Selected Epigrams
Page 2
The process of reconstructing Martial’s life and career is an inexact science. Some of the important moments in his life can be pinpointed with confidence, but the poet’s motivations are beyond reconstruction. Consequently it is possible to mark the year in which Martial went to Rome, but it is not possible to identify his reasons for doing so. Martial never discusses them and the best that can be done is to draw on better documented cases of provincials who established themselves in the metropolis.3 Likewise, it is possible to identify the moment when Martial returned to Spain, but it is hard to determine what made him take this step. This time his poetry offers a number of clues that suggest that he had become dissatisfied with the life of a client in the big city. While some scholars believe that this provides a satisfactory explanation for his decision to return to Bilbilis, others argue that the political circumstances of the time were influential as well. Martial never mentions the political changes following the assassination of Domitian in September of 96 as a factor in his decision to return to Spain.
The study of other facets of Martial’s life runs into problems of a different kind. Martial writes his poetry from a first person perspective, an annotator on society who condemns and endorses particular forms of behavior. Altogether, the expressions and opinions communicated by the epigrams constitute an interesting window on the social, sexual, and ideological values of Rome in the final two decades of the first century. They do not, however, constitute the (or even a) reality, nor do they form the private views of the poet Martial.4 This is supported by Martial himself. He proclaims that his use of straightforward language on matters of sexuality should not be taken to mean that his life is equally rugged and rough: “my page is wanton, but my life is virtuous” (1.4.8).5 The “I” of the poems is a persona, a personality or character that is adopted for the occasion of a poem or a series of poems.6 Martial is the master of multiple personae, sometimes occupying conflicting positions within the same book of epigrams. There exists no reliable strategy, historical, philological, or otherwise, that enables the reader to distinguish successfully between the multiple identities in Martial’s poetry and to declare one of them to be the true voice of the poet (not in the literal sense in which this expression is commonly used). This problem becomes immediately relevant when Martial’s education and his domestic life are examined.
Martial was of Celtiberian descent (4.55; 7.52; 10.65 [page 83]). The names of his parents, however, are undeniably Roman: Fronto and Flaccilla (5.34 [page 44]).7 From this it can be inferred that one of Martial’s ancestors must have received Roman citizenship by holding municipal office. A line from a later epigram reveals that Martial’s parents had him taught grammar and rhetoric (9.73.7).8 It is uncertain where this training could have taken place. The number of options are limited: in Bilbilis or in a larger city in the same region such as Caesaraugusta (Zaragoza) or Tarraco (Tarragona).9 There is disagreement between scholars whether Martial’s access to higher education suggests that his parents were comfortably off (Watson and Watson 1) or whether it is useless as an indication of the status of the family of the poet (Henriksén 90). It is hard to imagine, however, that access to rhetorical training, in whatever form, was commonly available at a level below that of the municipal elite. It is obvious, then, that Martial received a decent education, although it needs to be pointed out that the traditional upper-class education would have involved an apprenticeship with an experienced orator. This was also available to provincials as can be inferred from the case of Martial’s fellow Spaniard Quintilian (born in 35), from Calagurris, a town of roughly the same size and importance as Bilbilis. He left his hometown as a teenager to train with Cn. Domitius Afer (who was from Nîmes in southern Gaul) in the early 50s of the first century.10 It is not certain why Martial did not follow the same path. He may not have been as talented as Quintilian, or not as ambitious, or his parents may have lacked the necessary social connections to place him in an apprenticeship.
Most scholars argue that Martial never married.11 This idea has been challenged from time to time, most recently by Patricia and Lindsay Watson (Watson; Watson and Watson 3).12 The point of departure for their argument is the fact that Martial petitioned successive Flavian emperors for the ius trium liberorum, a privilege that was a reward for women who had delivered three (or more) children (four for freedwomen).13 Martial claims to have received the privilege on two different occasions (see 3.95.5: Caesar uterque; “both Caesars”), which may be a reference to Titus and Domitian. It is uncertain what his marital status was on each occasion. There are three options available, of which the most obvious one—that he was married and had three children—has not been defended by any scholar. Of the remaining two options the first one is supported by external evidence (but not by Martial) and the second by Martial (but for which there is no parallel). The privilege could have been granted as compensation for an infertile marriage or it could have been the result of recognition of a talented writer.14 For his active career as a poet—roughly from 83 to 101—it is impossible to determine whether he was married or not because of Martial’s use of different personae. In many epigrams he refers to a wife or, to put it somewhat differently, he develops a scenario in which the speaker of the poem is married (2.90; 2.92 [page 22]; 3.92; 4.24 [page 35]; 7.95; 11.43 [page 89]; 11.104), but in other cases the speaker is clearly not married (2.49 [page 17]; 8.12 [page 63]; 10.8 [page 78]; 11.19 [page 88]; 11.23). The confusion is greatest in book 11, where Martial refers to a wife in two cases but also identifies himself as unmarried in the same number of epigrams.
