TRIMALCHIO’S BANQUET BY PETRONIUS
Trimalchio’s Banquet is the name given on this website for ease of reference to the unnamed chapters 27 to 76 of the Satyricon by the Roman writer Petronius. It is the second of the seven parts of Greek love interest into which the Satyricon is here divided.
The translation is by Paul Dinnage for The Satyricon of Petronius published by Spearman & Calder of London in 1953, with five amendments explained in footnotes.
27 i – 28 iv
A day or two after the last incident described in Rivalry for Giton, Encolpius (the narrator), Ascyltos and Giton attend a free-for-all feast given by Trimalchio, a freedman of enormous wealth, who entertains his guests with ostentatious and grotesque extravagance. The setting is still in Campania.
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But in the meantime, without undressing, we began to saunter .. . or rather we trifled and mixed with different groups, when suddenly we saw a bald old man in a red shirt playing ball with some long-haired boys.[1] Yet our eyes were drawn not on them, although they were worth it, but on their master, a man in slippers who was occupied with some green balls. He never picked one of them up once it touched the ground; a slave had a bag full and supplied the players. We noticed other novelties. Two eunuchs stood in the field at opposite points; one held a silver chamber-pot, and the other counted the balls, not those that were flung from hand to hand as the game progressed, but those that fell to the ground. As we stood admiring these luxuries, Menelaus ran up to say, ‘This is the man whose table you’ll be at. What you are watching is a prelude to the dinner.” Menelaus had not finished speaking when Trimalchio snapped his fingers, and the eunuch reached him the chamber-pot[2] while he was still playing. He emptied his bladder, asked for water for his hands, dipped his finger-tips in and wiped them on a boy’s head. It would It would be tedious to go into every detail. We went to the baths, and once we were heated in the sweating-room, passed through to the cold showers. Drenched in perfume, Trimalchio was rubbed down, not with cloths, but with towels of the softest wool. Three masseurs were swigging Falernian under his very eyes and spilling most of it in a quarrel. “They’re drinking my health with my own wine,” said Trimalchio. Then they rolled him up in a scarlet house-coat and put him on a litter. Four runners decked with medallions went in front, with a go-cart that bore his pet, a wizened, blear-eyed boy more hideous than his own master. |
[27 i] nos interim vestiti errare coepimus, immo iocari magis et circulis ludentium accedere, cum subito videmus senem calvum, tunica vestitum russea, inter pueros capillatos ludentem pila. [ii] nec tam pueri nos, quamquam erat operae pretium, ad spectaculum duxerant, quam ipse pater familiae, qui soleatus pila prasina exercebatur. nec amplius eam repetebat quae terram contigerat, sed follem plenum habebat servus sufficiebatque ludentibus. [iii] notavimus enim res novas. nam duo spadones in diversa parte circuli stabant, quorum alter matellam tenebat argenteam, alter numerabat pilas, non quidem eas quae inter manus nisu expellente vibrabant, sed eas quae in terram decidebant. [iv] cum has ergo miraremur lautitias, accurrit Menelaus et “hic est” inquit “apud quem cubitum ponitis, et quidem iam principium cenae videtis.” [v] et iam non loquebatur Menelaus, cum Trimalchio digitis concrepuit, ad quod signum matellam spado ludenti subiecit. [vi] exonerata ille vescia aquam poposcit ad manus, digitosque paululum adspersos in capite pueri tersit. [28 i] longum erat singula excipere. itaque intravimus balneum, et sudore calfacti momento temporis ad frigidam eximus. [ii] iam Trimalchio unguento perfusus tergebatur, non linteis, sed palliis ex lana mollissima factis. [iii] tres interim iatraliptae in conspectu eius Falernum potabant, et cum plurimum rixantes effunderent, Trimalchio hoc suum propin esse dicebat. [iv] hinc involutus coccina gausapa lecticae impositus est praecedentibus phaleratis cursoribus quattuor et chiramaxio, in quo deliciae eius vehebantur, puer vetulus, lippus, domino Trimalchione deformior. |
After further ostentatious preliminaries to the feast:
31 iii-vii
