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Martial on Interweaving of Roman and Barbarian Worlds

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Abstract

Instead of analysing political, legal, economic or demographic matters, this research comes down to earth and explores the behind-the-scenes of the Romano-Barbarian world. Its objective is to understand how and in which aspects the fact that the world of the Roman Empire was not only Roman, but also Barbarian, influenced the daily lives of Romans. A fascinating insight on this issue provided by the epigrammatist Marcus Valerius Martialis, a Roman citizen tracing his lineage from Celts and Iberians, was a living example of the interweaving of the Roman and Barbarian worlds.
Barbarians
and
Rome
the
Edited by
Marek Olędzki, Andrzej Dubicki
Łódź 2022
University of Lodz, Institute of Archaeology
An Interplay between two Worlds
Barbarians
and
Rome
the
Rome and the Barbarians. An Interplay between two Worlds

Marek Olędzki – Uniwersytet Łódzki, Ins tytut Archeolog ii, ul. G. Narutowicza , - Łódź
Andrzej Dubicki – Uniwersytet Łódzki, Wydział Studiów Międzynarodowych i Politologicznych, ul. Lindleya , - Łódź

Andrzej Michałowski, Artur Błażejewski
 
Jolanta Dybała

Autorzy
 
Grażyna Piątkowska
  
Jan Schuster
 
Joanna Apanowicz
   , 
Joanna Apanowicz
 
Instytut Archeologii Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
Stowarzyszenie Naukowe Archeologów Polskich, Oddział w Łodzi
 
