The Satyricon (eBook)

Gaius Petronius Arbiter, original name Titus Petronius Niger, (died AD 66), reputed author of the Satyricon, a literary portrait of Roman society of the 1st century AD.Life.The most complete and the most authentic account of Petronius life appears in Tacitus Annals, an account that may be supplemented, with caution, from other sources. It is probable that Petronius correct name was Titus Petronius Niger. From his high position in Roman society, it may be assumed that he was wealthy; he belonged to a noble family and was therefore, by Roman standards, a man from whom solid achievements might have been expected. Tacitus account, however, shows that he belonged to a class of pleasure-seekers attacked by the Stoic philosopher Seneca, men who turned night into day; where others won reputation by effort, Petronius did so by idleness. On the rare occasions, however, when he was appointed to official positions, he showed himself energetic and fully equal to public responsibilities. He served as governor of the Asian province of Bithynia and later in his career, probably in AD 62 or 63, held the high office of consul, or first magistrate of Rome.The Satyricon.The Satyricon, or Satyricon liber (Book of Satyrlike Adventures), is a comic, picaresque novel that is related to several ancient literary genres. In style it ranges between the highly realistic and the self-consciously literary, and its form is episodic. It relates the wanderings and escapades of a disreputable trio of adventurers, the narrator Encolpius (Embracer), his friend Ascyltos (Scot-free), and the boy Giton (Neighbour). The surviving portions of the Satyricon (parts of Books XV and XVI) probably represent about one-tenth of the complete work, which was evidently very long. The loose narrative framework encloses a number of independent tales, a classic instance being the famous Widow of Ephesus (Satyricon, ch. 111112). Other features, however, recall the Menippean satire; these features include the mixture of prose and verse in which the work is composed; and the digressions in which the author airs his own views on various topics having no connection with the plot.