In an epigram that is extremely important for the reconstruction of Martial’s biography, the poet is celebrating his fifty-seventh birthday (10.24). Establishing a precise date for the poem enables the reader to discover the year in which Martial was born. The tenth book as we have it today was published in 98, some two years after the assassination of Domitian and within a year after the death of his successor Nerva.15 An earlier version had been published at the beginning of 96 or the final part of 95, but in September of 96 the emperor Domitian was assassinated and this forced the poet to withdraw the original publication and to publish a revised edition two years later.16 In 10.2 Martial announces that the majority of the epigrams are new and that others have been substantially revised. Sullivan (Martial 46) argues that as many as twenty-five or thirty poems on Domitian may have been excised and that they were replaced with poems honoring Nerva and Trajan (10.6; 10.7; 10.34; 10.72) and poems dealing with the nuisance of plagiarism (10.3; 10.5; 10.80 [page 84]; 10.100 [page 86]). Scholars hesitate whether the poem in which Martial celebrates his birthday already formed part of the first publication or whether it was one of the epigrams newly written for the second edition.17 It is logical, however, to assume that when it first appeared, book 10 was organized like any other of Martial’s books of epigrams, brandishing a mixture of praise of the emperor, cheeky exposure of misfits and miscreants, and lambasting comments on patrons for their unwillingness to provide financial support for the speaker. In its present format, book 10 differs substantially from any other book of Martial’s epigrams. Hannah Fearnley (618) aptly describes it as the “only Martial book in which the poet stops and takes stock of his past and his future.” It must be assumed that this was the result of the modifications required by the changes in the political landscape and this implies that 10.24 was not part of the original publication of 96.18 It is therefore overly cautious to argue that Martial’s year of birth is uncertain; 41 is by far the most likely candidate.
In another epigram from book 10 Martial reveals that he had lived in Rome for thirty-four years (10.103.7). Since it has already been established that book 10 was published in 98, it can be concluded that the poet arrived in the capital in 64. The emperor at the time was Nero, who was then just twenty-six years old but already in the ninth year of his reign (Nero, who was born on 15 December 37, succeeded his adoptive father Claudius on 13 October 54; he was then sixteen years old). In the summer of 64 major parts
of the inner city were destroyed by fire. Nero, who was at his villa in Antium when the fire broke out, rushed back to the capital and introduced measures to combat the fire, to aid the families of the victims, and to protect the city against major fires in the future (Tacitus, Annals 15.39). In the aftermath of the fire Nero started to build a magnificent new palace, which he named the Domus Aurea, “the Golden House.” The complex was on such a grand scale that anonymous verses circulated recommending the population to move to Veii since all of Rome was occupied by a single house (Suetonius, Life of Nero 39.2). The hostility toward Nero’s project is echoed in one of Martial’s epigrams from his Liber Spectaculorum (“The Book of the Games”; 2.4). However, this poem was not written at the time the palace was being constructed but on the occasion of the opening of the Colosseum in 80, the building that replaced part of Nero’s Golden House. Whenever Nero is referred to in the epigrams (4.63 [page 39]; 7.21 [page 58]; 7.34.4–5; 7.44; 7.45; 8.52; 8.70; 9.26; 10.48.4; 11.6.10), he is an item of the past. Two of the three immediate successors of Nero after his suicide in June of 68, Galba and Vitellius, fail to make an appearance in the epigrams. Otho is praised (6.32) for his suicide at Bedriacum, but the poem was presumably written in the early 90s when Otho’s short spell as emperor seems to have received a more favorable interpretation.19 Vespasian and Titus have no significant presence in the twelve books of epigrams.20 This leads to a problem of wider significance for an understanding of Martial’s career. There is no trace of Martial’s activities between his arrival in Rome and the appearance of what is arguably his first published work (see the discussion below), the Xenia, in 83/84 (for the date, see Leary, Xenia 13). The scholarly tradition holds that he received a warm welcome (and financial support) from fellow Spaniards and used the period after his arrival to perfect the art of epigram.21