Zakład Poligraczny
 ----
5
Tab le o f Co nte nt s
From the Editors 7
Joanna Kulawiak-Cyrankowska
Martial on Interweaving of Roman and Barbarian Worlds 11
Ondrej Šedo
Roman Building Activities on the Northern Bank of the
Middle Danube – Late Republic and Augustan Periods 21
Eduard Droberjar
Rom und die Markomannen. Formen der Interaktion
am Beispiel des Marbod-Reiches 41
Marek Olędzki
e Issue of Granting Asylum by Rome to Former Client Kings
Representing Inferiores Barbari 65
Jaroslav Onyshchuk
e Ethnocultural Situation in the Western Bug and Upper Dniester
Regions during the Marcomannic Wars 81
Szymon Orzechowski
Ne ferrum quidem superest, sicut ex genere telorum colligitur
Comments on the Roman and Barbarian Ironworking 99
Bartosz Awianowicz, Arkadiusz Dymowski, Kyrylo Myzgin
e Counterfeit Roman Imperial Denarii on both Sides of the Limes according
to the Written, Archaeological and Numismatic Sources. Was there any Transfer
of Ideas, Technologies and Coins? 129
Agata Chilińska-Früboes, Konstantin N. Skvorcov
Openwork Roman Disc Brooches and Mounts and their Local Imitations
in the Area of the Western Balts 145
Jan Schuster
Kein Prunk ohne Rom
Die abhängigen germanischen Eliten in der Römischen Kaiserzeit 181
Marcin Woźniak
Roman Imports in the Area of Mazovian Centre of Metallurgy 207
6
Justyn Skowron
Funeral Rite, Grave and Bustum in the European Part of the Roman
World and in Barbaricum 239
Kalina Skóra
Another Dimension of the Exotic? Notes on the Origins of the Domestic Cat
in the Central and Northern European Barbaricum during the Roman Period 265
Kinga Żyto
Analysis of Beads Sequences in Necklaces of the Wielbark Culture 291
Lubomira Tyszler
Reges ex nobilitate, duces ex virtute sumunt. On the Issues of the New Political
and Military Elites superiores barbari in the Przeworsk Culture in the Period around
of the Marcomannic Wars 301
Andrzej Dubicki, Marek Olędzki
Dacia in the Face of Barbarian Inuence during the Marcomannic Wars 319
Balázs Komoróczy, Marek Vlach
e Mušov Region – A Complex Scene of Roman-Germanic Interactions during
the Marcomannic Wars 327
Boris Stoklas
Suebi in the Upper Elbe and Middle Danube Regions aer Marcomannic Wars 363
Wojciech Rutkowski
Horgos Type Shield Boss – Research on the Technology of Forging Shield Bosses
on the Migration Period 389
Michał Grygiel
A Unique Scabbard Fitting from Southern Poland: Remarks on the Import
of Roman Military Equipment to Barbaricum during the  Century .. 397
Katarzyna Badowska, Irena Podolska, Wojciech Rutkowski
An Impressive Discovery of a Belt-End Fitting in Siemkowice,
Pajęczno County, Poland 429
Joan Pinar Gil
Remarks on the Migration Period Grave from Pollenzo (Bra, Piedmont, Italy) 437
Robert Suski
e Gothic Invasions of the  Century as Represented
in the Historia adversus paganos by Orosius 447
11
Joanna Kulawiak-Cyrankowska
Martial on Interweaving
of Roman and Barbarian Worlds
Keywords: Romano-Barbarian world, transnationality, Martial, epigrams
Abstract: Instead of analysing political, legal, economic or demographic matters, this
research comes down to earth and explores the behind-the-scenes of the Romano-
-Barbarian world. Its objective is to understand how and in which aspects the fact that
the world of the Roman Empire was not only Roman, but also Barbarian, inuenced
the daily lives of Romans. A fascinating insight on this issue provided by the epigram-
matist Marcus Valerius Martialis, a Roman citizen tracing his lineage from Celts and
Iberians, was a living example of the interweaving of the Roman and Barbarian worlds.
Introduction
Seeing exotic clothing or hearing incomprehensible speeches was not anything unusual
in rst-century Rome. Since the Romans were continually conquering new territories,
their community was not entirely Roman, that is of Roman origin. ey were only one
of the nations in their own land, geographically united in the Roman Empire’s soils.
Marcus Valerius Martialis, probably the most splendid Roman epigrammatist,
was a living example of the Roman and the Barbarian worlds’ interweaving. Although
he was a Roman citizen, his hair and beard were betraying his Celtiberian origins
(Ep. 10.65.79) what he proudly mentioned on many occasions (Ep. 1.49.1; 3.14.2; 4.55.8;
7.52.3; 10.65.34; 10.78.9; 12.9.1). At the same time, he struggled with – as J.-C. Julhe neatly
sums up – his “complex of the provincial” (2018: 80) and – despite his literary success
that even earned him legal privileges – he forever stayed concerned about his language
and literature being tainted by Spanish inuences (Ep. 12.pr.3132 non Hispaniensem
librum/ mittamus, sed Hispanum
). Nevertheless, as we shall see, while pointing n-
gers at other barbarian nations, he assumed the role of a rightful Roman national. is
bipolar perspective can be easily traced throughout his epigrams, where “Roman” and
“Barbarian” qualities play a signicant role.
Said perspective is already revealed in Martial’s poetic language where Barbarians
serve him as a medium of metaphor. Although some phrases, such as talking about
the Gauls’ silliness (Ep. 5.1.10 et tumidus Galla credulitate fruar), suggest some hostility
Martial was granted the important privilege of ius trium liberorum (“the right of three children”),
exempting him from nancial sanctions and other legal charges, like guardianship (Ep. 3.95.56;
9.97.56; see as well Watson 2003).
Unless otherwise specied, the epigrams are quoted from the Loeb Classical Library edition (Martial
1993a; 1993b; 1993c).
12
Joanna Kulawiak-Cyrankowska
between the two peoples , when juxtaposing Romans and Barbarians, Martial does not
refrain himself from putting the latter in a good light. For example, he associates the
