Project Gutenberg 2005-01-01 Public domain in the USA. 208 Plautus, Titus Maccius -254 -184 Plautus, Marcus Accius Riley, Henry T. (Henry Thomas) 1816 1878 Riley, Henry Thomas Riley, H.T. The Captivi and the Mostellaria Text file produced by David Starner, Blain Nelson, Ted Garvin and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team HTML file produced by David Widger "The Captivi and the Mostellaria" by Titus Maccius Plautus is a collection of two Roman plays that exemplifies the comedic aspects of ancient theater, likely written during the late 3rd century BC. The plays deal with themes such as mistaken identities, parental relationships, and the plight of captives, all while delivering humor through sharp dialogue and situational comedy. Key characters emerge: Hegio, the father desperate to rescue his son from captivity, and the captives, Philocrates and Tyndarus, who find themselves in a web of deception and exchange. The opening of the first play, "The Captivi," introduces the entangled narrative surrounding Hegio and his sons—one lost to slavery and the other a captive. The prologue establishes the backstory, where Philocrates and Tyndarus plot to swap identities in an attempt to manipulate their respective situations. As they navigate the complex roles of slaves and masters, the humor shines through in their schemes and the misunderstandings that arise. The interactions reveal a mix of desperation and cleverness among characters, setting the stage for further comedic exploits and illustrating the folly inherent in human endeavors. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 82.3 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Latin drama (Comedy) Plautus, Titus Maccius -- Translations into English PA Text Category: Plays/Films/Dramas Category: Classics of Literature 322307 2025-07-03T10:44:20.718702 text/html 328418 2013-05-15T11:48:32 text/html 186386 2025-07-03T10:44:28.684646 application/epub+zip 189123 2025-07-03T10:44:23.802703 application/epub+zip 181603 2025-07-03T10:44:22.560682 application/epub+zip 415772 2025-07-03T10:44:32.228710 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 372756 2025-07-03T10:44:27.842662 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 326802 2022-09-04T05:22:24.040220 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 257725 2025-07-03T10:44:19.717713 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 257379 2013-05-15T11:48:52 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 19400 2025-07-03T10:44:32.360633 application/rdf+xml 16226 2025-07-03T10:44:23.062734 image/jpeg 3871 2025-07-03T10:44:22.810671 image/jpeg 104094 2013-05-15T11:49:10 application/octet-stream application/zip 97313 2013-05-15T11:49:10 application/octet-stream application/zip 179028 2025-07-03T10:44:20.741700 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia en.wikipedia