A writer’s chances for literary success in Rome depended on his ability to win over wealthy individuals who were willing to sponsor literary activities. This was difficult enough for an author born in Rome or Italy, but it was arguably even more difficult for a poet who came from a relatively insignificant part of the Roman Empire. In order to gain a foothold it is believed that Martial contacted fellow Spaniards.22 Seneca (born in 1 BCE) and his nephew Lucan from Cordoba (born in 39) have been identified as the most likely candidates to act as sponsors of the young poet. Seneca was a Stoic philosopher, a writer of political and moral treatises and an influential political thinker. In 49 Agrippina, freshly married to the emperor Claudius (her uncle), orchestrated Seneca’s return from exile on the island of Corsica (where he had been sent because of an alleged adulterous relationship with Livilla, Agrippina’s sister) to become the tutor of her son Domitius Ahenobarbus, the future emperor Nero. When Seneca’s student succeeded Claudius in 54 he continued to serve as his principal adviser. In that capacity he wrote the emperor’s speeches and coached (or at least tried to coach) the young emperor to act in the tradition of Augustus. Lucan is generally viewed as the most exciting poet of the Neronian age. He made his debut at the first edition of the Neronia in 60 with a poem in honor of Nero (Suetonius, Life of Lucan 1; Suetonius, Life of Nero 12.3). Soon after (although it is unknown how soon) he gave public recitations of his major work, the Pharsalia, a brilliant but politically incorrect epic poem on the civil war between Caesar and Pompey. At the time when Martial arrived in Rome, however, Seneca and Lucan had lost much of their influence and could no longer serve as a secure route to the financial and literary support of the most important patron of all, the emperor himself. Seneca had retired from his position as Nero’s adviser in 62 to devote himself exclusively to writing (Tacitus, Annals 14.52–56). Lucan had been subjected to a publishing ban by the emperor, which is believed to have been in place by the summer of 64.23 Within a year of Martial’s arrival in Rome both were suspected of involvement in a conspiracy against the emperor and committed suicide.
The fact that Lucan and Seneca were no longer on friendly terms with Nero does not preclude the possibility that they provided financial support to Martial. However, there is nothing in Martial’s poetry that provides solid evidence for such a relationship. The argument that Seneca and Lucan acted as Martial’s patrons ultimately rests on a number of inferences. In two poems (4.40; 12.36) Seneca is hailed as an important patron of the arts, the kind of generous patron that is sadly missing from imperial Rome under Domitian, who ruled from 81 to 96. All patrons mentioned in 12.36 (Piso, Memmius, Seneca, Crispus) appear in the plural, suggesting a generic ideal rather than a cherished individual.24 Another approach also comes up empty. The tangible result of Seneca’s support for Martial is thought to have been an estate at Nomentum, a small town twenty miles northeast of Rome. The Nomentan estate is already referred to in the Xenia and the first two books of the epigrams (13.15; 13.42; 13.119; 1.105 [page 10]; 2.38 [page 16]), which means that Martial’s ownership of the estate can be safely assumed for the early 80s. The assumption that the source of this estate was Seneca is only supported by the circumstance that Seneca owned property at Nomentum. This property was a vineyard, which, by the evidence of the epigrams, Martial’s estate was not.25
The evidence for financial support from Lucan is slim. It consists of a series of epigrams in book 7 that celebrates Lucan’s achievements on the occasion of his birthday (7.21 [page 58]; 7.22; 7.23). Two of the poems are addressed to Lucan’s widow Polla Argentaria (7.21; 7.23), which suggests that she was the individual who had commissioned them.26 Martial’s seventh book was published in December of 92, and it is around the same time that the poet Statius produced his poem in honor of Lucan (Silvae 2.7).27 The best explanation for this outpouring of poetry is a specific event for which Polla Argentaria approached several poets. The most likely date is 3 November 89, the day on which Lucan would have turned fifty.28 In a later epigram (10.64 [page 83]), which accompanies the gift of a set of books of epigrams, Martial addresses Polla Argentaria explicitly as a patron (10.64.1). This may be interpreted as an attempt to continue a relationship that had not progressed beyond the initial stages. After this there is only silence. It is clear that Martial saw Polla Argentaria as one of his patrons, but there is no evidence that this relationship continued beyond the commissioned poems of 89.29 There is also no evidence that the relationship started in 64.30
Martial mentions several other wealthy and cultured Spaniards in his epigrams, but none were in Rome when the poet arrived in 64 and only one can be positively identified as a possible patron. L. Valerius Licinianus from Bilbilis (1.49.3; 1.61.11–12) appears in three epigrams, all of which are addressed to him (1.49.1–3; 1.61.11–12; 4.55.1).31 The reference in one poem to a type of shoes only worn by magistrates (1.49.31) can be taken as a strong indication that he was a senator. It is highly likely that Martial’s Licinianus is the same person as the former praetor Valerius Licinianus, who was exiled under Domitian for entertaining immoral relations with a Vestal Virgin (Pliny the Younger, Letters 4.11).32 It is clear that Pliny’s Licinianus was a well-educated man who was regarded as one of the most eloquent advocates in Rome (4.11.1). This matches Martial’s Licinianus, who is heralded as an individual who brings glory to Bilbilis (1.61.11–12) and is praised as laus nostrae Hispaniae (1.49.2: “glory of our Spain”).33 There is, however, no absolute certainty that Licinianus was one of Martial’s patrons, for no specific instance of his generosity toward the poet is recorded. Another native from Bilbilis who is certified to have been one of Martial’s frequent contacts in Rome is Maternus. It is not possible to draw a positive conclusion on his identity.34 The two opening lines of the long epigram that is addressed to him in Martial’s tenth book praise him extensively as a legal expert (10.37.1–2). He is addressed as an old friend (veterique sodali ), but there is no evidence that he played a supporting role in Martial’s early years in Rome or in the reign of Vespasian.35
