Petronius 
The Satyricon 

While there are several poems attributed to Petronius, ‘The Satyricon’ is irrefutably his greatest work. 

‘The Satyricon’ is in fact considered to be one of the greatest literary works of ancient Rome, arguably the first fiction novel ever written. Petronius’ novel alternates between the use of poetry and prose in narration, indicating the novelty of the style, as a more stringent formula had not yet been developed. Though only fragments of the novel survive, Petronius’ satire illustrates Roman daily life during the reign of Nero, particularly emphasising the prevalence of diverse sexual encounters and extraneous violence.



Encolpius is the young student who is one of the main characters in ‘The Satyricon’. He is the story’s narrator as well. The story begins in the city of Puteoli where Encolpius is a newly arriving student. When Encolpius asks a woman to show him to his new quarters, she takes him to a brothel instead. This sets the stage for the heart of ‘The Satyricon’, which from that point on centres around the sexual adventures of Encolpius and his companions around the Mediterranean countryside…