Martial (ca. 38-ca. 104), whose full name was Marcus Valerius Martialis, was a Roman epigrammatist. The development of the epigram as we know it was largely due to Martial's influence. His works give one of the best pictures of life in ancient Rome....

On learning of the recent death of Marcus Valerius Martialis in about A.D. 103, the younger Pliny wrote (Epistles 3.21), I hear that Valerius Martial is dead and I am very distressed. He was a man of remarkable talent; he had a perceptive and sharp...

Preacher uses Christian-based martial arts to reach out to youth Karate for Christ might be one way to describe Justin Gay's faith- based martial arts school, but the Dayton preacher says the roots of his program go much deeper. Gay is a...

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Thailand's military-installed government Tuesday lifted martial law in more than half of the 400 districts where it remained after being imposed during a coup last year, a government spokesman said.The decision comes ahead of a general election scheduled for Dec. 23, the first since former...

The powerful army commander who led a coup in September said Tuesday that martial law needs to be maintained in certain parts of Thailand, citing recent arson attacks targeting schools in the country's north and northeast.Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin said "ill-intended people" are behind the attacks...

In the following excerpt, Sullivan focuses on the poet's structural and technical artistry. Sullivan analyzes Martial's arrangement of epigrams within individual volumes, the variety of endings and metrical forms in his epigrams, his innovations in poetic diction and imagery, and the different kinds of humor Martial employs in his verses.

In the essay below, Anderson contrasts the function of wit in Martial and Juvenal by an extended comparison of their poetry, particularly Martial's epigram 3.52 and Juvenal's third satire. He calls attention to significant differences in tone and purpose—even when the basic material is the same—and distinguishes between Martial's primary interest in humor and Juvenal's subordination of wit to serious thematic issues.

In the essay below, Butler offers a variety of judgments regarding Martial's life and work. He complains that Martial lacks seriousness and is guilty of lewdness, yet he credits the poet with an elegant style and a realistic view of his own abilities.