quodque tibi moechum fabula nulla dabat,
omne sed officium circa te semper obibat
turba tui sexus, non adeunte viro,
esse videbaris, fateor, Lucretia* nobis: 5
at tu, pro facinus, Bassa, [incasta] eras!
--Martial, Epig. I.90.1-6, 9-10
Bassa,
Because I never saw you in any man's arms,
Because I never heard a rumor about you cheating,
Because no man ever dated you,
Because you were content
with the swarm of women always at your side,
you seemed to be an ideal of chastity to me.
But dang it, Bassa, all this time you’ve been dating them!
* Lucretia was a role model of chastity in early Roman history.
Disclaimer: This text has been modified to fit the scope of this blog. The nominative predicate in line six has been changed into a less severe alternative. Considering the scarcity of women's perspectives in Latin literature, I felt it was important to include this passage despite the language it uses.
MARTIAL
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MAP:
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Name: Marcus Valerius Martialis
Date: 40 CE – 104 CE
Works: Epigrammaton
Libri XV*
De
Spectaculis
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REGION 2 (Hispania)
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BIO:
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Timeline:
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Originally from Bilbilis, Hispania, the poet Martial moved to Rome in
the 60s CE to advance his career. His two extant works include de
Spectaculis, a collection of poems written to commemorate the opening of
the Colosseum, and a fifteen volume collection of epigrams. These epigrams
provide valuable insight into the mores and private lives of men and
women from all of the city’s social classes.
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SILVER AGE ROME
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