| We finally took our places on the couch. Alexandrian[3] slaves poured snow-water on our hands, while others followed to attend to our feet and pared our toe-nails with immense dexterity. Even in that exacting duty they did not keep silent, but sang all the time. I wanted to find out if the lot of them could sing, so I ordered a drink, and a boy promptly entertained me with a penetrating song into the bargain. Whoever was asked for anything did the same. You would have thought it a low cabaret instead of the dining-room of a respectable citizen. | [31 iii] tandem ergo discubuimus pueris Alexandrinis aquam in manus nivatam infundentibus aliisque insequentibus ad pedes ac paronychia cum ingenti subtilitate tollentibus. [iv] ac ne in hoc quidem tam molesto tacebant officio, sed obiter cantabant. [v] ego experiri volui an tota familia cantaret, itaque potionem poposci. [vi] paratissimus puer non minus me acido cantico excepit, et quisquis aliquid rogatus erat ut daret: [vii] pantomimorum chorum, non patris familiae triclinium crederes. |
63 iii
Much later during the feast, Trimalchio tells his guests a story from his boyhood:
| When I still had my curly hair, for I led a sybarite’s life from boyhood up, my master’s favourite died. There was a pearl for you, in a class of his own, a one in a million catamite![4] |
cum adhuc capillatus essem, nam a puero vitam Chiam gessi, ipsimi nostri delicatus decessit, mehercules margaritum, catamitus [et] omnium numerum. |
64 v-xii
A little later:
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Trimalchio would not be outdone. He imitated a trumpet, then leered round at his pet, whom he called Croesus.[5] This was a bleary boy with putrid teeth who was tying a green bandage round a black puppy, an indecently fat one. He had put half a loaf on a cushion and was forcing it down her throat. The bitch refused it and puked. This kindness gave Trimalchio an idea, and he ordered them to fetch Scylax, “guardian of the house and the household.” Instantly an enormous dog was led in on a chain, and on a hint from the porter’s foot to lie down, stretched out before the table. Trimalchio tossed him a bit of white bread with the words, “Nobody in my house loves me more.” |
[v] nec non Trimalchio ipse cum tubicines esset imitatus, ad delicias suas respexit, quem Croesum appellabat. [vi] puer autem lippus, sordidissimis dentibus, catellam nigram atque indecenter pinguem prasina involvebat fascia panemque semissem ponebat supra torum atque ha[n]c nausea recusantem saginabat. [vii] quo admonitus officio Trimalchio Scylacem iussit adduci “praesidium domus familiaeque.” nec mora, ingentis formae adductus est canis catena vinctus, admonitusque ostiarii calce ut cubaret, ante mensam se posuit. [viii] tum Trimalchio iactans candidum panem “nemo” inquit “in domo mea me plus amat.” [ix] indignatus puer quod Scylacem tam effuse laudaret, catellam in terram deposuit hortatusque est ut ad rixam properaret. Scylax, canino scilicet usus ingenio, taeterrimo latratu triclinium implevit Margaritamque Croesi paene laceravit. [x] nec intra rixam tumultus constitit, sed candelabrum etiam supra mensam eversum et vasa omnia crystallina comminuit et oleo ferventi aliquot convivas respersit. [xi] Trimalchio ne videretur iactura motus, basiavit puerum ac iussit supra dorsum ascendere suum. [xii] non moratus ille usus est equo manuque plana scapulas eius subinde verberavit, interque risum proclamavit: “bucca, bucca, quot sunt hic?” |
67 xi
A stone-mason named Habinnas, his wife Scintilla and Trimalchio’s wife Fortunata join the party …
| the fuddled women were giggling at each other and exchanged drunken kisses, and while one boasted of her thrifty housekeeping, the other harped on her husband’s favourite boys[6] and his indifference to her. | [67 xi] interim mulieres sauciae inter se riserunt ebriaque iunxerunt oscula, dum altera diligentiam matris familiae iactat, altera delicias et indiligentiam viri. |
68 iii
A little later,
| In the meantime a boy from Alexandria,[7] who took round hot water, began to imitate the nightingale, while Trimalchio called out, “Something else!” | interim puer Alexandrinus, qui caldam ministrabat, luscinias coepit imitari clamante Trimalchione subinde: “muta.” |
70 viii
A little later still,
