Martial on Ovid on Ovid: Mart. 11.104, The Remedia Amoris, and Saturnalian Poetics

This article reexamines the interactions of Martial’s epigram 11.104 with Ovidian poetry. While previous interpretations have been primarily concerned with Martial’s manifest allusion to the Ars amatoria in this epigram, its hitherto neglected relations to Ovid’s Remedia amoris are here taken into consideration. The case is made that Martial systematically alludes to motifs from Ars amatoria as well as Amores in order to confront them with their respective reworkings in the Remedia amoris. Thus, Martial’s epigram gives an exemplary reading of the Remedia amoris as an inversion of Ovid’s former works. Ultimately, this engagement with Ovid’s Re-media amoris stands in the service of Martial’s Saturnalian poetics.