Source edition
Plautus. Plauti Comoediae, Volume 1. Leo, Friedrich, editor. Berlin: Weidmann, 1895.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This Latin comedy explores the themes of father-son reunions and the unwavering loyalty between a master and his slave. Set in Aetolia, the story centers on the wealthy old man Hegio, who purchases prisoners of war in hopes of exchanging them for his own captured son. Among his purchases are the noble Philocrates and his slave Tyndarus, who cunningly swap their identities to allow the master to return home and negotiate. When Hegio discovers the deception, he becomes furious and sentences Tyndarus to harsh labor in the stone quarries. However, the situation turns when Hegio's son is successfully returned, along with a runaway slave who had kidnapped Hegio's other infant son twenty years prior. Through this slave's confession, Tyndarus is revealed to be Hegio's long-lost son, leading to a dramatic reunion and a happy ending that celebrates moral virtue.