CLST 103 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Curse Tablet, Como, Ludi
15 Jun 2018
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WEEK 11
March 27, 2017
Literacy, Literature, and power:
- Graffiti is important for us to see because we are able to tell a few things from it
o The spelling tells us if the person was intelligent or not
o We can see references to works of literature
- The graffiti is really small so it is hard to read it
Defixio (plu. Defixiones) = curse tablet
- Show the desire that the god or goddess can punish someone that didn’t behave
- Tablets can be about thievery, love spells, etc
- How it is made:
o Thin foil of lead is written on (it is really soft)
o The foil is rolled
o Then nailed
- With cursed tablets, we frequently find voodoo dolls
Libraries:
- Rich families had personal libraries in their houses
- 39 BCE Asinius Pollio sets up the first public library in Rome
- Pliny the Younger donated a library in Comum
Baths
- Social times
- There were separate baths for men and women
- If there were baths for men and women, there were different times for the two genders
Speaking to an audience
Circulating a text
- It was common to read texts of literature in public
o Authors often did this to get feedback from the audience
- Stage plays at the ludi
o Originally 11 days a year in 200 BCE
o But under Augustus it grew to 43 days a year
o The first permanent theatre in Rome was the theatre of Pompey in 55 BCE
o Another theatre was the theatre of Marcellus in 11 BCE
- Going to the senate house (curia) was a way to hear rhetoric
- Recitatio (pl. recitationes) = reading
o They also had literary dinners to read their literature to guests
- The scrolls were written on papyrus
Sometimes people wrote shit about other people
- In some cases we know that censors intervened, but we also know that Augustus
intervened at sometimes.
Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso)
- Exiled by Augustus to Tomis – it is not sure why but it is speculated that he was exiled
because he wrote in a sexual way about Augustus’ daughter Julia
- Main works:
o Amores (loves)
o Ars
o *
o *
o *
o *
- He even addresses Augustus in Tristia
o Ovid questions why he was exiled when other people write about the same things
o There were also erotic scenes on pottery
March 28, 2017
Romans believed that the ideal roman man should be active – not someone who could
continuously relax and spend time reading or writing. They considered reading an activity that
we do during our free time.
Only if literature provides uoluptas (pleasure) and utilitas (usefulness), it is acceptable.
Good and bad examples:
- Dicta Catonis (the sayings of Cato)
- Facta and Dicta Memorabilia by Varro (Memorable words and deeds)
o These are good examples for the young romans to read because the works were
written by/about reputable people.
Dulce = pleasurable
Poeta = poet (from Greek)
Uates = prophet, bard, poet
Plautus adapted from Greek New Comedy (esp. Menander)
- We have 20 comedies by him
Document Summary
Graffiti is important for us to see because we are able to tell a few things from it: the spelling tells us if the person was intelligent or not, we can see references to works of literature. The graffiti is really small so it is hard to read it. Show the desire that the god or goddess can punish someone that didn"t behave. Tablets can be about thievery, love spells, etc. How it is made: thin foil of lead is written on (it is really soft, the foil is rolled, then nailed. With cursed tablets, we frequently find voodoo dolls. Rich families had personal libraries in their houses. 39 bce asinius pollio sets up the first public library in rome. Pliny the younger donated a library in comum. There were separate baths for men and women. If there were baths for men and women, there were different times for the two genders.
