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El Satiricó i trenta fragments
De molts segles ençà, «El Satiricó» ha seduït i escandalitzat la cultura europea, i ocupa un lloc d'honor en el que podríem dir la literatura prohibida i secreta. Però, d'altra banda, és una obra que la tradición científica dels filòlegs i dels estudiosos del eón clàssic ha considerat sempre cabdal, perquè constitueix una font indispensable per al coneixement de la Roma dels primers segles de la nostra era. Les aventures d'Enclopi, Ascilt, Gitó i Eumolp són un continu vaivé d'escenes que inclouen des de les situacions més tristament melodramàtiques fins a –sobretot– les més còmicament obscenes, i és per la franquesa d'aquestes últimes que l'obra forma part de la tradició «maleïda». Però és que l'art consumat de Petroni com a escriptor sap bastir, sobre aquest ordit argumental, un magnífic mosaic de la vida quotidiana de les classes urbanes i un joc constant de paròdies sobre els gèneres literaris del seu temps. El conjunt ofereix una sensació de frescor i d'immediatesa patent fins i tot per al lector d'avui, que reconeixerà sens dubte l'encert amb què estan dosificades.
154 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 1997
3 people are currently reading
128 people want to read
About the author
Petronius
274 books122 followersPeople credit Roman courtier Gaius Petronius, known as Petronius Arbiter, with writing the
Satyricon
.
People generally think that he during the reign of Nero Claudius Caesar, which began in 54, authored this satirical novel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petronius
Alternative spellings for Petronius:
Brazilian Portuguese: Petrônio
French: Pétrone
Spanish: Petronio
Greek: Πετρώνιος
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petronius
People generally think that he during the reign of Nero Claudius Caesar, which began in 54, authored this satirical novel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petronius
Alternative spellings for Petronius:
Brazilian Portuguese: Petrônio
French: Pétrone
Spanish: Petronio
Greek: Πετρώνιος
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petronius
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 13 reviews
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June 24, 2022Petronius is one we see all over the place but it seems isn’t too popular lately which I find a shame because this was a shock a delightful encounter for the most part. It’s also incredibly horny & we learn a lot about roman sexuality even if we’ve encountered certain poets this is an exceptionally gay book. Tonally sits somewhere between Sade and Candide. The great set piece is Trimalchio’s Feast but we ought not forget the rapid rabid goose attacks & surprise elderly pegging that goes on after. The Fragments are also v interesting and worth one’s time as poetry they turn the piece around & we have something rawly beautiful (though as P has explained - Beauty is not enough)
maybe-someday
February 1, 2008Another Penguin Classic. I added the bookjacket information and excerpt about Petronius in the description. For the non nerds among you prandial means of or relating to a meal. Time to make dinner.
April 29, 2023
Good though scandalous.
August 11, 2023
This book is believed to be one tenth of a much larger work . It is fragmentary at best and references are made to plot twists that we can only infer existed. It is one of the very few surviving "novels" of Roman times - the other more complete one being "The Golden Ass" by Apuleius. Despite the fragmentary nature of the work, the Satyricon manages to present a few fully realized "set pieces" like "Trimalchion's dinner", sprinkle Milesian tales like the "Widow from Ephesus" and transport us to the rarefied world that was Rome under emperor Nero. Also in the text there are some poems to reinforce the text, either by displaying erudite examples or intentionally bad to deride pretentious oratory.
The main thrust of the story follows two men, ex-lovers Encolpius and Ascyltos, as they bicker over Giton ,an adolescent they both love. They alternatively rekindle and squash their friendship depending on the circumstances. We infer Encolpius is persecuted because of a crime against the god Priapus that is not specified. Their fortunes takes twists and turns at a rapid pace in a way reminiscent of the "picaresque" style of narrative. A series of memorable characters are woven in and out, for example Eumolpus, the lecherous poetaster and art critic; or Trimalchio, the "nouveau riche" eager to impress his guests with theatrics and displays of wealth of all kinds. His wife Fortunata wouldn't be out of place today in one of those "Housewives of ..... thrash tv series . There's also the seductive Circe, a dame attracted to slaves for sexual gratification, the venial witch Oneontha, entrusted to cure encolpius impotence and many others.
