Juvenal

• Juvenal (c.55-c.138 CE), known as Decimus Junius Juvenalis, was a Roman Poet who is considered to be the last and greatest Roman Satirist.

 Biography

• His dates are not known exactly but he appears to have outlived Hadrian (117-138 CE)
• Juvenal appears to have offended an actor with powerful connections and been exiled to Egypt, either by Trajan or Domitian, possibly between 93-96 CE. Nerva apparently had him recalled.
• Juvenal’s Works are contemporary with Martial (40-c.104 CE), Tacitus (56-117 CE) and Pliny the Younger (61-112 CE).

Works

• The Satires are 16 Poems compiled into 5 Books that are all written in Dactylic Hexameter and written between c. 100 – 127 CE.
  1. Book I – Satires 1-5: It is hard not to write Satire (Published circa 100-101 CE)
  2. Book II – Satire 6: Hypocrites are intolerable
  3. Book III – Satires 7-9: There is no room in Rome for a Roman
  4. Book IV – Satires 10-12: The Emperor’s Fish
  5. Book V – Satires 13-16 (Parts of 16 are lost): Patronising Patronage (Published circa 127 CE)

• The Roman ‘Satura’:
  • The Roman Satire was a style of Literature, begun by Lucilius, and including the Sermons of Horace, and the Satires of Persius. Martial and Catullus also wrote in this style.

Juvenal’s Target Audience

• Juvenal’s target audience was a highly educated and sophisticated group of roman men with Establishment views.
• They understood his references to Myth and History, which he used to contrast with contemporary moral values, covering all forms of vice.

Famous Quotes

• Panem et Circenses meaning ‘Bread and Circuses’.