Biography
Terence (Publius Terentius Afer) was born, according to differing ancient traditions, around 195/194 or 185/184 BC in Carthage; his surname 'Afer' points to Berber origins. Brought to Rome as a slave, he entered the household of the senator Terentius Lucanus, who had him educated and later freed him, after which Terence took his name. He was close to the Hellenophile circle around the Scipio family and wrote six comedies between 166 and 160 BC, the only complete set of plays to survive from Roman comic drama. He died around 159/158 BC, reportedly on a journey through Greece from which he never returned. Cicero later praised the elegance of his Latin, and his plays remained standard school texts for Latin instruction well into the Renaissance.
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