Origins & Early Life

Quintus Fabius Pictor (born c. 270 BC, fl. c. 215–200 BC) was the earliest known Roman historian.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

His history, written in Greek and now mostly lost besides some surviving fragments, was highly influential on ancient writers and certainly participated in introducing Greek historiographical methods to the Roman world. However, the work was highly partisan towards Rome, blaming the Second Punic War (218–201 BC) on Carthage and idealizing the Roman Republic as a well-ordered state loyal to its allies. Fabius probably served as praetor, was a member of the Senate, and participated in a delegation sent to the oracle at Delphi in 216 BC. Some scholars consider him one of the earliest annalists, although this conclusion has been criticized. Quintus Fabius Pictor was born ca.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

270 BC to a prestigious patrician family of the Roman Republic, the gens Fabia. The cognomen Pictor (Latin for 'painter') was inherited from his grandfather, Gaius Fabius Pictor, who had decorated the temple of Salus in 304. His father, Gaius Fabius Pictor, was consul in 269. Fabius participated in Roman campaigns against the Gauls and the Ligurians in Cisalpine Gaul during the 230s. In 233, he was presumably...

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