king of Parthia – perhaps proverbially – with a full freedom that can be beaten only by
the liberty of a man who always tells the truth and does not worry about social conven-
tions (Ep. 2.53.910 Haec tibi si vis est, si mentis tanta potestas,/ liberior Partho viuere
rege potes). Another time, he pretends to calm down his opponent Ligurra, afraid of
Martial’s literary attacks, by comparing himself to a Libian lion who roars at bulls and
does not trouble the butteries (Ep. 12.61.56 In tauros Libyci fremunt leones,/ Non sunt
papilionibus molesti) .
Some sense of Roman vanity might seem visible in Ep. 10.72, where, aer Domi-
tian died in 96 AD, Martial declares to abandon the attering language. Instead, he
sends the troops of atteries to the Parthians, where they can kiss the monarchs’ soles
(v. 57 Ad Parthos procul ite pilleatos / Et turpes humilesque supplicesque/ Pictorum sola
basiate regum). Nevertheless, this epigram was nothing but attery itself, and Martial
was aware of that (Williams 2021: 168). While seemingly expressing some sense of
vanity and trying to draw the line between Roman and Barbarian, the poet proved the
uniformity of these two worlds.
Martial amused himself in the same way while describing the daily life of Rome. He
addressed the issues of dierences and similarities between Romans and Barbarians,
somewhat asking whether there was some space for diversity within this state unity or
whether the social unity and harmony were a no-go precisely because of the disparities.
As a keen observer of the surrounding reality, he used the Romano-Barbarian prism in
order to describe how this heterogeneous community was functioning from the inside out
and how it was reected in the daily life of common people of Rome .
is statement might as well have been proverbial, as suggests Strabo (Geograph. 4.2 Τὸ δὲ σύμπαν
φῦλον, νῦν Γαλλικόν τε καὶ Γαλατικὸν καλοῦσιν, ἀρειμάνιόν στι κα θυμικόν τε καὶ ταχὺ πρὸς
μάχην, ἄλλως δὲ ἁπλοῦν καὶ οὐ κακόηθες), poet Servius Sulpicius (Dialog. 1.26.5 neque Gallum
decet esse tam callidum) as well as satirist and rhetorician Lucian of Samosata (In Alex. 27 ἠλίθιος
ἐκεῖνος Κελτὸς) were writing about the Gauls in a similar vein.
Another beautiful example of a metaphor of a lion in the context of Romano-Barbarian rela-
tions is the Ep. 1.22 that, at least at rst sight, seems to t into the frames of Roman propaganda.
Martial compares Emperor Domitian to a lion who is not interested in crunching small anima ls,
such as hares. is is why, Dacian boys do not have to fear him (Ep. 1.22 Quid nunc saeva fugis
placidi, lepus, ora leonis?/ frangere tam parvas non didicere feras./ Servantur magnis isti cervi-
cibus ungues/ nec gaudet tenui sanguine tanta sitis./ Praeda canum lepus est, vastos non implet
hiatus:/ non timeat Dacus Caesaris arma puer). Ruurd R. Nauta interprets this as an unspoken
warning implying that, although Dacian boys do not have anything to fear, Dacian men, on
the other hand, do (2002: 409). An alternative, fascinating interpretation has been oered by
F.M. Ahl, who believed that the size of the hare was, in fact, its great advantage, protecting him
(th e Dac ian s) from th e l ion (Dom iti an) getti ng clos er ( Ahl 1984: 8586). is interpretation is
even more probable in light of the fact that the campaigns against the Dacians were not ver y
successful, as attested by other authors. See Tac., Agric. 39 and Suet., Dom. 6.2. It could be that
Martial, under the guise of atteries, expressed his honest a nd sharp opinion about Domitian.
See as well the Ep. 10.72.
e barbarians are described as turbaned (pillatei), which does not only refer to the traditional
eastern headwear, but also to the cap worn by freed slaves.
Martial s poetr y is widely known for its praise and attery towards the Emperors. In this aspect
the Romano-Barbarian relations are frequently mentioned, being a part of Roman propagan-
da. Specical works on the topic have been written by F. Sauter, and more recently A.L. Spisak
(Sauter 1934; Spisa k 1999). Althoug h I will refer to the epigrams as being a part of this phenom-
enon, the very core of my research constitute the poems providing insight to the behind-the-
scenes of Romano-Barbarian world.
13
Martial on Interweaving of Roman and Barbarian Worlds
Barbarians among the Romans
e examples of full harmony between “Roman” and “Barbarian”, exemplifying the
incorporation of the latter into the former are relevantly easy-to-grasp. ey are mainly
expressed by the Barbarian merchandise imported to Rome. ey represent a humble fare,
like cheap Cappadocian lettuces and smelly leeks (Ep. 5.78.4 viles Cappadocae gravesque
porri), but equally oen resembling delicious specialities, such as pepper imported from
India, African gs (Ep. 4.46.79; 7.53.8), pomegranates and jujubes (Ep. 13.42; 13.43) or
highly appreciated Guinea fowls (Ep. 3.77.4; 13.45 Libycae volucres). ere was a prolic,
silent Barbarian invasion in wealthy Roman homes, with the most desirable tables made
from African citrus-wood tabletops and ivory legs transported from India (Ep. 2.43.9
Tu Libycos Indis suspendis dentibus orbis). Similarly, emeralds brought from Scythia
were barbarian as well (Ep. 12.15.34; 14.109). e barbarian impact was also visible in
clothing. Socks made of goat’s hair came from Cilicia (Ep. 14.141[140] udones Cilicii) .
Gallia, on the other hand, was providing woollen hooded cloaks – bardoculli (Ep. 6.11.7;
14.128) , and, of course, trousers (Ep. 1.92.8 Gallica braca ).
However, it was not merchandise but social movements and tensions that ruled
the
rst-century Romano-Barbarian world. e matter of slavery was just a drop in this
bucket

