English

Petronius, Satyricon ( Firebaugh 1922 Trans Modified)

Translation from W. C. Firebaugh, The Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter. Complete and unexpurgated translation by W. C. Firebaugh, in which are incorporated the forgeries of Nodot and Marchena, and the readings introduced into the text by De Salas (New York: Boni and Liveright, 1922). Public domain. Modified by Philip A. Harland, removing forged sections (checking against Loeb volume) and modernizing some of the translations. Introductory note: The Satyrica (“satyr-like adventures”) is usually attributed to Titus Petronius Niger, a consul and then proconsul (of Bithynia) under the emperor Nero who committed suicide in 66 ce, according to Tacitus (Annals 16.17-20). This identification is likely but not certain. Scholarly debates concerning the genre of this fictional narrative continue, but the most common explanation is that Satyrica is, in some respects, a comic parody of the ancient Greek novel. Only portions of Petronius’ Satyrica survive. As Gareth Schmeling points out, manuscript evidence suggests that the surviving passages presented here were likely books 14, 15, and 16. Books 14 and 16 survive only in part and the best preserved book is book 15, the dinner with Trimalchio. The

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