Satyricon Novel
The Satyricon is a satirical novel in Latin attributed, probably erroneously, for a long time to Petronius.
Summary |
Who is the author of the Satyricon?
This novel, perhaps the most famous of the ancient world , was probably also the most voluminous (there are only fragments) and one of the most mysterious.
Overall, the specialists are divided into two bitterly opposed camps believes that it must be at the time of the Flavian well after the death of Nero and Petronius. Some details seem to point in that direction. The allusion, at the banquet of Trimalchio , amassed his fortune in a past period when the wine was the highest (which was the case under Nero, but no longer under the Flavian). The reference to the character of the near Scaurus Pliny the Younger who lived under Domitian and Trajan.
The questions remain as to the drafting period. However it should be noted the many parallels between the Satyricon and authors like Martial , Tacitus and Pliny the Younger who write all their works under the Flavian or early in the dynasty of the Antonines. Martial gold generally quoted its models and does not mention any recovery Petronius and the Satyricon. It seems difficult to believe that writers like Tacitus and Pliny have copied passages from a story as salacious. It is therefore likely that the Satyricon is that parodies the various authors and not vice versa . In contrast, in 120 's Juvenal pastiche that, in turn, Satyricon (Book 3 of his Satires.) it is not in the first two books published in 116. This leads to the likely release window niche between 116 and 120.
It is obvious that in this case, the author is not Petronius, who disappeared more than fifty years. The portrait of the possible author is a man fits into the literary world of that era but probably of slave origin (or when a freedman) because of the familiar language and concerns of this social category. It is possible that this is one of those freedmen who serve lectores (readers, secretary) to the important people of Rome. A recent hypothesis proposed by Ren Martin and echoed by the historian Maurice Sartre , is the author of the Satyricon is the secretary of Pliny the Younger, described by him as a person both serious and whimsical. What is intriguing is that it has a peculiarity: He called Encolpius as the narrator of the Satyricon, a name for the less rare. It is therefore possible that the true author of the Satyricon is a Encolpius, prepaid service of Pliny the Younger .
Synopsis
The novel blends into and prose , classical Latin and vulgar. The title is also a derivation from the Latin satura, meaning "mixture, medley. In addition, we clearly see the pun between "satire" and "satire" (remember that this is a picaresque novel in part). It recounts the adventures in Rome decadent two young gay Encolpius and Ascylte and the young lover Encolpius, Giton. During their travels, they are invited to a splendid feast by a rich freedman, Trimalchio. The guests talk about themselves and life in general. The novel also includes other adventures as an orgy or a trip to Italy in the South. The thread of the narrative is probably the wrath of Priapus , triggered by Encolpius after he killed a goose, a bird sacred to the god.
Title of work
According to the manuscripts that we possess, the title of the work is Satyricon, Satyricon, Satiric, Satyrici, Satyr, or Satirarum. The tradition requires that we limit the choice between Satyricon Satyricon and in accordance with the Eclogues (Bucolicon in Latin) and Georgics (Georgicon) of Virgil , since it contains the same termination-icon, icon-more precisely, who is from Greek suffix- to mean "something that relates to" and who is its genitive plural to agree with the word liber, or free as was often added to the titles of Latin works. It is rather strange that we do not put the title of the work of Petronius in the plural and that it has retained the original title ...
We are sure that the Eclogues are a book on the shepherds ( in Greek) and that the Georgics is a book on farmers (), then what about our Satyricon Satyricon or? If it is decided for the first script, this means that we place ourselves in the world of saturation or satira, satura the Lanxi, a recipe culinary characterized by the mixture of food, being the origin of term, we came to call saturation by metaphor, a "composite type that combines prose, poetry, tragedy, comedy in a delicious tangle of tones and genres." But the adjective satiricus, French "satirical" only appeared in Latin until the early fourth century in the Christian writer Lactantius , it is very unlikely that a Hellenized form of this word has been used to As a work of I or II century unless Petronius pioneered and that we do not trace. Then, a Latin word could have a Greek ending, which we show elsewhere, titles and Bucolicon Georgicon.
So we opt for the second graph, which satisfies this constraint declination, since it refers to the noun satyrus, borrowing from Greek, the "satyr", but which is closely linked to the mythology gold in the book, No 'there is hardly any allusions to satyrs. Do not forget, however, that the term can mean a human being, like French "satyr." We can thus conclude, assuming that spelling, the Satyricon of Petronius contains stories of people debauched, lewd and obscene. But things can be much simpler than that: in Latin manuscripts, the word is also spelled satira satyr as the will of the scribe was supposed same etymological kinship between saturation and . It is also possible that Petronius has played on this ambiguity.
Expanding the text
The text we have today is very fragmented. All extant manuscripts derive from a codex called. This codex was part of the complete works of satire Petronius. It is known to us only through intermediaries editions. Different editions have followed throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance , mainly main fragment, the feast of Trimalchio. The first full release, but unreliable, the Satyricon was made in Amsterdam in 1669. In 1862 , Bchel published two editions that are considered the first valid. Finally, in 1961 , K. Mller gave a lesson of the text that underlies most current translations.
Summary
Chapters 1-45
Chapters 26-78
Chapters 79-99
Chapters 100-124
Chapters 125-141
Posterity literary and cultural
Apocryphal Supplements
Modern literature
Graphics
- Peplum Blutch, dating from 1996, is "loosely based" Satyricon of Petronius.
Films
The Satyricon was adapted for the screen by Gian Luigi Polidoro in 1968 , then by Federico Fellini in 1969.
Opera
This work has also inspired Bruno Maderna an opera in one act entitled Satyricon.
French translations
- The Satyricon, translated by Lawrence Tailhade , 1902. Edition currently available from Garnier-Flammarion.
- Satyricon, translated by Pierre Grimal , preface by Jean Dutourd , Livre de Poche, 1960
- Satyricon, translated by Franoise Desbordes, Flammarion, Jan. 1993, 275 pages ( ISBN 2080703579 )
- The Satyricon, translated by Alfred Ernout, Paris, Les Belles Lettres, 1923, CUF
- The Satyricon, translated by Geraldine Puccini, Paris, Arles, 1995
- Satyricon translation of Olivier Sers, Pocket Classics, Bilingual, 2001, reprinted in 2006
Notes
- Maurice Sartre, but who really wrote the Satyricon? Special edition of the journal History , November-December 2009, p.92
- Ren Martin is professor emeritus of Latin literature at the University of Paris III. He published in 1999 by Editions Ellipses a study on: The Satyricon. Petronius.
- Maurice Sartre, but who really wrote the Satyricon? Special edition of the journal History , November-December 2009, p.94
- Maurice Sartre, but who really wrote the Satyricon? Special edition of the journal History , November-December 2009, p.95
Notes
Related articles
Bibliography
- (In) John Patrick Sullivan, The Satyricon of Petronius: A Literary Study, London: Faber and Faber, 1968, (ISBN 0-571-0825-9)
- (En) Stephen Wolff, The Greek and Latin novel, Ellipses, 1997, Coll. Topics & Studies, ( ISBN 2-7298-9760-7 )
(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5, rated)
Loading ...