This book was maligned for ages for its sexual explicitness but that's the least of its charms. Yes, sex abounds, of all sorts, sought, begged , made fun of and taken if need be. Everyone is selling it or withholding it for gain and influence, no guilt attached. This doesn't make love adventures any less painful, torturous even. One might reflect that this "pagan" outlook ended- at least outwardly- with the advent of Christianity and its insistence on the inherent dignity of every human, including slaves. Too bad Christianity itself fell victim to the Church and its enterprise at the expense of those it claimed to protect. Petronius provides some philosophical justifications for his attitude towards sex (Lychas drowning) and death in Roman times. I hesitate to call it Epicurean in nature but it has some elements of it , faithfulness and marital bliss for one would be truly "values " if all other choices were open, as also the conscience of the banality of excessive planing and fortune sleeking. But the characters in his book display very little "virtue, epicurean or otherwise, except that some bonds do, in fact, endure like those of the two quarreling protagonists and tears flow freely at the loss of loved ones.
The book seems written by a man of letters, an insider who is therefore able to eviscerate those pretending to posses those same qualities and belong to the elite . But the writer further enjoys taking his scalpel to the messy, greedy, lusty and pretentious nature of all humanity. The Satyricon is a testament to the endurance of human foibles. It would be easy to find contemporaneous equivalents to his cast of grotesques, they do reappear in world literature all over. Just by way of example, Trump would be perfectly suited to be a mirror image of Trimalchio, with his preening displays of power and gold, Eumolpus would not be out of place among the "intellectuals" selling their opinion for grants and status while pursuing much lower satisfaction.
In short, the author's world is not ours, except that it still is. We can imagine the thin veneer of political correctness falling apart and being exposed to the true limits of speech (not offending the powerful), we can sympathize with the laments about art and politics and how they answer only to money, the fluidity of sexuality far beyond what is considered proper, the willful delusions of those that can afford them, etc...
Of course, one fifth of the inhabitants of Rome were enslaved people and had no voice but the Satyricon is not burdened by any notion that suffering somehow makes people more enlightened. Every effort for the freed slave Trimalchio to escape the stench of his peasant past is met with failure and secret derision. His rings, purple robes, fancy dishes and massive funeral plans are pathetic to everyone except himself, he is impersonating a free born Roman with every symbol he can buy but it all still comes across as a sad circus. It has been hinted that Petronius was really mocking the emperor and his courtiers which he knew very well as he was, literally, the "arbiter" of taste in Nero's court ....and paid for this post with his life.I like the anecdote that tells us that Petronious committed suicide very much like Socrates, but instead of dispensing wisdom while dying, he just went about asking for stories and amusing pastimes.
The main thrust of the story follows two men, ex-lovers Encolpius and Ascyltos, as they bicker over Giton ,an adolescent they both love. They alternatively rekindle and squash their friendship depending on the circumstances. We infer Encolpius is persecuted because of a crime against the god Priapus that is not specified. Their fortunes takes twists and turns at a rapid pace in a way reminiscent of the "picaresque" style of narrative. A series of memorable characters are woven in and out, for example Eumolpus, the lecherous poetaster and art critic; or Trimalchio, the "nouveau riche" eager to impress his guests with theatrics and displays of wealth of all kinds. His wife Fortunata wouldn't be out of place today in one of those "Housewives of ..... thrash tv series . There's also the seductive Circe, a dame attracted to slaves for sexual gratification, the venial witch Oneontha, entrusted to cure encolpius impotence and many others.
