Greek/Roman author and playwright from Tarento in Southern Italy. Lived in the third century BCE.
Livius came to Rome in 272 BCE as a Greek prisoner of war and slave. The Latin part of his name comes from the Roman who set him free.
Livius was the first to transmit the rich heritage of Greek culture to the Romans in Latin. In 240 BCE, he became the author of the first Roman play. Apart from his work as a playwright, he wrote a Latin version of Homer's Odyssey, which was to have a lasting effect on the development of Roman literature, until Vergil outdid him (with the Aeneid).