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    The Satyricon
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    The Satyricon
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    The Satyricon
    Ebook274 pages3 hours

    The Satyricon

    By Petronius Arbiter

    3.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    The Satyricon is a Latin work of fiction in a mixture of prose and poetry. It is believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius Arbiter, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as a certain Titus Petronius. As with the Metamorphoses of Apuleius, classical scholars often describe it as a "Roman novel", without necessarily implying continuity with the modern literary form. The surviving portions of the text detail the misadventures of the narrator, Encolpius, and his lover, a handsome sixteen-year-old boy named Giton. Throughout the novel, Encolpius has a hard time keeping his lover faithful to him as he is constantly being enticed away by others. Encolpius's friend Ascyltus (who seems to have previously been in a relationship with Encolpius) is another major character.


    Of the many masterpieces which classical antiquity has bequeathed to modern times, few have attained, at intervals, to such popularity; few have so gripped the interest of scholars and men of letters, as has this scintillating miscellany known as the Satyricon, ascribed by tradition to that Petronius who, at the court of Nero, acted as arbiter of elegance and dictator of fashion. The flashing, wit, the masterly touches which bring out the characters with all the detail of a fine old copper etching; the marvelous use of realism by this, its first prophet; the sure knowledge of the perspective and background best adapted to each episode; the racy style, so smooth, so elegant, so simple when the educated are speaking, beguile the reader and blind him, at first, to the many discrepancies and incoherences with which the text, as we have it, is marred. The more one concentrates upon this author, the more apparent these faults become and the more one regrets the lacunae in the text. Notwithstanding numerous articles which deal with this work, some from the pens of the most profound scholars, its author is still shrouded in the mists of uncertainty and conjecture. He is as impersonal as Shakespeare, as aloof as Flaubert, in the opinion of Charles Whibley, and, it may be added, as genial as Rabelais; an enigmatic genius whose secret will never be laid bare with the resources at our present command.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBookRix
    Release dateJun 27, 2019
    ISBN9783736809239
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for The Satyricon

    3.5/5

    294 ratings4 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This is a clear, straightforward translation of this superbly funny bit of "adult" reading that had monks chuckling in their scriptoria down the ages. A "must have" for that corner of the book shelves where Catullus' poetry and Lysistrata dwell.
    • 3/5
      Schelmenroman in de overtreffende trap, prachtig, scabreus; datering en auteurschap onzeker
    • 4/5
      Only fragments remain from the original and so what we have here is, well, fragmentary. Some bits are amusing, some bits are confusing, and it all naturally enough goes nowhere. The "plot", such as there is, bears remarkable similarity to that of the second Austin Powers movie. With slightly more gay sex.
    • 4/5
      So this is like a Roman Brideshead Revisited, a fantasy of lushness beyond this world. Only Petronius's fantasies include less Catholic moral reckoning and English awkwardness (which can carry an erotic charge just like anything can mate) and more let's be generous and call it "ephebophilia" and, like, elaborate Roman turduckens.