Roscius
1.
Lucius, a Roman ambassador sent to Fidenae in B.C. 438.
2.
Sextius, of Ameria, a town in Umbria, accused of
the murder of his father, and defended by Cicero (B.C. 80) in an oration which is still
extant.
3.
Quintus, the most celebrated comic actor at Rome,
was a native of Solonium, a small place in the neighbourhood of Lanuvium. His histrionic
powers procured him the favour of many of the Roman nobles, and, among others, of the
dictator Sulla , who presented him with a gold ring, the symbol of equestrian rank. Roscius
enjoyed the friendship of Cicero, who constantly speaks of him in terms both of admiration
and affection. Roscius was considered by the Romans to have reached such perfection in his
profession that it became the fashion to call every one who became particularly distinguished
in the histrionic art by the name of Roscius. He realized an immense fortune by his
profession, and died in B.C. 62. See
Histrio.
4.
Otho. See
Otho.
