Martial and Latin Epigram
LATIN 127
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
This course will study selected epigrams by Martial, whose life spanned the reigns of at least ten emperors from Claudius to Trajan. Special attention will be paid to the origin and definition of "epigram"; the epigrammatic tradition inherited from Hellenistic Greece; metre and diction; literary patronage in Imperial Rome; authorial persona; epigram as social critique; the concept of "publication" in antiquity; the structure and arrangement of a book-length collection of epigrams; the chronology of Martial’s fifteen surviving collections; the concept of "wit"; the reception of Martial's legacy from antiquity to the present. Some of Martial's attitudes seem offensive today; without condoning them, we will examine the social context that accommodated their expression. Martial is the most famous of all composers of epigram. He makes us ponder whether any two societies, generations, or individuals necessarily find the same things funny.
Recommended Prep
Review of the fundamentals of Latin grammar and syntax. Latin 10 or equivalent experience; please consult with the Senior Preceptor in Classics (livings@g.harvard.edu).
Available for Harvard Cross Registration
