All these dramatists apparently altered their originals freely in order to make the story and its meaning more plausible to a Roman audience. The _Medea_ of Ennius reveals many changes of this kind. For instance, the Latin author felt that he must prepare the audience early in the play for the gruesome death of the children,[7] a detail unnecessary in Euripides, who wrote for an audience that knew the plot. This kind of thing must have occurred frequently. Again, Ennius had to alter Medea’s long monologue, since before a Roman audience accustomed to seeing a matron in public, there was no point in making her apologize for appearing outside of the palace.[8] Ennius has here been needlessly accused of misunderstanding the Greek original! Ennius knew his Greek; he had learned it at school in Tarentum. His alterations were introduced to suit the psychology of his own audience. Similar changes are numerous and need not be dwelt upon. The alteration of the very purport of the plays is of more importance to us. For instance, Atreus, the old Greek tyrant of primitive brutality, was calculated to offend Roman taste. It is apparent from the fragments of Accius that it was the sufferings of Thyestes rather than the daring of Atreus which received sympathetic attention—a fact not surprising in a city where the word _rex_ was feared and hated. Euripides’ story of Andromeda had a matter-of-fact plot in which Andromeda’s father begged Perseus to slay the dragon and to rescue his daughter. This plot followed the myth and was expected in Athens. But not so at Rome. In Accius’ play Perseus is rather the chivalrous knight; he rescues the lady first and then pleads for her hand. Similarly, in the _Clytemestra_ of Accius one also finds a very modern note, for Accius suggests that if Agamemnon’s inconstancy could be excused because of his long separation from his wife, Clytemestra might possibly have the benefit of the same argument. In the _Andromache_ of Ennius and the _Astyanax_ of Accius there is an intense note of sorrow for the child of Hector and Andromache that reminds one of Vergil’s lines in the third book of the Aeneid. This is a Roman strain deriving from the Romans’ claim to be descended from the Trojans. In the _Phoenissae_ of Accius the motivation of the whole play is changed by representing Eteocles breaking a command rather than a personal pledge. In the _Eurysaces_ of Accius we have a slightly different reason for the use of Roman motive. This play was re-staged by the great actor Aesopus when Cicero was in exile, because of its picture of the unjust banishment of Telamon. The Roman audience appreciated the possible allusion to Cicero’s suffering and cheered Aesopus’ lines to the echo. Accius may well have written it originally and introduced the changes in order to influence his audience and obtain the recall of some political exile like Popilius, about 130 B.C. The lines have a genuine Roman ring.