by Martial
translated by Susan McLean
introduction by Marc Kleijwegt
University of Wisconsin Press, 2014
Paper: 978-0-299-30174-3 | eISBN: 978-0-299-30173-6
Library of Congress Classification PA6502.M37 2014
Dewey Decimal Classification 878.0102

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ABOUT THIS BOOK
This lively translation accurately captures the wit and uncensored bawdiness of the epigrams of Martial, who satirized Roman society, both high and low, in the first century CE. His pithy little poems amuse, but also offer vivid insight into the world of patrons and clients, doctors and lawyers, prostitutes, slaves, and social climbers in ancient Rome. The selections cover nearly a third of Martial's 1,500 or so epigrams, augmented by an introduction by historian Marc Kleijwegt and informative notes on literary allusion and wordplay by translator Susan McLean.

Finalist, Literary Translation Award, PEN Center USA