| I blush to tell what happened next. In an unheard-of way, long-haired boys brought an ointment in a silver basin and anointed our feet as we lay there, first binding garlands round our feet and ankles.[8] | [70 viii] pudet referre quae secuntur: inaudito enim more pueri capillati attulerunt unguentum in argentea pelve pedesque recumbentium unxerunt, cum ante crura talosque corollis vinxissent. |
71 xi
Trimalchio ostentatiously gives Habinnas lengthy instuctions as to the monument to his memory that is to be built following his death. Amongst other things,
| On my right hand put a statue of Fortunata holding a dove with a bitch on a leash, and my boy-favourite[9], | ad dexteram meam pones statuam Fortunatae meae columbam tenentem—et catellam cingulo alligatam ducat—et cicaronem meum, |
74 viii-xi
Soon afterwards, Trimalchio orders a change-over in the slaves serving them:
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At this point our gaiety was eclipsed for the first time, for among the new waiters was a boy of no mean beauty. Trimalchio fell on him and began a lengthy kiss. So Fortunata, asserting her conjugal rights, heaped abuse on Trimalchio’s head, calling him a shit and a scandal for not controlling his passion. She hurled the supreme insult: “You hound!” |
[74 viii] hinc primum hilaritas nostra turbata est; nam cum puer non inspeciosus inter novos intrasset ministros, invasit eum Trimalchio et osculari diutius coepit. [ix] itaque Fortunata, ut ex aequo ius firmum approbaret, male dicere Trimalchioni coepit et purgamentum dedecusque praedicere, qui non contineret libidinem suam. ultimo etiam adiecit: “canis.” [x] Trimalchio contra offensus convicio calicem in faciem Fortunatae immisit. [xi] illa tamquam oculum perdidisset exclamavit manusque trementes ad faciem suam admovit. |
75 iii-iv
Trimalchio then rages against Fortunata for her ingratitude, until Habinnas and Scintilla plead with him to forgo his wrath….
| Trimalchio was unable to hold back his tears.”Please, Habinnas,” he said, “as surely as I hope you enjoy your life-savings, spit in my face if I’ve done anything wrong. I kissed that most commendable boy, not for his beauty, but because of his virtues. He knows his ten-times table, he can read at sight, he has bought a Thracian rig-out from his daily allowance,[10] and he has paid for an armchair and two ladles out of his own money. Doesn’t he deserve to be the apple of my eye? But Fortunata is against it! | [75 iii] non tenuit ultra lacrimas Trimalchio et “rogo” inquit “Habinna, sic peculium tuum fruniscaris: si quid perperam feci, in faciem meam inspue. [iv] puerum basiavi frugalissimum, non propter formam, sed quia frugi est: decem partes dicit, librum ab oculo legit, thraecium sibi de diariis fecit, arcisellium de suo paravit et duas trullas. non est dignus quem in oculis feram? sed Fortunata vetat. |
75 x – 76 ii
Later in the same speech, after warning Fortunata again not to annoy him, Trimalchio recounts to his guests how he rose by his own merits:
| As I was saying, self-help brought me to my fortune. I came out of Asia no bigger than this candlestick. In fact day by day I measured myself by it, and rubbed my lips with the lamp-oil to get a bit of hair on my muzzle all the quicker. All the same, I was my master’s cherub when I was fourteen.[11] Nothing disgraceful in doing what the master bids. And I did my mistress’s pleasure as well. You know what I mean. But hush, hush, I am not one to boast. Finally, as the gods would have it, I turned master in the house, and there I was, his master’s brains. The gist of it was that he made me joint-heir with Caesar,[12] and I came into an estate, nobleman’s size. |
[75 x] sed, ut coeperam dicere, ad hanc me fortunam frugalitas mea perduxit. tam magnus ex Asia veni quam hic candelabrus est. ad summa[m], quotidie me solebam ad illum metiri, et ut celerius rostrum barbatum haberem, labra de lucerna ungebam. [xi] tamen ad delicias [femina] ipsimi [domini} annos quattuordecim fui. nec turpe est quod dominus iubet. ego tamen et ipsimae [dominae] satis faciebam. scitis quid dicam: taceo, quia non sum de gloriosis. |
Not long after Trimalchio finishes his speech, an accident leads to chaos, enabling Encolpius and his two friends to flee the feast.
