Annāles
1.
The title of an epic poem by Quintus
Ennius
(q.v.), in which he aspired to treat the entire history of the Roman people in heroic style.
The poem was in eighteen books, arranged as follows: Bk. i., Introduction, Early Traditions,
Founding of Rome, Deification of Romulus; bks. ii. and iii., The Regal Period; bk. iv., The
Republic down to the burning of Rome by the Gauls; bk. v., The Samnite Wars; bk. vi., The War
with Pyrrhus; bk. vii., The First Punic War; bks. viii. and ix., The Second Punic War; bks.
x. and xi., The War with Macedonia; bks. xii., xiii. and xiv., The War with Syria; bk. xv.,
The Campaign of Fulvius Nobilior in Aetolia; bks. xvi., xvii., and xviii., From the Death of
Scipio to B.C. 172. (See
Epos.) There remain to us of
this great poem only fragments, of which the best edition is that of Vahlen
(1854). See also
Wordsworth, Fragments and Specimens of Early
Latin (1874); and Merry
(1892).
2.
A history by Cornelius
Tacitus (q.v.), treating
in sixteen books of the Roman Empire from the death of Augustus Caesar to the death of Nero.
