Gaius Petronius Arbiter (; c. 27 – 66 AD)
was a Roman courtier during the reign of Nero.
He is generally believed to be the author
of the Satyricon, a satirical novel believed
to have been written during the Neronian era
(54-68 AD).
== Life ==
Tacitus, Plutarch and Pliny the Elder describe
Petronius as the elegantiae arbiter (also
phrased arbiter elegantiarum), "judge of elegance"
in the court of the emperor Nero. He served
as suffect consul in 62. Later, he became
a member of the senatorial class who devoted
themselves to a life of pleasure. His relationship
to Nero was apparently akin to that of a fashion
advisor.
Tacitus gives this account of Petronius in
his historical work the Annals (XVI.18):
He spent his days in sleep, his nights in
attending to his official duties or in amusement,
that by his dissolute life he had become as
famous as other men by a life of energy, and
that he was regarded as no ordinary profligate,
but as an accomplished voluptuary. His reckless
freedom of speech, being regarded as frankness,
procured him popularity. Yet during his provincial
government, and later when he held the office
of consul, he had shown vigor and capacity
for affairs. Afterwards returning to his life
of vicious indulgence, he became one of the
chosen circle of Nero's intimates, and was
looked upon as an absolute authority on questions
of taste (elegantiae arbiter; note the pun
on Petronius' cognomen) in connection with
the science of luxurious living.
None of the ancient sources give any further
detail about his life, or mention that he
was a writer. However, a medieval manuscript
written around 1450 of the Satyricon credited
a "Titus Petronius" as the author of the original
work. Traditionally, this reference is linked
with Petronius Arbiter, since the novel appears
to have been written or at least set during
his lifetime. The link, however, remains speculative
and disputed.
=== As a writer ===
Petronius' development of his characters in
the Satyricon, namely Trimalchio, transcends
the traditional style of writing of ancient
literature. In the literature written during
Petronius' lifetime, the emphasis was always
on the typical considerations of plot, which
had been laid down by classical rules. The
character, which was hardly known in ancient
literature, was secondary. Petronius goes
beyond these literary limitations in his exact
portrayals of detailed speech, behavior, surroundings,
and appearance of the characters.
Another literary device Petronius employs
in his novel is a collection of specific allusions.
The allusions to certain people and events
are evidence that the Satyricon was written
during Nero's time. These also suggest that
it was aimed at a contemporary audience which
consisted in part of Nero's courtiers and
even Nero himself.
One such allusion, found in chapter 9, refers
to the story of the good wife Lucretia which
was well-known at the time:
"If you're a Lucretia," he said, "You've found
a Tarquin".
The message Petronius tries to convey in his
work is far from moral and does not intend
to produce reform, but is written above all
to entertain and should be considered artistically.
Nevertheless, his writings can be a valuable
tool to better comprehend the customs and
ways of life of Roman society at that particular
time, since the author strives to preserve
the plausibility of his representation, as
can be noted by the frequent use of allusions
and detailed descriptions of characters and
behaviours. As the title implies, the Satyricon
is a satire, specifically a Menippean satire,
in which Petronius satirizes nearly anything,
using his taste as the only standard. It is
speculated that Petronius' depiction of Trimalchio
mirrors that of Nero. Although the author's
own opinion is never alluded to, the opinions
of the characters involved in the story are
evident, as is how Encolpius criticizes Trimalchio.
=== Death ===
Petronius' high position soon made him the
object of envy for those around him. Having
attracted the jealousy of Tigellinus, the
commander of the emperor's guard, he was accused
of treason. He was arrested at Cumae in 65
AD but did not wait for a sentence. Instead,
he chose to take his own life. Tacitus again
records his elegant suicide in the sixteenth
book of the Annals:
Yet he did not fling away life with precipitate
haste, but having made an incision in his
veins and then, according to his humour, bound
them up, he again opened them, while he conversed
with his friends, not in a serious strain
or on topics that might win for him the glory
of courage. And he listened to them as they
repeated, not thoughts on the immortality
of the soul or on the theories of philosophers,
but light poetry and playful verses. To some
of his slaves he gave liberal presents, a
flogging to others. He dined, indulged himself
in sleep, that death, though forced on him,
might have a natural appearance. Even in his
will he did not, as did many in their last
moments, flatter Nero or Tigellinus or any
other of the men in power. On the contrary,
he described fully the prince's shameful excesses,
with the names of his male and female companions
and their novelties in debauchery, and sent
the account under seal to Nero. Then he broke
his signet-ring, that it might not be subsequently
available for imperiling others.
