Under the Great Mother's Sway: An Excursion through Martial Book Three
Abstract
Abstract: Recurring motifs are a well-noted structuring and meaning-making device in Martial's epigrams. In this article I demonstrate how the word Gallus and its cognates create specific significance in book three, engendering both a tangible architecture within the book and facilitating intertexts between these poems and those of Catullus and Ovid. Moreover, by blurring the discrete meanings of Gallus (both as the not fully-male devotee of Cybele and as the non-Roman Gaul) and gallus , (the non-human rooster) Martial can present himself as a challenging but non-threatening poet—cocky but ultimately domesticated—and invite the reader to consider their own status and identity in turn.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Classical Antiquity Studies
Classical Studies and Philology
Renaissance Literature and Culture
Publication details
- Journal / source
- The Classical Journal
- Volume
- 121
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 363–394
- Publication date
- 1 February 2026
- Language
- EN