Liber Spectaculorum

by Marcus Valerius Martialis, Kathleen M. Coleman (Editor/Translator)

This book is the first full-scale edition of the so-called Liber spectaculorum by Martial. A comprehensive introduction addresses the role of epigram in commemorating monuments and occasions, the connection between spectacle and imperial panegyric in Martial's oeuvre, characteristics of the collection, possible circumstances of composition and "publication," transmission of the text, and related issues. Each epigram is followed by an apparatus criticus, an English translation, and a detailed commentary on linguistic, literary, and historical matters, adducing extensive evidence from epigraphy and art as well as literary sources. The book is accompanied by four concordances, five tables, two maps, 30 plates, and an appendix.

416 pages, Hardcover

First published October 26, 2006

About the author

Born: March 1, 40 AD, in Augusta Bilbilis (now Calatayud, Spain); Died: ca. 102 AD--Marcus Valerius Martialis, known in English as Martial, was a Latin poet from Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula) best known for his twelve books of Epigrams, published in Rome between AD 86 and 103, during the reigns of the emperors Domitian, Nerva and Trajan. In these short, witty poems he cheerfully satirises city life and the scandalous activities of his acquaintances, and romanticises his provincial upbringing. Considered the creator of the modern epigram, Martial wrote a total of 1,561 - 1,235 of which are in elegiac couplets.

Reviews

[Cross the Styx · Rating 4 out of 5]

El Liber Spectaculorum es un singular documento escrito en el primer siglo de nuestra era, que relata, a través de epigramas (tipo de poesía breve, normalmente satírica o festiva, pero siempre descriptiva), los hechos acontecidos durante la inauguración del Coliseo Romano y todas las actividades que ahí se realizaron. Con mucho detalle, Marcial nos cuenta parte de lo que fueron las fiestas de aquel entonces; desde las ya clásicas peleas entre gladiadores, pasando por las penurias de esclavos o delincuentes, que si no eran crucificados debían enfrentarse a todo tipos de bestias (osos, leones, cocodrilos, lobos, etc), la quema de cristianos, y las para muchos, desconocidas naumaquias, que eran recreaciones de batallas navales que se realizaban inundando el hipogeo (parte inferior de la arena, donde estaban las mazmorras y túneles, que hoy están al descubierto) mediante sofisticados sistemas de canales y presas que eran capaces de drenar el agua en cosa de minutos. Un documento de gran valor histórico, y fuente recurrente de historiadores.

El siguiente link https://reep.io/d/868l9xcedl contiene una excelente edición, que cuenta con una gran introducción sobre el autor, y una significativa bibliografía que explica cómo entender los epigramas y cómo poder descifrar de manera correcta su contenido.

[Aleksandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good, comprehensive overview and edition of Martial's rather bizzare collection of poems writted on the occasion of the opening of the Flavian Amphitheatre.