GREEK EPIGRAM IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE by Gideon Nisbet ( 9780199263370 )

Item Details

Title:

GREEK EPIGRAM IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE
MARTIAL'S FORGOTTEN RIVALS

By:

Format:

Hardback

List price:	£135.00
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ISBN 10:

019926337X

ISBN 13:

9780199263370

Publisher:

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

Pub. date:

11 December, 2003

Series:

Oxford Classical Monographs

Pages:

256

Description:

When we say 'epigram', we mean 'Martial' - whether we know it or not. After Martial, a Roman poet of the first century AD, epigram would always mean satirical epigram: a short, funny poem with a sting in its tail. But Martial was an imitator. He copied and adapted the real innovators: the Greek poets who were already turning epigram into antiquity's sharpest - and shortest - form of satirical humour. This book finally gives them their due, uncovering a forgottenworld of wicked puns and violent slapstick.

Synopsis:

Satirical, or 'skoptic', epigram emerged as a distinctive new sub-genre of Greek literature in the Roman empire (the mid-first century CE) and flourished for at least a century. It was imitated by Martial, but it is now rarely read. In this book, the first substantial treatment of the subject, Gideon Nisbet rehabilitates skoptic epigram, introduces its authors, gives an account of its development, and situates it within its cultural context. He also suggests striking new ways of reading ancient epigram and examines satire's engagement with gender, identity, and power.

Publication:

Imprint:

Oxford University Press

Returns:

Non-returnable

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