An analysis of the portrayal of love in Petronius's masterpiece.

1. Haley Lynn Shoemaker
Ancient Near East
Satyricon Paper
The Satyricon: Love, Power and Control
The Satyricon was written by Petronius sometime between the years 62 C.E and 65 C.E.,1 during
the reign of Emperor Nero. Petronius was the Arbiter of Excellence in Nero’s court, and he was well
placed to see all aspects of the infamous Roman excesses, to see all the glory and the emptiness. In The
Satyricon, Petronius mocks various aspects of Roman culture, particularly love. It is a prominent theme
in The Satyricon, yet romance and affection are not present throughout most of the narrative. Instead,
love and lust are taken to every extreme. Competitions of power and control dominate the relationships
between the characters.. To a modern reader, the portrayals within The Satyricon of debauchery,
penetration, domination, virility, and control may in some ways seem incredibly foreign and strange.
However, when considered as a parody of love, the melodramatic tangles of jealousy, fickleness, spite,
obsession and exploitation become both familiar and relevant. These romantic interactions are
particularly ridiculous and overwrought in The Satyricon when the narrative refers to two subjects:
marriage, which the author lampoons at several different points in the text; and the hyperbolic
relationship between Giton and the narrator, Encolpius.
The first scene of “love” between Encolpius and Giton takes place just after Giton accuses
Encolpius’ former lover and companion Ascyltos of attempting to rape him. Encolpius and Ascyltos
have a heated argument, in which Ascyltos mocks him for his taste for men, saying “When were you
ever man enough to take on a real woman? No, first it was me in the garden. Now it’s this boy in the
1 Sullivan, John P, The Satyricon;Introduction,Harmondsworth, Middlesex, page i.

2. inn.”2 Encolpius suggests that the friends should part, grateful to be rid of the “obstacle in the way of
resuming [his] old relationship with Giton…”3 It is evident that his interest in Giton’s welfare has
already given way to his sexual expectations. As he presses himself on Giton, Ascyltos breaks down the
door and pulls off the cloak covering them. While doing this, he taunts Encolpius and whips him with a
leather thong. This torrid scene portrays many of the darker edges of romantic relationships: jealousy,
lust, possession, control, sexual humiliation, sexual intimidation and physical abuse.
The relationship between Giton, Ascyltos and Encolpius grows even more twisted when
Encolpius, upon waking to find that his “treasure stolen,”4 discovers Ascyltos has taken Giton into his
own bed. In his despair, he debates about killing himself, but decides to confront the pair instead. He
“[slaps] Giton awake,”5 declares that he and Ascyltos must again part ways, and begins to divide their
objects. Finally, all that is left to be divided is Giton; Ascyltos exclaims “give me my share, or I’ll cut
off my piece with my sword in revenge.”6 He and Encolpius prepares to do battle for Giton’s affections,
but Giton flings himself between them and begs them to kill him rather than spill each other’s blood.
Ascyltos suggests then that they let Giton decide who to follow. Encolpius, confident that Giton will
choose him, agrees to the plan instantly and is shocked when Giton chooses Ascyltos. Heartbroken, he
parts from the couple, and again considers suicide. The obsessive, all-or-nothing love within this
confrontation of the three lovers might look familiar to modern-day adolescents. For example, each man
claims that he could not possibly live without Giton, and each seems ready to spill blood over their
obsessive love, though whose blood is unclear. However, despite their fixation upon Giton, he is
referred to several times as a “treasure,” and is treated as property several times in the exchange. This
objectification is best exemplified by Ascyltos’ willingness to kill Giton rather than let Encolpius have
2 Petronius Arbiter, The Satyricon,Translated by William Arrowsmith, Winnipeg, Canada: Meridian Classics, 1983, pg 26.
3 Petronius Arbiter, The Satyricon,pg 27.
4 Petronius Arbiter, The Satyricon,pg 85.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.

3. him. Also, Encolpius strikes Giton. However, Ascyltos and Encolpius give in to Giton’s pleas to stop
fighting. In addition to this, he is allowed to choose who he wishes to follow and his wish is respected.
These kinds of contradictions, which are inherent in professing love for a slave, encapsulate the
demented nature of love within The Satyricon. What’s more, in spite of their treatment, Giton appears
willing to die for either of his two masters and lovers. Later in the narrative, Giton even begs to be taken
back by Encolpius. He says “when I saw two armed men standing in before me, I ran to the side of the
stronger.”7 Encolpius immediately forgives him. The love Encolpius bears for Giton makes him a fool,
while Giton’s love appears capricious and untrustworthy.
One of the most famous stories of The Satyricon presents further illustration of this presumed
changeability of love: the story of the widow and the soldier, which is told by Eumolpus. In the tale, a
woman is weeping disconsolately at the tomb of her husband for days. A nearby soldier who is guarding
the body of a crucified criminal hears the noise and investigates. Upon seeing each other, the man and
woman fall instantly in love. They spend three days together in the tomb of her former husband before
the soldier goes to check on his charge. He then returns in a panic to tell his lover that the body has been
stolen by relatives, and that he will be killed for desertion. The widow immediately decides that they
should replace the criminal’s body with her husband’s. This tale, told within the story to illustrate the
fickleness of women, also highlights the theme of fickle love and shallow devotion that permeates The
Satyricon.
An additional instance of shallow meaningless love involves young Giton and a priestess of
Priapus. At the urging of the priestess, Giton is “married” in a forced ceremony to an acolyte who is no
more than seven years old. The priestess conducts the service so that Giton can “deflower” the girl. He
does so as Encolpius and the priestesses watch in secret. Again love is equated with virility and
penetration which is encompassed by domination and coercion. Moreover, this encounter is clearly a jab
7 Petronius Arbiter, The Satyricon,pg 97.

4. at marriage, one of several in The Satyricon; in fact, Encolpius refers to marriage at one point as
“drudgery.”8 The lampooning of marriage continues as Encolpius, Ascyltos and Giton attend a banquet
in the company of Agamemnon which is held at the home of the wealthy former slave Trimalchio.
During the meal, the host’s wife Fortuna and a guest’s wife Scintilla loudly compare their expensive
jewelry. This causes their husbands to jeer and laugh. Trimalchio exclaims “Gentlemen… I want you to
see the chains and fetters our women load themselves with; this is how we poor bastards are
bankrupted.”9 Scintilla’s husband Habinnas adds “money… [women] waste it like water. Swallow it
cold and piss it out hot and useless.”10 The marriages presented in Petronius’ work are still more
mimicries, neither contented nor fulfilling. The focus is on how men are burdened with wives who take
what the husband has earned. There is an interesting contradiction in this farcical view of marriage
which is still popular today: the husbands have complete control, especially financially, and yet they
seemingly have no choice about giving to their wives’ wishes.
The various depictions of love within the pages of The Satyricon give a modern reader a glimpse
at what love may have looked like to a Roman audience when taken to extremes of farce. Romantic and
sexual ties are stripped of meaning and emotion, transforming them into caricatures. In many ways, the
characters’ exaggerated and overblown actions bear remarkable resemblance to the comedic
representations of love that we still enjoy in popular culture today.
8 Petronius Arbiter, The Satyricon,pg 38.
9 Petronius Arbiter, The Satyricon,pg 73.
10 Ibid.