This book was maligned for ages for its sexual explicitness but that's the least of its charms. Yes, sex abounds, of all sorts, sought, begged , made fun of and taken if need be. Everyone is selling it or withholding it for gain and influence, no guilt attached. This doesn't make love adventures any less painful, torturous even. One might reflect that this "pagan" outlook ended- at least outwardly- with the advent of Christianity and its insistence on the inherent dignity of every human, including slaves. Too bad Christianity itself fell victim to the Church and its enterprise at the expense of those it claimed to protect. Petronius provides some philosophical justifications for his attitude towards sex (Lychas drowning) and death in Roman times. I hesitate to call it Epicurean in nature but it has some elements of it , faithfulness and marital bliss for one would be truly "values " if all other choices were open, as also the conscience of the banality of excessive planing and fortune sleeking. But the characters in his book display very little "virtue, epicurean or otherwise, except that some bonds do, in fact, endure like those of the two quarreling protagonists and tears flow freely at the loss of loved ones.
The book seems written by a man of letters, an insider who is therefore able to eviscerate those pretending to posses those same qualities and belong to the elite . But the writer further enjoys taking his scalpel to the messy, greedy, lusty and pretentious nature of all humanity. The Satyricon is a testament to the endurance of human foibles. It would be easy to find contemporaneous equivalents to his cast of grotesques, they do reappear in world literature all over. Just by way of example, Trump would be perfectly suited to be a mirror image of Trimalchio, with his preening displays of power and gold, Eumolpus would not be out of place among the "intellectuals" selling their opinion for grants and status while pursuing much lower satisfaction.
In short, the author's world is not ours, except that it still is. We can imagine the thin veneer of political correctness falling apart and being exposed to the true limits of speech (not offending the powerful), we can sympathize with the laments about art and politics and how they answer only to money, the fluidity of sexuality far beyond what is considered proper, the willful delusions of those that can afford them, etc...
Of course, one fifth of the inhabitants of Rome were enslaved people and had no voice but the Satyricon is not burdened by any notion that suffering somehow makes people more enlightened. Every effort for the freed slave Trimalchio to escape the stench of his peasant past is met with failure and secret derision. His rings, purple robes, fancy dishes and massive funeral plans are pathetic to everyone except himself, he is impersonating a free born Roman with every symbol he can buy but it all still comes across as a sad circus. It has been hinted that Petronius was really mocking the emperor and his courtiers which he knew very well as he was, literally, the "arbiter" of taste in Nero's court ....and paid for this post with his life.I like the anecdote that tells us that Petronious committed suicide very much like Socrates, but instead of dispensing wisdom while dying, he just went about asking for stories and amusing pastimes.
June 24, 2023
when will the girlies start recommending this on booktok for pride month? when will they consider the satyricon a spicy read?
August 18, 2024
A strange and bawdy little read - I particularly liked the unexpected werewolf anecdote!
August 21, 2024
sosiety if the whole thing survived............
December 3, 2024
Þetta er bara ein sú besta bók sem ég hef lesið
May 21, 2013
I read this book years ago but decided to re-read it as I thought it would be interesting to get a less elevated impression of Roman life as most of what I have read deals with Emperors and Senators. The Satyricon is interesting as an early example of the novel and as a revelatory portrayal of how normal homosexuality was in the ancient world, but I don't think it has much inherent literary value. It is an interesting curio and nothing more.
November 9, 2020
Not sure why, but I really didn't care for this. Maybe I would have felt differently if I had read it as part of a class or while hearing a lecture enlightening me more, but though it had a few amusing parts it didn't really grab me. An interesting window into the Roman world but didn't really enjoy it.
February 28, 2011
A key to understanding 1st Century Roman society. The first novel. "Cena Trimalchionis" is a set piece of Latin prose and should be familiar to all students of that language. Because of the subject matter, beware of bowlderized translations--I enjoyed the Penguin edition.
September 15, 2011
shocking, disturbing, and just plain weird!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 13 reviews