Latin 323 - Petronius' Satyricon and the Roman Novel

Petronius' Satyricon is one of the few surviving novels from the ancient world. Formed from a pastiche of other literary genres, including epic, comedy, and satire, it is a vivid account of the adventures of three men as they travel throughout Italy. Though fiction, and only partially extant, its realistic portrayal of Roman life offers a glimpse into the social mores in the early empire. Petronius himself was a member of Nero's court and the Satyricon a product of Nero's promotion of the arts. By giving rise to the picaresque genre the Satyricon's influence continued to be felt far beyond its own day.

Prereq: 200-level Latin.