.
Crowds of Barbarian freemen benetted like anybody else from what Rome
had to oer:
Lib. Spect. 3
Quae tam seposita est, quae gens tam barbara, Caesar,
ex qua spectator non sit in urbe tua?
Cf. Ep. 9.22.5; 14.91.
Cf. Ep. 1.72.4; 5.37.5; 10.98.6. Martial writes about ivory transported from Africa. Cf. Ep. 9.22.5.
As D.R. Shack leton Bailey noticed, they were called like that even if the material was brought from
another land (Martial 1993c: 291, fn. 123).

ese were mainly worn by common people. In Ep. 6.11.7 the contrast between woollen cloak and
Ty ri an p ur p le p oi nt s out Ma rt ia l ’s p ove r ty ( So ld ev i la 200 6: 211) . In ter e st in gl y, t hi s co nc ep t wa s
probably borrowed by the druids of Gaul from the British Bards who wore blue hoods on all occa-
sions that they ociated. Hence, the name of the cloak: bardocullus.
 is reading is oered by W. Gilbert, L. Friedländer and W.M. Lindsay (Lindsay 1884: 279). According
to the more wide-spreaded version, Martial wrote Gallica paeda (Martial 1993a: 106), which should
refer to a short wrap covering half of the buttocks (Olson 2017: 93). In my opinion, the rst reading
seems to correspond better with the context of the epigram. In Ep. 1.92 Martial makes an attempt to
attack his rival in love in order to intimidate and humiliate him (Woolf 2006: 95). e britches down
around the knees complete the very vivid picture of dirty and poor Mamurianus better than a jacket
looking too tight.
 Martial mentions Cappadocian (Ep. 6.77.4; 10.76.3) and German (Ep. 11.96) slaves. Here one more gen-
eral remark has to be made. Several times Martial mentions also his Jewish slave (Ep. 7.35; More on
the epigram see Cohen 1999: 351356 and Gilula 1987: 533) as well as refers to Jews in general, usually
in a pejorative sense (Ep. 4.4; 7.55; 7.82; 11.94; 12.57). Cf. Gavilán 2006: 343; Chapman 2009: 328329.
On the linguistical form of Ep. 4.4 see Mindt 2020: 81). However, since the topic concerns Romano-
Barbarian relations, it does not equally describe Rome as Cosmopolis. e denition of the “Barbarian
adopted under this article, includes (almost) everyone who was not of Greek or Roman origin. Here,
the matter of Jews seems somewhat complicated. Although they originated outside from the oikoume-
nē, they became a part of it, adapting its elements, already in the Hellenistic period (Drews 2018: 47).
Hence, the quasi-denition oered by Z. Yavetz, describing Jews not as barbarians, but “a little more
so” deserves praise (1998: 77).
14
Joanna Kulawiak-Cyrankowska
Venit ab Orpheo cultor Rhodopeius Haemo,
venit et epolo Sarmata pastus equo,
et qui prima bibit deprensi umina Nili,
et quem supremae Tethyos unda ferit;
festinavit Arabs, festinavere Sabaei,
et Cilices nimbis hic maduere suis.
Crinibus in nodum tortis venere Sygambri,
atque aliter tortis crinibus Aethiopes.
Vox diversa sonat populorum, tum tamen una est,
cum verus patriae diceris esse pater .
Liber Spectaculorum (On the Spectacles) – Martial’s rst piece of work – was published at
the opening of the Colosseum. People from all over the Empire started ocking to the
Eternal City for this event. e epigram not only emphasises Rome’s power and force
of attraction to other cultures (Edwards, Woolf 2006: 1) but, interestingly, constitutes
something resembling a poetic map  of the rst-century Roman Empire, illustrating
its extremities through the selection of Barbaric nations (Marcjalis 2015: 80). Martial
mentions racians (v. 3) and Sarmatians from the Danube (v. 4) inhabiting Eastern
and South-eastern Europe, Britons (v. 6), Sabaeans from South Arabia (v. 7), Cilicians
from the Mediterranean Sea north-eastern coast, German Sygambrians (v. 9) as well
as Ethiopians (v. 10).
At the same time, these heterogeneous people were distant from the Roman world
as encircling it as well as existing within it. Barbarian appearances and customs sig-
nicantly diering from these of the inhabitants of the Apennine Peninsula – Martial
writes that Sarmatians were fed on horses’ blood (v. 4 venit et epoto Sarmata pastus
equo)  and Sygambrians had their hair curled in a knot (v. 9 crinibus in nodum tortis
venere Sygambri)  – were at the same time a part of the bigger picture: a patchy unity
existing under the Roman power (v. 1112 Vox diversa sonat populorum, tum tamen una
est/ cum verus patriae diceris esse pater) .
 “What race is so remote, so barbarous, Caesar, that no spectator from it is in your city? e farmer
of Rhodope has come from Orphic Haemus, the Sarmatian fed on draughts of horses’ blood has
come, and he who drinks discovered Nile’s rst stream, and he on whom beats the wave of farthest
Tethys. e Arab has sped hither, the Sabaeans too, and the Cilicians have here been sprayed wit h
their own showers. Sygambrians have come with hair curled in a knot and Ethiopians with hair
curled otherwise. Diverse sounds the speech of the peoples, and yet it is one, when you are called
true father of the fatherland”. Translation by D.R. Shackleton Bailey (Martial 1993a: 15).
 A similar idea can be found in Ep. 12.8 and earlier in Horace (Carm. 1.22.58).
 It is also attested by Pliny the Elder. See NH 18.100.
 eir blond wigs are mentioned by Ovid. See Am. 1.14.4550.

