wit, and sensitivity, Tom Biggs finally brings Plautus and his Poenulus into the 21st century. An indispensable tool for teaching and researching one of the most enlightening Latin literary texts on the complex socio-cultural dynamics of the ancient Mediterranean world." --Elena Giusti, Assistant Professor of Latin, University of Cambridge, UK
"In engaging and accessible prose, Tom Biggs introduces the reader to Plautus' Poenulus, covering stagecraft, literary themes, socio-historical contexts, and the play's long afterlife. His most exciting accomplishment is his innovative accounting for Punic materials in his analysis of "The Little Carthaginian." This book is a must-read." --Mathias Hanses, Associate Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies, Penn State University, USA