‘There is more to a beginning than just a start.’ This is how Sander M. Goldberg concluded a recent article (2007a: 29) on appreciating ‘archaic literature’ as both a work of art in its own right and a step within the literary development. He also warned against regarding early literature as primitive and soon to be superseded. This is indeed a perspective often foisted on early writers by later scholars (ancient and modern) and prevents modern recipients from realizing achievements as well as deficiencies in unbiased fashion.

It is in this context that the present work wishes to place itself, by making a contribution to a clearer understanding of the sweeping and imprecise term ‘Roman Republican drama’. Although the nature of the limited evidence presents particular methodological difficulties, it is important to make at least an attempt at getting a more precise view of the different stages and varieties of drama in Republican Rome, both for a proper appreciation of this literary genre and also with regard to Roman literature and culture. Though well aware of the various pitfalls and remaining uncertainties, this book therefore sets out to provide a synoptic overview of Roman drama over the course of the Republican period, exploring connections and developments among the various dramatic genres in their contemporary context, and thereby to offer a useful tool both to readers interested in Roman Republican drama and its role in Roman society and to those studying Roman literary history more generally.