Martial: The Unexpected Classic

This is the first full-length study in English of the Roman poet Martial’s life, poetry and politics, as well as of the survival of his fifteen books of epigrams and short poems from his death around AD 104 to the present. The subjects examined include his defence of epigram as an art form, his misogyny and obscenity, his style, wit and humour, and, not least, his imperial propaganda. The concluding part of the work examines his high reputation in the Renaissance and the later censorship and neglect of his work until comparatively recently. All the material is presented for a modern objective assessment of his achievement, without in any way disguising the unpleasant aspects of his genius, and the political and literary pressures on poets in Rome at that period.

• Absolutely the last word on everything you want to know about Martial • It is a reference work as well as a literary study and there is no other source to equal it • The Roman poet Martial wrote epigrams, amongst which are some appalling obscene verses from which Sullivan does not flinch

Introduction; 1. Martial’s life and times; 2. Martial’s Apologia pro opere suo; 3. The epigram tradition: Martial’s Greek and Latin models; 4. The coherence of Martial’s themes; 5. Martial’s sexual attitudes; 6. Humanity and humour; imagery and wit; 7. Survival and revival; Appendix 1. Chronology; Appendix 2. Martial and the Greek epigram.