Stop and Smell the Romans: Odor in Roman Literature
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Stop and Smell the Romans: Odor in Roman Literature by Kate Allen A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Classical Studies) in the University of Michigan 2015 Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Ruth R. Caston, Chair Professor Victor Caston Professor David S. Potter Professor Celia E. Schultz CALVIN AND HOBBES © 1995 Watterson. Reprinted with permission of UNIVERSAL UCLICK. All rights reserved. CALVIN AND HOBBES © 1995 Watterson. Reprinted with permission of UNIVERSAL UCLICK. All rights reserved. ad maiorem Dei gloriam ii Acknowledgements This project would not have happened without the support and encouragement of many people, both within the Department of Classics and beyond: Thanks first and foremost to my advisor, Ruth Caston, whose insightful comments and ability to unearth my main arguments from the chaos of early drafts were matched only by her patience and insistence that I believe in myself. Thanks also to Celia Schultz for coming on at the last minute but with no less enthusiasm for the project, to Victor Caston for helping me untangle the Greek philosophy of the senses, and to David Potter for providing historical perspective on my literary study. Michelle Biggs and the office staff answered all of my questions (even the ones I asked more than once), fed me Twix bars, and prevented my dissertation, and the department, from spontaneously combusting. Without them we would all be hopelessly lost. Comet Coffee provided the best lattes in Ann Arbor, and Zingerman’s Delicatessen contributed the unrivaled Dirty Sheed and the world’s best pretzel sticks. Thank you both for fueling this project. My friends and family members kept my sanity in check with words of encouragement, cards and packages, and much-needed distractions. To my parents and siblings, who endured my grad-school-induced panic attacks and pretended not to notice when I brought too many books home over breaks, I can only say: thank you so much, and I apologize! Special thanks to my grandma, who asked how “the paper” was going every time I called. The Dissertators Gchat iii Group (Ellen Cole Lee, Amy Pistone, Tiggy McLaughlin, and Tim Hart) offered the perfect balance of emotional support, accountability, and silly GIFs—“fulsome yays” to you all! I could not have kept at it without a host of fellow graduate students who made the department a friendly and welcoming place during an increasingly isolating process: shout-outs to Clara Bosak- Schroeder, Erika Valdivieso, Cassandra Borges, Elizabeth Platte, Rebecca Sears, Harriet Fertik, Evelyn Adkins, Bram ten Berge, Nicholas Rupert, Evan Lee, Jacqueline Pincus, Jessica Stephens, and Nicholas Geller. Lastly, to my non-department friends (Renee Mayes, Lauren Janicki, Elizabeth Miller, Kathleen Polk, Kristy Eason, and Kristie Good), for movie nights, wig days, prayers, and nodding and smiling when I rambled on about Latin: may the Force be with you all. Finally, to my undergraduate advisor, Peter Anderson, who first guided me through Martial’s world of odors and planted the seeds which grew into this project. This is all your fault. And thank you. iv Contents Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Why smell? ................................................................................................................................. 1 Smell in the humanities and classics ........................................................................................... 7 Project overview ....................................................................................................................... 11 Smell in Greek and Roman thought .......................................................................................... 17 Chapter outline .......................................................................................................................... 25 Chapter 1: Sniffing out Stereotypes: Identity in Plautine Comedy............................................... 29 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 29 1. Identity and self-image ......................................................................................................... 33 2. Transformation and self-improvement ................................................................................. 39 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 60 Chapter 2: Smelling Strife: Death and Decay in Latin Epic ......................................................... 63 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 63 1. Nature and the supernatural .................................................................................................. 68 2. Plague and war ...................................................................................................................... 82 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 102 Chapter 3: Scent of a Roman: The Poet and his Readers in Martial’s Epigrammata ................. 105 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 105 1. Martial’s world of odors ..................................................................................................... 111 2. Noses, criticism, and literary sophistication ....................................................................... 128 3. The poet as victim ............................................................................................................... 137 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 149 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 152 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 159 v Introduction “…the first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it.” —T.S. Eliot1 Why smell? The Ongee of the Andaman Islands greet one another by asking Konyune? Onorange- tanka?, that is, “How is your nose?” “If the person feels 'heavy' with odour, the enquirer politely sniffs some of it away. If, on the other hand, the person feels she or he is low on odour-energy, the enquirer will provide an infusion of extra scent by blowing on her or him.”2 This scent-based greeting stems from the Ongee belief that odor is the source of a person’s identifying characteristics and life force. Understanding one’s own odor and the odors of the community and environment thus leads to self-awareness and a sense of identity among the members of a specific group. Odor can be used to divide people as well as unite them.3 Among the Dassanetch tribe of southwestern Ethiopia, odors related to cattle, such as that of manure, are considered fragrant. Because cattle are central to Dassanetch society, smelling of them suggests wealth and high social standing, a connection no modern Westerner would be likely to make. On the other hand, 1 “In Praise of Kipling’s Verse,” Harper’s Magazine, July 1, 1942, p. 156. 2 Classen et al. (1994) 114. 3 Cf. Manalansan (2006) 44: “I submit that the sense of smell is the basis for recognition and misrecognition and that it provides an opportunity to affiliate, to belong as well as to disidentify and to ostracize.” 1 the Dassanetch abhor the odor of fish, for fishermen are considered the lowest members of society and their odor is therefore classified as disagreeable. Far from being inherently “good” or “bad,” therefore, the status of these odors is culturally determined, based on an association with two different classes of people within a specific society.4 Anthropological work suggests that there are no universally “bad” odors. Some people actually like the smell of skunk (among them prominent smell psychologist Dr. Rachel Herz), while others dislike typically "pleasant" scents such as rose.5 Studies also suggest that our interpretation of, and consequent liking for, odors can be easily manipulated. Dr. Herz and her research team found that they could produce vastly different responses to a decontextualized odor just by giving it a new name: subjects refused to believe that the smell called ‘vomit’ and the one called ‘Parmesan cheese’ were actually the same odor, with only the label changed.6 Without the proper context—a bakery storefront, for example—we may not even recognize our favorite odors, such as baking bread or freshly brewed coffee. Additionally, while scents are extolled as among our strongest memory triggers,7 when asked to recall a scent, most people cannot do so.8 The resulting paradox is that preference for odors is indicative of a certain cultural 4 Classen 1992. 5 Herz