Apophoreta
Apophoreta ( Greek ἀποφόρητα , also apophoreticum ) are festive gifts that were raffled off or distributed on special occasions in Roman households. The fourteenth book of the epigrams of the poet Martial is entitled with this title.
Martial wrote his Apophoreta with regard to the Saturnalia , the main reason for the distribution of such gifts. Such gifts are raffled not only at the dinner of the Trimalchio des Petron but also outside of the Saturnalia festival.
Apparently, a stylish way of giving the gifts was that they were announced by a short, original poem (in Martial a two-line text). Martial differentiates between gifts for the rich and for the poor, which are often presented alternately in the Apophoreta. They can vary significantly in their quality and value. Martial, for example, creates a seal with a golden ornate drinking bowl as well as with drinking utensils made of clay.
In the late imperial era , the gifts that officials distributed at games were apparently called apophoreta. The origin of the custom is, to judge according to the tradition of Athenaios , not only according to the name of Greek origin.
literature
- August Mau : Apophoreta. In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume II, 1, Stuttgart 1895, column 174 ( digitized version ).
