Selections from Petronius, the Satyrica

Petronius' Satyricon is one of the few texts that offers a glimpse into the 'real' world of the non-elite Roman. Although not a novel in the modern sense, it is an entertaining fictional account often narrated in the first person. This edition takes the reader through the text in a continuous arc to give a deeper understanding of the plot and characters than previous editions, which focus almost exclusively on one passage: the cena Trimalchionis. Supported by a detailed contextualising introduction and Companion Website resources, the Latin text is carefully annotated for students and a full vocabulary can be found at the end of the book. The selections in this edition put at centre stage the figure of Eumolpus: poet, storyteller, and would-be critic, as well as conman, swindler and lecher. He is one of the major characters in what survives of the Satyricon; he serves as an internal narrator for many of the longer embedded poems and stories; and he meditates on topics of great interest, such as the perceived decline of art, science, and culture in the contemporary Greco-Roman world. Following Eumolpus in this way enables students to get a sense of the broad plot of the Satyricon; to translate both prose and verse passages in this prosimetric text; and to consider and evaluate the Satyricon's relationship to the literary tradition.