Similar aesthetics can be found in Ep. 8.11.34 (Sarmaticas etiam gentes Histrumque Getasque/ la-
etitiae clamor terruit ipse novae). e Ep. 6.10 also underlines Roman domination over Dacians
(v. 7 Tali s s up pli ci bu s t ri bui t d ia de mat a D ac is). Martia l seems to w rite in the same vein when warn-
ing his readers not to sh in Domitian’s shpond. Although it was open to public (D’Arms 1970:
135), shing there was strictly forbidden. e Libyan who tried to sh in imperial vivarium was later
blinded for his actions (Ep. 4.30.813 hoc quondam Libys impius profundo,/ dum praedam calamo
tremente ducit,/ raptis luminibus repente caecus/ captum non potuit videre piscem,/ et nunc sacrile-
gos perosus hamos/ Baianos sedet ad lacus rogator). is might have been a subtle political allusion
for those opposing Rome (Soldevila 2006: 262). It is also worth noticing that violating the aforemen-
tioned rule is metaphorically called sacrilegium, that is the the of sacred things, the crime against
the divine law (Dębiński 1993). A similar literary device can be also found in Horace’s Sat. 1.3, what
was spectacularly described by O. Diliberto (2012).
15
Martial on Interweaving of Roman and Barbarian Worlds
is union was not only a political declaration. It truly happened that some of the
Barbarians were approached by the Romans in a very enthusiastic manner:
Ep. 11.53:
Claudia caeruleis cum sit Runa Britannis
edita, quam Latiae pectora gentis habet!
Quale decus formae! Romanam credere matres
Italides possunt, Atthides esse suam.
Di bene quod sancto peperit fecunda marito,
quod sperat generos quodque puella nurus.
Sic placeat superis, ut coniuge gaudeat uno
et semper natis gaudeat illa tribus .
Although of British origin (v.1 caeruleis cum sit Runa Britannis) , Claudia Runa seems
to be wholly transformed into a perfect Roman matron. is epigram does not only prove
the formal easiness in which one could acquire citizenship (Evans 2002: 268269) but
also the respect or even popularity Claudia enjoyed among the Romans. Martial wishes
her everything that the patriarchal Roman world had to oer women: enjoying the title of
univira (v. 7 coniuge gaudeat uno) as well as the privilege of ius trium liberorum (v. 8 gaudeat
illa tribus), exempting from some of the obligations legally imposed on women . e
fact that Claudia’s legitimate children were Roman citizens proves that Claudia virtually
became one of them. It demonstrates that Romans were willing to incorporate the “alien.
However, it happened only on the condition that the one wearing such a label was ready
to trade it for the Roman model.
Does the winner take all?
In practice, Roman domination did not entail a common sense of security. As Martial
attests in Ep. 9.35, again somewhat returning to the concept of a poetic map, the situation
on the frontiers of the Empire, where Parthians, Germans, Sarmatians and Dacians
were a cause of the constant threat

