Original: His first tragedy took place in 235 BC. Plautus would have been living at the exact time as Naevius, but began writing later.
Simplified: He fought in the First Punic War and his birth, therefore, is placed around the year 280 B.C.E. His first tragedy took place in 235 B.C.E. Plautus would have been living at the exact time as Naevius, but began writing later.