According to Pliny the Elder: "T. Petronius,
a consular, when he was going to die through
Nero's jealousy and envy, broke his fluorspar
wine-dipper so that the emperor's table would
not inherit it. It had cost 300,000 sesterces".
T. Petronius and G. Petronius have been said
to have been the same man.
== Apocryphal quotation ==
In recent times, a popular quotation, actually
written by Charlton Ogburn in 1957, on reorganization
is often spuriously attributed to a Gaius
Petronius. In one version it reads:
We trained hard ... but it seemed that every
time we were beginning to form up into teams
we would be reorganized. I was to learn later
in life that we tend to meet any new situation
by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it
can be for creating the illusion of progress
while producing confusion, inefficiency, and
demoralization.
== See also ==
Asteroid 3244 Petronius, named after the satirist
Supplements to the Satyricon
== Notes ==
This article incorporates text from a publication
now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh,
ed. (1911). "Petronius". Encyclopædia Britannica
(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
== Further reading ==
Breitenstein, Natalie, Petronius, Satyrica
1–15. Text, Übersetzung, Kommentar (2009.
Berlin – New York: De Gruyter) (Texte und
Kommentare, 32).
Conte, Gian Biagio, The Hidden Author: An
Interpretation of Petronius' Satyricon (1997.
Berkeley: University of California Press).
Connors, Catherine, Petronius the Poet: Verse
and Literary Tradition in the Satyricon (1998.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
Habermehl, Peter, Petronius, Satyrica 79–141.
Ein philologisch–literarischer Kommentar.
Band I : Satyrica 79–110. Berlin : de Gruyter
2006.
Jensson, Gottskalk, The Recollections of Encolpius.
The Satyrica of Petronius as Milesian Fiction
(2004. Groningen: Barkhuis Publishing and
Groningen University Library) (Ancient narrative
Suppl. 2).
Prag, Jonathan and Ian Repath (eds), Petronius:
A Handbook (2009. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell).
Reeve, Michael D. 1983. Petronius. In Texts
and Transmission: A Survey of the Latin Classics.
Edited by Leighton D. Reynolds, 295–300.
Oxford: Clarendon.
Repath, Ian. 2010. "Plato in Petronius: Petronius
in Platanona." The Classical Quarterly, 60(2),
new series, 577-595.
Rose, Kenneth F. C. 1971. "The Date and Author
of the Satyricon." Mnemosyne, Bibliotheca
Classica Batava, Supplementum 16. Leiden,
The Netherlands: E. J. Brill.
Schmeling, Gareth. 2011. A Commentary on the
Satyrica of Petronius. Oxford: Oxford Univ.
Press.
Slater, Niall W. 1990. Reading Petronius.
Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University
Press.
Sullivan, John P. 1985. "Petronius’ Satyricon
and its Neronian Context." In Aufstieg und
Niedergang der römischen Welt: Geschichte
und Kultur Roms im Spiegel der neuren Forschung,
Vol. II, Part 32.3. Edited by Hildegard Temporini
and Wolfgang Haase, 1666–1686. Berlin: Walter
de Gruyter.
Vannini, Giulio, Petronius 1975–2005: bilancio
critico e nuove proposte (2007. Goettingen:
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht) (Lustrum, 49).
Vannini, Giulio, Petronii Arbitri Satyricon
100–115. Edizione critica e commento (2010.
Berlin – New York: De Gruyter) (Beiträge
zur Altertumskunde, 281).
== External links ==
Media related to Petronius Arbiter at Wikimedia
Commons
Works written by or about Petronius at Wikisource
Quotations related to Petronius at Wikiquote
Works by Petronius at Perseus Digital Library
Works by Petronius at Project Gutenberg
Works by or about Petronius at Internet Archive
Works by Petronius at LibriVox (public domain
audiobooks)
Latin text of the Satyricon from The Latin
Library
Petronii satirae et liber priapeorum, iterum
edidit Franciscus Buecheler, adiectae sunt
Varronis et Senecae satirae similesque reliquiae,
Berolini apud Weidmannos, 1871.
