Selected EpigramsRecommendations

This vibrant translation conveys the humour and uninhibited bawdiness of Martial's epigrams, which satirised both high and low Roman society in the first century CE. His witty short poems are amusing, but they also provide a vivid glimpse into the society of ancient Rome's patrons and customers, physicians and attorneys, prostitutes, slaves, and social climbers. An introduction by historian Marc Kleijwegt and instructive remarks on literary allusion and wordplay by translator Susan McLean round out the choices, which span roughly a third of Martial's 1,500 or so epigrams.

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