, was subject to not necessarily true (Henriksén 1998:
178) daily gossip (Ep. 9.35.36 scis quid in Arsacia Pacorus deliberet aula,/ Rhenanam
numeras Sarmaticamque manum,/ verba ducis Daci chartis mandata resignas,/ victricem
laurum quam venit ante vides). Spreading fake-news on this topic seems to be a daily
bread for Romans, unveiling the cracks in the cherished statue of unity. ese fears,
however, derived from the conviction of Barbarian insatiability – Martial humorously
wrote about Hannibal that, even when he ate his ll of Roman geese, he never wanted
 ough Claudia Runa sprang from the blue Britons, how Latin is her mind! What beauty of form!
Italian mothers might believe her Roman, Attic mothers their own. ank the gods, she has been
fertile of ospring to her virtuous husband, and, though but a girl, hopes for sons- and daughters-
in-law. So may it please the High Ones that she rejoice in one partner and rejoice always in three
children”. Translation by D.R. Shackleton Bailey (Martial 1993c: 4749).
 Martial writes about the blue Britons, as they were painted with woad. Cf Ep. 14.99. Ceasar claimed
that the azure colour was used by them in order to present a ercer appearance (Bell. Gall. 5.14).
 One can enumerate the obligation to remain under the guardianship (Gai. 1.145) and to remarry.
A women enjoying the right of three children also regained the full capacity to succeed the inher-
itance. See as well Zabłocka 1986.
 Similarly, in Ep. 10.7 the Tiber asks the Rhine not to ever a llow the Germans to make passage over
him to the Roman bank.
16
Joanna Kulawiak-Cyrankowska
to eat domestic poultry (Ep. 13.7 Ansere Romano quamvis satur Hannibal esset,/ ipse suas
numquam barbarus edit aves) – but they could also take origin from merely observing
the Roman streets:
Ep. 11.96
Marcia, non Rhenus, salit hic, Germane: quid obstas
et puerum prohibes divitis imbre lacus?
Barbare, non debet, summoto cive ministro,
captivam victrix unda levare sitim .
Martial speaks about a German prohibiting a Roman to draw water from the Marcian
aqueduct. Although the poet calls the Roman boy a citizen (civis), he does not refer to
his legal status. is one is described by the words puer and minister meaning that the
Roman boy was a slave. e word civis is only a rhetorical device, indicating, however,
the boy’s domestic origin. However, Martial believes that the Barbarian should show
respect towards Roman sovereignty , even if embodied only by the slave. Although its
tone is humorous, the epigram again proves that the topic of Barbarians being a threat to
the Empire was very relevant for the Romans (Isaac 2004: 438). It is also a sign of internal
tensions and Roman insecurity in the Romano-Barbarian world. It was clear the Roman
culture would not fully embrace the Barbarians.
Moreover, keeping an eye on Barbarians always came with a price, which was way
higher than the one declared in Roman propaganda  – going for war or administer-
ing a province, although politically protable, did not necessarily end up with returning
home. In this spirit, the Ep. 6.76 pretends to be an inscription on the tomb of Cornelius
Fuscus, who was killed in Dacia in 87 AD (Jones 1992: 138143). However, it is the story of
Mummia Nigrina, wife of Lucius Antistius Rusticus, the governor of Cappadocia-Galatia
province in 9293 AD (Ep. 9.30.1 Cappadocum saevis Antistius occidit oris; Eck 1982: 320),
which particularly tugs at the heartstrings. Aer her husband’s death, she brought his
ashes back to Rome. As Martial writes, having buried him in the Eternal City, she
envied the tomb and felt widowed a second time (Ep. 9.30.56 cumque daret sanctam
tumulis, quibus invidet, urnam,/ visa sibi est rapto bis viduata viro).
e senatorial competition for the most lucrative governorships, such as Numidia
or Cappadocia mentioned above (Bowie 1988: 149), was inuencing social moods in
a less obvious way, being the reason for internal antagonisms (Ep. 12.29.56 Sed tu,
purpureis ut des nova nomina fastis/ Aut Nomadum gentes Cappadocumve petas). Since
a man of senatorial rank needed even more powerful patrons, they were attending

