Satyricon

It’s not sufficiently realised that the classical tradition of western Europe was shaped by the Catholic Church, which dominated education in the west from the fourth century, when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman empire, until the Reformation in northern Europe in the sixteenth. The texts that survived in any number, like those of Virgil, were accordingly the ones amenable to incorporation into Catholic ideology. A text like Lucretius’s De Rerum Natura – ‘On the Nature of Things’ – whose materialism was incompatible with incorporation, survived in only a handful of copies. The Satyricon of Petronius fared even worse, surviving only in fragments; no doubt Petronius’s Roman acceptance of all shades of sexuality alienated the narrow sexual mores of the church. The fragmentation of the Satyricon is, in fact, a great loss. The largest surviving fragment of the text – Trimalchio’s dinner party –is an exuberant social satire, from a ruling-class perspective, of the bourgeoisie of early first-century Rome: the class of craftsmen, traders, and moneymen who formed the social matrix of early Christianity. In its full version it promises to have been one of the great comic novels of the European tradition, comparable in its energy and humanity to Fielding and Dickens, and possibly surpassing them in its sophisticated sense of farce. The translation by J. P. Sullivan is fluent and engaging, and the notes helpful, if at times pedantic. A revelation offering valuable insights into one of the formative moments of European history.

I love the idea of having an *inexpensive* paperback copy of a classical text, with no en-face English translation. I can carry it in my coat pocket, read it as I would an ordinary book, and in its margins I can scribble away to my heart's content. This editor (JiaHu Books) has also brought out original-language paperback editions of Homer, Xenephon, Ovid's Metamorphoses, Apuleius' Asinus Aureus, and other Greek and Latin classics, as well as a great many classics in other ancient and modern languages -- many extremely difficult and expensive to obtain otherwise. The only complaints I have of this Petronius are that (1) there is no indication of whose recension this is (Mueller's? Buecheler's?) (2) this edition does not contain the poemata and fragments of Petronius, and (3) there are a few typos. At the price, however, I forgive everything.

This book was required for a university class I was taking. I was pleased to find it on amazon for a good price.

The Satyricon is an interesting story on many levels. It includes a fascinating look into concepts of friendship and love in Rome, and is one important source we have for views of magic and witchcraft in Rome. The work has a great deal to tell us about Roman society, and perceptions of Roman society despite its satirical nature. Secondly, just as Livy and Virgil tend to draw a great deal from the Illiad, this work draws from the Odyssey but does so in what seems to be intended to be a humorous way. It is also an enjoyable read.The Apocolocyntosis is a humorous skit mocking the late emperor Claudius's ascent into godhood. The title includes a play on words (if Apotheosis is turning a person into a god, then Apocolocyntosis is turning a person into a gourd or pumpkin). The message seems to be that Claudius was a gambler who was more fit to be remembered for his gambling tools (made of gourd?) than honored as a god. There are subtle elements to this metaphor which are dependent on a good knowledge of the Hellenistic world (such as the widespread cult of Tyche, the goddess of luck).The translations are easy to read and well put together. This edition also adds insightful introductions and copious end-notes to help the serious student get more out of these works. I would highly recommend it.

How much you appreciate THE SATYRICON depends on why you're reading it. If you're reading for a good story, look elsewhere. This is a fragment. The missing parts are gone forever. We can only imagine what the missing parts contained. But if you're reading for a glimpse into Roman life in first century AD, this is a treat. It's a very readable translation that is also very funny. I laughed out loud a couple of times. The introduction explains that it is a spoof of THE ODYSSEY. Odysseus gets blown around the Mediterranean as a result of having offended Poseidon. In THE SATYRICON the protagonist has offended Priapus and must suffer his wrath as the bounces around the Bay of Naples.This work is famous for its depiction of the uber-freedman, Trimalchio, and his excessively vulgar banquet, and it lived up to my expectations. Oh how I wish that someone would miraculously discover the missing parts. What there is of this is great.The APOCOLOCYNTOSIS is an amusing brief work (once again fragmentary) by Seneca that gives some insight into the sensibilities of the time. Also included are several chunks of text that were perhaps part of the SATYRICON at one time. There are detailed notes and introductions for everything. I can't imagine anything better, other than complete texts. Five stars.