Poenulus
| Poenulus | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Plautus |
| Characters | Agorastocles Milphio Adelphasium Anterastilus Lycus Antamonides Counselors Collybiscus Syncerastus Hanno Giddenis slave boy |
| Date premiered | c. 195–189 BC |
| Place premiered | Rome |
| Original language | Latin, Punic |
| Genre | Roman comedy |
| Setting | a street in Calydon, Before the houses of Agorastocles and Lycus, and the Temple of Venus |
Poenulus, also called The Little Carthaginian or The Little Punic Man, is a Latin comedic play for the early Roman theatre by Titus Maccius Plautus, probably written between 195 and 189 BC. The play is noteworthy for containing text in Carthaginian Punic, spoken by the character Hanno in the fifth act. Another remarkable feature is the sympathetic portrayal of the character of the Carthaginian Hanno at a time when only a few years previously the Romans had suffered huge losses in the 2nd Punic War fought against the Carthaginian general Hannibal (218–202 BC).
The play shows signs of having been reworked, possibly for a second production, since there are two endings.