Latin 330ms - Topics: Advanced Readings in Latin Literature-Martial and Statius
T-Martial & Statius
Fall
2025
01
4.00
Rebecca Ann Deitsch
W 1:20 PM - 2:35 PM; M 1:40 PM - 2:55 PM
Smith College
LAT-330ms-01-202601
McConnell 301
rdeitsch@smith.edu
The poetry of Martial and Statius offers glimpses of life in Rome under the emperor Domitian, who ruled from 81 to 96 C.E. Students read selections from Martial’s Epigrams, Statius’ Silvae, and modern scholarship, and explore issues of patronage, censorship, flattery, and artistic freedom. Domitian has gone down in history as a wicked tyrant, so did Martial and Statius really mean the flattering things they wrote? How much control did the imperial court have over literature—and when does literature become propaganda? What can the Epigrams and Silvae reveal about the relationship between class, gender, and power under Domitian? Prerequisite: LAT 214, or equivalent.