“Marcia leaps here, German, not the Rhine. Why do you stand in the way and keep the boy from
the rain of the generous pool? Barbarian, it is not tting that victorious water should relieve cap-
tive thirst and a citizen servant be elbowed aside”. Translation by D.R. Shackleton Bailey (Martial
1993c: 79).

e Ep. 10.76 proves that this problem was actually not only between Romans and Barbarians, but
equally prevalent in the mutual relations among Romans. In the epigram Martial expresses his in-
dignation at humiliation suered from Maevius, who devoted himself to poetry. Of course, Martial
tried to prove the diculties of the literary task (Cecco, Mansilla 2001: 38), however, emphasising
Maevius’ Roman and not Barbarian origin (v. 24 Civis non Syriaeve Parthiaeve,/ Nec de Cappadocis
eques catastis,/ Sed de plebe Remi Numaeque verna), further stresses the injustice that has been done
to him in his motherland.
 e climax of this phenomenon is the Ep. 7.5 – a typical example of imperial cult (Sauter 1934: 162;
Leberl 2004: 253) – where Rome longs for the return of Domitian and expresses the envy towards
Sarmatians (Vioque 2017: 72), who could enjoy his presence (v. 36 Invidet hosti/ Roma suo, veniat
laurea multa licet:/ terrarum dominum propius videt ille tuoque/ terretur vultu barbarus et fruitur).
17
Martial on Interweaving of Roman and Barbarian Worlds
salutations just as typical clients – without, however, sharing their status (Militello
2019: 190191) – and entering, therefore, into unfair competition with poorer equestrians
(Watson, Watson 2015: 11).
Despite such attempts at keeping the Barbarians in line, some Barbarian impacts
were denitely getting out of Roman control:
Ep. 7.3 0
Das Parthis, das Germanis, das, Caelia, Dacis,
nec Cilicum spernis Cappadocumque toros;
et tibi de Pharia Memphiticus urbe fututor
navigat, a rubris et niger Indus aquis;
nec recutitorum fugis inguina Iudaeorum,
nec te Sarmatico transit Alanus equo.
Qua ratione facis, cum sis Romana puella,
quod Romana tibi mentula nulla placet? 
Here Martial comes back to the concept of a poetic map, but in a very raunchy manner.
He again lists Parthians, Germans, Dacians, Cilicians, Cappadocians, Egyptians, Jews,
and Sarmatians. However, this time, peoples from the furthest corners of the Empire
are not conquered but remain the conquerors. Caelia chooses them, and not the Ro-
mans, as her lovers. Her sexual preferences were not an isolated case. In his ironic style,
Martial passes on another story of a wife of Gallus – a governor of an African province.
e poet claims she is unlawfully perceived as greedy since she keeps giving (herself)
to the provincials (Ep. 2.56).
Without any doubt, the Romans did not favour this way of interweaving Roman and
Barbarians worlds. Unlike the case of Claudia Runa mentioned earlier, choosing Bar-
barian man over Romans – the rulers of the world – had to be a social taboo, crossing
the line dividing the Roman and Barbarian worlds. e facts are, however, hard to deny.
From the point of view of Roman women, a more intimate union is dicult to imagine.
Whether Roman men liked it or not, Roman women’s bedrooms were not less patchy
than the Roman streets.
Conclusions
e established juxtaposition between “Roman” and “Barbarian” sometimes makes us
forget that these two qualities existed together and constituted a mixture of the two:
a Romano-Barbarian whole. e category of barbarism was not permanently established
but built on constantly balancing “ours” (Roman) and “alien” (Barbarian), where the
latter quality could be either rejected or incorporated into the former.
From the Roman common people’s point of view, the categories of Romans and
Barbarians, and Romans versus Barbarians were interconnected with each other. e
attempts to create a Romano-Barbarian geographical unity was inherent in the system
of Roman border control. Although increasing the number of Roman citizens born to
 “You give your favors to Parthians, you give them to Germans, Caelia, you give them to Dacians, nor
do you despise the beds of Cilicians and Cappadocians; and to you comes sailing the fornicator of
