This paper considers the tomb of Quintus Sulpicius Maximus, who competed in poetry at the Capitoline Games of 94 CE and died soon afterwards at the age of 11. The boy’s parents set up an elaborate funerary monument in his memory, explaining its design: ‘lest his parents may seem to have been unduly influenced by their affection for him, his extemporaneous verses have been inscribed here.’ This paper provides a new edition and translation of the text, and reads the inscription in its social, literary, and material context. Since the only surviving version of Sulpicius’ prize-winning poem is carved on the tomb, in this example scroll and marble coincide: the oeuvre is the monument itself.
A Portrait of the Poet as a Young Man: The Tomb of Quintus Sulpicius Maximus on the Via Salaria
Garulli Valentina
2018
Abstract
This paper considers the tomb of Quintus Sulpicius Maximus, who competed in poetry at the Capitoline Games of 94 CE and died soon afterwards at the age of 11. The boy’s parents set up an elaborate funerary monument in his memory, explaining its design: ‘lest his parents may seem to have been unduly influenced by their affection for him, his extemporaneous verses have been inscribed here.’ This paper provides a new edition and translation of the text, and reads the inscription in its social, literary, and material context. Since the only surviving version of Sulpicius’ prize-winning poem is carved on the tomb, in this example scroll and marble coincide: the oeuvre is the monument itself.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
