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Publius Syrus Is the Latin Improviser Who Made the Quote You Need

Julio Cesar’s favorite creates provoking moral phrases.

Daniel Roncaglia
47 min readFeb 28, 2021
Colosseum — Roma, Italy: Photo by Mauricio Artieda on Unsplash

In Rome, the Mime Art differed from what we understand today -a dramatic gestural art without words.

In Ancient history, the Mime was a burlesque representation. In search of laughter, these popular presentations often made ironic with the elites.

Publius Syrus (85–43 BC) was one of the best in those presentations that resembled today’s rap battles.

There were still elements of television humor sketches in Mime. The stories were no linearity. At funerals, families hire Mime actors to imitate the deceased’s ways.

Born a slave in Syria, Publius goes to Rome at the age of 12. An army officer named Domitius brought him.

Domitius was soon surprised by the humor strips that Publilius. He then decided to finance his education.

In the following years, Publilius traveled throughout the Italian peninsula and acclaimed as an actor and poet.

In 46BC, at Julio Cesar’s festivities for the third consulate, Publilius won a theatrical clash organized by the emperor.

Fame seems to have ended his death. Only centuries later, he was brought back by Roman…

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