Petronius

• Gaius Petronius (27-66 CE) was a Roman Author who is thought to have written one of the top classics of Roman Literature, the Satyricon.
• It was written during the reign of Nero (54-68 CE). Petronius was Suffect Consul in 62 CE.

The Satyricon

• The Satyricon, is a work of both prose and verse and is often considered to be a Roman Novel, rather than the verse satires by Juvenal and Horace. It is a Menippean Satire in that it satirises attitudes rather than individuals.
• The Satyricon, Chapters 26-28 deal with Trimalchio’s Dinner, which captures Roman Society in Nero’s time.
  • The central character, Encolpius, is invited to an ostentatious dinner at the Estate of the newly wealthy Freedman Trimalchio.
  • Petronius satyrises Trimalchio and his guests, who are mostly self made Freedmen, for being vulgar and brash. It is an interesting view of Roman Society in the first century CE.