Although both innovative and engaging, Book XIII of Martial's epigrams, the Xenia, has generally been neglected. As its name suggests, it is concerned with presents, in particular those given at the Saturnalia by hosts to their dinner guests. Like the Apophoreta, which Martial published next, it comprises independent poetic couplets cast as descriptive gift-tags.
Far from being mere verse catalogues, however, these books are highly sophisticated literary compositions. Whereas the Apophoreta encompass many different items, the Xenia are devoted to food and...
Although both innovative and engaging, Book XIII of Martial's epigrams, the Xenia, has generally been neglected. As its name suggests, it is...
The post-classical compilation known to modern scholarship as the Latin Anthology contains a collection of a hundred riddles, each consisting of three hexameters and preceded by a lemma. It would seem from the preface to this collection that they were composed extempore at a dinner to celebrate the Roman Saturnalia. The work was to have a defining influence on later collections of riddles; yet its title (probably the Aenigmata) has been debated, and almost nothing is known about its author: questions have even been asked about his name (Symphosius?) and date (4th-5th...
The post-classical compilation known to modern scholarship as the Latin Anthology contains a collection of a hundred riddles, each consistin...