Another Spaniard who is frequently identified as a patron of Martial is L. Licinius Sura from Tarraco.36 Sura held his first consulship in 97 under Nerva, which w
as followed by a second (102) and a third (107) under Trajan.37 The fact that he was active as a general in the Dacian wars in the first decade of the second century suggests that Sura was much younger than Martial, perhaps by as much as twenty years. This means that he was only an adolescent when Martial arrived in Rome. He is mentioned in a passionate praise of his home country written upon the occasion of Licinianus’ return (see above) to Spain (1.49.40), and in another from the sixth book he is referred to as someone who reads and praises Martial’s work (6.64.13). However, this is not enough to list him “among the great patrons of poets of his time” (as does Galán Vioque 292). An epigram (7.47) written on the occasion of Sura’s recovery from an illness suggests that Martial sought him out as a patron in the early 90s, but since there are no further epigrams addressed to him after 7.47, the most obvious conclusion is that Martial’s attempt met with very little success.38 The only individual of Spanish background who can be securely identified as a patron is Decianus from Emerita, an advocate (2.5.6 [page 13]) and a disciple of Stoic philosophy (1.8.1–2). He features in many poems in the first book of epigrams (1.24 [page 4]; 1.39; 1.61.10) and is the dedicatee of the second book (2 pref.; 2.5 [page 13]), which is a reliable sign that Decianus was one of Martial’s patrons, but he disappears from view after the second book. This has been taken to suggest that he passed away shortly after its publication or that the relationship was terminated for another reason.39
It remains difficult to sketch in Martial’s activities from his arrival in Rome (64) to the publication of his first collection of epigrams (83). If he was already a poet by the time he arrived in Rome it is difficult to understand why his first collection of epigrams appeared only twenty years after his arrival. There are a number of possibilities. The conventional idea is that he wrote epigrams for patrons but did not publish them as part of a collection.40 The main evidence for this is that Martial followed this particular strategy with the numbered books of epigrams that started to appear, roughly speaking, once every year from 86 onward.41 Epigrams were written for specific occasions or at the request of a patron. After an intermission, sometimes lasting as many as three years, the poems were collected in a book and made available through booksellers. However, how certain is it that Martial already followed this strategy before 86? The idea is hard to substantiate, and it is therefore frequently supplemented with a discussion of two epigrams from the first book that suggest that Martial wrote poetry before 83. The first epigram (1.113 [page 12]: Quaecumque lusi iuvenis et puer quondam / apinasque nostras, quas nec ipse iam novi; “what I wrote in play / as a young man and boy once, you may seek it / (rubbish I hardly recognize today)”) refers to poetry Martial wrote as a iuvenis (“young man”) and a puer (“boy”; “child”). In another epigram from the same book (1.101) Martial mourns the passing of his editorial assistant whose handwriting was known to the Caesars, which is usually interpreted as a reference to Titus and Domitian (rather than to Vespasian and Titus).42 It is possible that Martial wrote epigrams before 80, but that those poems have not survived. However, these two poems are not without problems of interpretation. For example, Martial was twenty-three years old when he arrived in Rome. A Roman child remained a boy ( puer) until he replaced his children’s toga with the toga of adulthood, and this customarily happened between the ages of fourteen and eighteen. Poems that Martial wrote as a boy must have been written while he was still in school in Spain. It seems very unlikely that such poems were for sale at the store of a bookseller in Rome, as the remainder of 1.113 (page 12) would have it. The unwritten assumption behind any attempt to fill in the gaps in Martial’s career between 64 and 83 is that he arrived in Rome as a talented poet looking for a network of patrons and eager readers. That may still be the most plausible reconstruction, but it remains a problem that he only started to publish his poetry after 83. The alternative is to assume that Martial only became a writer of epigrams in Rome.43