Religion in Martial’s apologia pro opere suo

Religion in Martial’s apologia pro opere suo

This paper will examine Martial’s use of religious discourse in his literary apologiae. I will first show how in Book 1 he establishes the paradigm of using ritual license to defend obscene language in his poetry. I will then move to Book 8, which is unusual since it does not contain any primary obscenities and it is dedicated to the emperor. My argument is that in this book Martial remains within the religious framework but employs a different idea, approaching gods in a state of purity, to justify the unexpected lack of obscenity.

In his study of Martial’s apologiae, J.P. Sullivan argues that festivals of license, like the Saturnalia and Floralia, are an important model for epigram as a genre. The prose preface of Book 1 creates an analogy between the language of epigram and the theatrical games found in the Floralia; just as nudity in the Floralia is justified through ritual license, so is obscenity in epigram justified as an essential element of the genre (1.pr.14-15: epigrammata illis scribuntur qui solent spectare Florales). Furthermore, Martial presents his poetic space as a theater and himself as a figure of authority that dictates who is allowed to enter (1.pr.15-16: non intret Cato theatrum meum). Given the theater’s connection to the Floralia, it is apparent that Martial is constructing a space in which his poetry is religiously sanctioned.

The opposite problem arises in Book 8, however. It is the lack of obscenity in this book that needs justification, since Martial has so far presented epigram as an essentially obscene genre. Scholars have attempted to explain the unusual nature of this book, usually settling on the fact that Martial did not want to offend the emperor’s personal taste (Coleman, Johannsen, Lorenz). While this proposition does have some merit, it does not explain how the contents of this book can be excused within the framework of religious discourse. In the prose preface, Martial dedicates the book to the emperor and reminds us that individuals should be purified before entering a temple (8.pr.15-17: meminerit non nisi religiosa purificatione lustratos accedere ad templa debere). He is invoking the idea of approaching gods in a state of purity of mind and body (Cic. Leg. 2.24) as justification for lack of obscenity. The spatial context is also strikingly different from Book 1, since Martial is no longer safe within the sanctified space of his poetic theater, but instead finds himself before the imperial palace. This position allows him to take advantage of Domitian’s self-fashioning as a divine figure and the architectural similarities between the domus Flavia and a temple (Zanker). In the first epigram, the book stands at the entrance to the imperial palace (8.1.1: laurigeros domini, liber, intrature penates), where Martial denounces Venus, who represents obscenity, and embraces Minerva, Domitian’s patron goddess. The new spatial context allows Martial to frame the removal of obscene language from his book as a “purification” ritual which is necessary for it to be received into the divine presence of the emperor.