The Satyricon

The chapter featuring the banquet at Trimalchio’s is likely the most famous section of Petronius’s novel and epitomizes his satirical critique and ridicule of pretensions, greed, and foolishness. It is also linguistically rich and includes some of the only surviving examples of certain Latin words and expressions. As a literary device, a party or banquet is often an ideal setting to juxtapose different characters as they interact with one another; in the case of Trimalchio’s banquet, the juxtaposition is heightened because of the differing class and financial positions of the various guests. There are individuals who have a lot of money but limited social status and education, and then there are individuals like Agamemnon, Encolpius, and Ascyltus, who are refined and well-educated but not nearly as rich.

Banquets also provide insight into characters and setting because they are opportunities for someone to show off their taste. What a host serves their guests and how they decorate the banquet room can provide a lens into their character (as it regrettably does for Trimalchio). For example, Encolpius is immediately put off by Trimalchio’s slaves singing while they carried out orders, complaining that “you would have thought it was a dancer’s supporting group, and not the service in the dining-room of a wealthy householder!” (23). Encolpius’s comment serves to establish a juxtaposition between high (dinner at the home of a wealthy man) and low (dancing troops) culture and show his indignation when the two start to mix.

Finally, banquets had a tradition in classical literature as a space for intellectual exchange (for example, Plato’s philosophical text The Symposium revolves around conversations occurring at a banquet), and Petronius ironically undermines those expectations in his depiction of a banquet where most of the conversation is vapid, vulgar, or pretentious.

Trimalchio is a minor character who only appears in this chapter, but he is significant to many of the novel’s themes. Trimalchio is rich and that wealth is signaled to the reader through textual details such as his lavish possessions and personal adornment. For example, one of the first dishes served at the banquet is served on “two dishes, on the rims of which were engraved Trimalchio’s name and their weight in silver” (24). The detail of the engraving exemplifies Trimalchio’s attitude towards his wealth; he is very anxious that everyone around him be aware of how much he has, and he has no qualms about highlighting how much things cost (a modern example might be leaving a price tag on something so guests would know exactly how much someone paid for it).

Trimalchio is insecure and vain about his wealth because of his precarious social status. He began life as a slave, and he achieved freedom due to having a close (and sexual) relationship with his master. Trimalchio says: “I became the supremo [sic] in the house, and completely won over my master’s affections […] he made me joint heir with Caesar and I came into the fortune of a senator” (64). Trimalchio’s master left part of his fortune to the emperor (“Caesar” as a title like “king” or “emperor,” not a reference to Julius Caesar), which was a common way of currying favor and ensuring that a family stayed in the good graces of the imperial court, and part to his favorite slave. Presumably, he did not have children or close relatives. This detail foreshadows the “fortune hunters” of Croton who will appear later in the novel, and symbolically reflects the breakdown of Roman traditions of family lineage. Rather than Roman citizens passing their wealth down to their children, thus preserving aristocratic structures, individuals now must both buy into corrupt political systems, and give wealth away based on personal affection to those who would have been perceived as unworthy of it. In Roman society, slaves could be freed, and once freed, gained many newfound rights. As this episode reveals, however, they would likely never be fully free of social stigma about their pasts.

Trimalchio now has so much wealth that he literally cannot keep track of it, rebuking his accountant and demanding to know “When were gardens at Pompeii purchased for me?” (42). Nonetheless, he is depicted as a figure of ridicule. His displays of luxury, such that “he bared his right arm to show that it was adorned with a golden bracelet and an ivory bangle” (24) and “all these cushions, every one of them is stuffed with purple or scarlet” (28), are tacky and do the reverse of what Trimalchio is trying to achieve: they mark him out as someone who has only recently gained his wealth (rather than inheriting it), and is trying desperately to gain status by showing it off.

Trimalchio also displays his lack of intellectual sophistication and social graces at various points in the banquet, further exemplifying the theme of cultural decay. He grasps the idea of witty conversation being a common feature of a banquet, and makes feeble attempts to imitate this, such as when a guest explains “You see the fellow carving the meat? His name is Carver, so whenever Trimalchio cries ‘Carver,’ he is at once calling on him and giving him his instructions” (27). Trimalchio would think this is a clever pun, but it fails to impress any of the guests; the failed witticism also aligns someone’s identity with their profession, and risks highlighting the inescapability of Trimalchio’s past as an enslaved person.

Even more is significant than Trimalchio’s attempts at trying to be clever is the reaction of his guests. At one point, after Trimalchio explains the significance of a dish modelled after the twelve signs of the zodiac (interest in astrology was considered lower-class at the time), the guests react with feigned admiration: “as one we all cried, ‘How clever!’ We raised our hands to the ceiling and swore that Hipparchus and Aratus were not in the same league as Trimalchio” (30). Hipparchus and Aratus were well known astrologers, so the praise is blatantly false flattery, and it reflects the theme of how individuals in Roman society were quick to lie and cheat if they felt it could advance their interests.

The combination of excess, gluttony, and vulgar displays of wealth creates a sense of panic and overwhelm for Encolpius, drawing a parallel with his earlier experience being trapped by Quartilla. In many cases, having sex or eating a good meal would be enjoyable, but Petronius turns these activities into grotesque parodies by making them sites of excess. Imagery of nausea and vomiting comes up several times in Encolpius’s account of the banquet, such as when he recalls all the food that was served and notes that “the very recollection of them, believe me, makes me puke” (53) or remarks that “it was enough to make you spew” (66). The imagery of vomiting shows both Encolpius’s disgust and plays on the theme of excess and gluttony. It also shows that even luxurious food is eventually going to be digested and converted into something disgusting. The vomiting imagery parallels and foreshadows Encolpius’s subsequent experience of impotence, as another example of a case where the body rebels against excess and refuses to cooperate with gorging or indulging oneself.