Memphis from his Pharian city and the black Indian from the Red Sea. Nor do you shun the loins
of circumcised Jews nor does the Alan pass you by with his Sarmatian horse. Why is it, since you
are a Roman girl, that no Roman cock is to your liking?”. Translation by D.R. Shackleton Bailey
(Martial 1993b: 97).
18
Joanna Kulawiak-Cyrankowska
romanised Barbarian women, transnationality was also the cause of staying alert and
keeping eyes on a potential Barbarian enemy, already present within the borders of
Roman territory. e other side of the coin of uniting under Roman domination were
passionate relationships between Roman women and Barbarian men. Martial humor-
ously played with all these tensions, unveiling the paradoxes of the Romano-Barbarian
world and proving that the Roman ability to rule the Romano-Barbarian world was at
the same time enslaving the Romans.
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Joanna Kulawiak-Cyrankowska
University of Lodz
Faculty of Law and Administration
Department of Roman Law
S. Kopcińskiego 8/12
90-232 Łódź, Poland
&
University of Lodz
Doctoral School of Humanities
ul. Pomorska 171/173
90-236 Łódź, Poland
e-mail: jkulawiak@wpia.uni.lodz.pl
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
Book
In Masculinity and Dress in Roman Antiquity, Olson argues that clothing functioned as part of the process of communication by which elite male influence, masculinity, and sexuality were made known and acknowledged, and furthermore that these concepts interconnected in socially significant ways. This volume also sets out the details of masculine dress from literary and artistic evidence and the connection of clothing to rank, status, and ritual. This is the first monograph in English to draw together the myriad evidence for male dress in the Roman world, and examine it as evidence for men's self-presentation, status, and social convention.
Chapter
It is the tenth hour of the Roman day. Business, siesta, bathing are done and now it is dinner, otium following negotium. Mingled with otium the careful performance of social officia as amici groom each other, the host balancing his reciprocal ministrations with his peers, feeding his lesser amici who in turn provide the audience that makes him great. All are ‘friends’, but the polite Latin of friendship and the etiquette of the table allows for subtle differentiations of status, just as each dinner offers the chance or risk of social demotions and promotions, of slights and compliments. The cena, where Roman ethics of patronage and deference met Greek symposiastic ethics of equality and frank-speaking, was a privileged space for such renegotiations. Literary cenae were natural vehicles for comment on these games of status and friendship, and on the culinary and social codes they employed. To modern readers none of the diners were social inferiors in any significant sense. Except for the grandest – and most offensive – banquets dreamed up by the satirists, we imagine a play around relatively slight differentials among men who all owned property, who shared the same educational background and so on.
Article
Includes Latin text of Epigrammata, Liber 7. Thesis (doctoral) - University, Seville, 1996. Includes bibliographical references (p. 521-546) and index.
Archiv für lateinische Lexikographie und Grammatik mit Einschluss des älteren Mittellateins
  • W M Lindsay
Lindsay W.M. : Summoenianus. Paeda. In: E. von Wölfflin (ed.), Archiv für lateinische Lexikographie und Grammatik mit Einschluss des älteren Mittellateins. Leipzig.
Tali dignus amico. Die Darstellung des patronus-cliens-Verhältnisses bei Horaz, Martial und Juvenal
  • V F Militello
Militello V.F. : Tali dignus amico. Die Darstellung des patronus-cliens-Verhältnisses bei Horaz, Martial und Juvenal. Tübingen.
Accumulatio as a Satirical Tool in Martial's Epigrams
  • N Mindt
Mindt N. : Accumulatio as a Satirical Tool in Martial's Epigrams. In: D. Vallat (ed.), Martial et l' épigramme satirique. Approches stylistiques et thématiques. Hildesheim, -. Nauta R.R. : Poetry for Patrons. Literary Communication in the Age of Domitian. Leiden.