Continue to III. The Disillusionment of EncolpiusIII. The Disillusionment of Encolpius
[1] Long hair on boys was a sign of beauty and marked them out as pueri delicati, treasured slave-boys kept for sex and play, in contrast to slave-boys who performed menial tasks and whose hair was cropped short.
[2] A matella, here translated as “chamber-pot”, was rather a bottle-shaped receptacle for urine provided by slaves to those attending dinner parties so they did not have to retire to a lavatory. The humour rests on Trimalchio now making himself the centre of attention, with numerous attendants for small tasks.
[3] The translator’s “Egyptian” has been replaced by the more accurate “Alexandrian.” Egypt in general did not have connotations of luxury that its capital Alexandria had in the Roman imagination. Alexandrian pueri delicati in particular had a special reputation, as attested by Statius, Silvae v. In his epigram IV 42, Martial says his ideal boy would be born in Egypt, as “no country knows better how to give naughty ways..”
[4] The translator here omitted the catamitus (catamite) in the Latin, so his English has been expanded from “one in a million” to “a one in a million catamite.”
[5] Trimalchio presumably chose the name to bring him good fortune, Croesus being the name of the fabulously rich last King of Lydia in the 6th century BC.
[6] The translator’s “favourites” has been expanded to “favourite boys”, as a clearer representation of the Latin delicias. It is not clear which woman was complaining about her husband’s boys.
[7] Besides Alexandria standing for luxury in general in the Roman imagination, Alexandrian pueri delicati in particular had a special reputation, as attested by Statius, Silvae v. In his epigram IV 42, Martial says his ideal boy would be born in Egypt, as “no country knows better how to give naughty ways..”
[8] Long hair on boys was a sign of beauty and marked them out as pueri delicati, treasured slave-boys kept for sex and play, in contrast to slave-boys who performed menial tasks and whose hair was cropped short. The anointment of feet was a custom reported in the New Testament, and may have been widespread in the Near East, but was not yet familiar to Romans. Pliny, Natural History XIII 22 says it was introduced to the Emperor Nero, presumably around this time. Why Encolpius blushed to report it is not known.
[9] The translator’s strange”white-headed boy” has been replaced by “boy-favourite” as a translation of cicaronem, following Gareth Schmeling in his A Commentary on the Satyrica of Petronius, OUP, 2011, p. 299), where he says “This cicaro is not a son of T. (74.15 non patiaris genus tuum interire), but his deliciae, almost certainly the Croesus of 64.5 and 9”, and his own translation for the Loeb Classical Library Volume 15, Harvard University Press, 2020, p. 215.
[10] “The boy has saved up his allowance money (diaria) and bought a play-costumeor toy armour in the style of a ‘Thracian’ gladiator […]. An effeminate slave-boy playing at gladiators is the kind of detail about Roman daily life that makes the S[atyricon] valuable.” (Gareth Schmeling, A Commentary on the Satyrica of Petronius, OUP, 2011, p. 315)
[11] The translator rendered annos quattuordecim fui as “for fourteen years” instead of the “when I was fourteen” adopted here instead. Both readings are theoretically possible, but the former is highly improbable (Petronius, The Satyricon, a new translation by P. G. Walsh, Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 181). Amongst other translations to agree with Walsh, see that of Gareth Schmeling for the Loeb Classical Library Volume 15, Harvard University Press, 2020, p. 225.
[12] Leaving Caesar half one’s goods was a ploy often adopted by rich testators when Caesar was rapacious, in the hope that he would respect their wills and thus the other legacies. It did not always work: the case of Prasutagus (British) King of the Iceni is a case from Nero’s reign that is famous because it led to the rebellion of his widow Boudicca.
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