(1st Century A.D.)
Petronius was a 1st century A.D. Latin novelist. Many feel that he was also an advisor to Nero, named Titus Petronius. If so, we know some details about this man. He was proconsul in Bithynia and consul in A.D. 61. In 66, he committed suicide after a long illness resulting from a dissolute life, but also due to the fact that he had fallen out of favor with Nero. Most who lost Nero's favor also found mysterious accidents that cost them their lives as well.
Petronius was Proconsul of Bithynia to a Master of the Emperor's pleasure (Nero). He was considered a refined pleasure seeker and a man of much energy and ability. Petronius became the arbiter of good taste during Nero's reign and he determined what was beautiful and delicate. In 66 A.D. Tigellinus feared him as a rival. Petronius had mocked Tigellinus in his Satryicon and Tigellinus was angered. Tigellinus turned Nero against Petronius with unfounded rumors as a means of retaliation. Feeling somewhat hopeless in his defense, Petronius decided to commit suicide. His will was a document that denounced the imperial vices with names of his accomplices.
The Satyricon is a parody rather than a novel. Portions of books 14-16 survive today. In these books one finds witty account of an extravagant dinner party, the Cena Trimalchionis, offering the reader insight into the life of a wealthy Roman as well as some of the common language of the people.
The purpose of the book is uncertain since so little remains. We do know that it deals with the adventures of two young men, mainly in southern Italy. The plot is hard to reconstruct but it is considered to have been a parody of a romantic novel.
Petronius is quoted often yet all these references come from but three books.He was little referred to in literature of his peers. Most comments about him come from later readers. It is interesting to see how history, sometimes, gives laud to those who were without grand stature in their own lifetimes.
All too little of his literary work exists. Most of what exists is in fragament form. He was a master novelist of law and adventurous life. His Satriycon is well known for the attack on Lucian for his choice of an historical subject and his omission of epic machinery from his Civil War.
Sources: Oxford Classical Dictionary
Penguin Dictionary of Ancient History,
As the Romans Did, Jo Ann Shelton
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