Duel of playwrights

In 46 BCE, during his triumph, Julius Caesar announced a competition for playwrights for writing. The two most important participants were Decimus Laberius and Publilius Syrus.

Ultimately, Syrus won the grand prize – a million sesterces. Noteworthy, however, is the prologue to the writing of Laberius in which there were several malicious allusions to the person of Caesar. It was in the prologue that the words were said: “he must fear many, whom many fear”, which can be seen as the announcement of the grim future of Caesar.

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