Congratulations to Gareth Schmeling, Fellow-by-Courtesy, JHU Classics, and Professor Emeritus, University of Florida, on the publication of the text and a translation of the Satyrica, traditionally attributed to Neronian Petronius (d. 66 CE, in the Loeb series from Harvard University Press.

The Satyrica is a comic-picaresque fiction in prose and verse which survives only as fragments of a much larger whole. It takes the form of a first-person narrative by the endearing ne’er-do-well Encolpius, a brilliant storyteller, parodist, and mimic. He recalls episodes from his past life as a wandering bohemian, living by his wits on the margins of society in Greek southern Italy. He encounters a vividly realized array of characters from the early imperial demimonde, including the wealthy freedman Trimalchio, one of the most unforgettable characters in all of Latin literature.

Paired with the Satyrica, and likewise in prose and verse, is the Apocolocyntosis (Pumpkinification), a short satirical pamphlet lampooning the death, apotheosis, and attempt to enter heaven of the emperor Claudius (d. 65 CE), probably written by Seneca the Younger (4 BCE – 65 CE).