Fabius Dorsennus (also spelled Dossennus or Dossenus) was a thespian and author of Atellan Farce in Ancient Rome, known for his careless performances. According to Seneca his epitaph was: "Halt, stranger, and understand Dossennus' wisdom".Epistulae ad Lucilium, 89, 7. hospes resiste et sophian Dossenni lege.
Description
There is some confusion regarding this figure from ancient Roman theater. In one of his epistles, Horace mentions a Dossennus:
Pliny the Elder, however, refers to a Fabius Dossennus as the author of "Acharistio," one of the Atellanae Fabulae, in his Natural History. Pliny writes:
Other uses
Dossennus was also the name of a stock character of the Atellanae Fabulae, perhaps named after Fabius Dorsennus.
References
Sources Pliny the Elder, Natural History, Book XIV (Original text) Pliny the Elder, Natural History, Book XIV (English translation) History of Roman Literature (1877) Meyer, Maurice, Études sur le théâtre latin