Selections from Petronius the Satyrica

<p><b>Taking the reader through the fragmentary text of Petronius'<i> Satyrica </i>in a coherent sequence this book gives a deeper </b><b>understanding of the fascinating aesthetic literary and social issues raised within the text.</b> Petronius' <i>Satyrica</i> has long been popular with readers of Latin: it is one of the few texts that offers a glimpse into non-elite society in the early Roman imperial period. It is also one of only a handful of ancient novels to survive in any form and certainly the most racy and controversial. Supported by a detailed contextualising introduction and companion website resources these selections from the Latin text are carefully annotated for students and a full vocabulary can be found at the end of the book. <p/>The selections in this edition put at centre stage the figure of Eumolpus: poet storyteller and would-be critic as well as charlatan swindler and lecher. He is one of the major characters in what survives of the <i>Satyrica</i>; he serves as an internal narrator for many of the longer embedded poems and stories; and he meditates on topics of great interest not the least being the perceived decline of art science and culture in the contemporary Graeco-Roman world. In this way students are introduced to some of the best-known myths and tales of antiquity including the <i>Capture of Troy</i> and the <i>Widow of Ephesus </i> while affording the opportunity to translate both prose and verse passages and to consider and evaluate the <i>Satyrica's</i> relationship to the literary tradition.</p>