Gems, Metapoetics, and Value: Greek and Roman Responses to a Third-Century Discourse on Precious Stones

The recently published Milan papyrus opens with a striking sequence of epigrams devoted to stones. Its themes form the literary background for other ancient treatments of gemstones. An epigram from the papyrus itself and a poem by Phoenix of Colophon critique these themes from an ideological perspective. Maecenas, Augustus, and later Roman authors offer responses both moral and metapoetic. The new papyrus thus allows us to see in formerly isolated passages an ongoing engagement with the innovative subject matter of a third-century epigram collection.