Dinner with Trimalchio Flashcards
(16 cards)
Who was Petronius’ target audience
Wider audience then just the small circle of elites,
Who is the speaker
Encolpius, a retired gladiator
What is the Dinner of Trimalchio part of
Petronius’ Satyricon, a novel written in prose with a continuous storyline
Who accompanies Encolpius
Ascyltos (his lover) and Giton (a slave boy)
Who does the Satyricon satirise in this text
-Trimalchio’s pretense and conceit of his status and power
-Encolpius’ snobbery; unreliable narrator= bias & flawed
Who was invited to Trimalchio’s cena
-Agamemnon, a revered philosopher & guest of honour
-Encolpius as his +1
Who is Trimalchio and how is he characterised
-Wealthy freedman
-But is extremely vulgar and hubristic
-Loud and boisterous personality
What is Trimalchio and who does he represent
A hyperbolised caricature that is a microcosm for the pretentious ruling class obsessed by power and money
Quotes to reveal Trimalchio believes he is favoured by the gods
-Frescos of “Mercury’s staff”
-“Fortuna with abundant horn of plenty”
-“led by Minerva”
-“Three Fates spinning their golden threads”
How does Trimalchio thinks himself of a hero, & how is this satirised
-Next to scenes of Greek heros in the Iliad and Odyssey, narcissism
-Contemporary audience would find this ironic, they would study these mythological heros and all their amazing feats, compared to Trimalchio
How is Trimalchio satirised through his lack of knowledge
-At the end, attempts to boast about knowledge in culture through the Trojan war
-Educated Roman audience would have studied this event and found him ridiculously misinformed
How is Encolpius characterised (3 things)
-Patronising towards Trimalchio, sick of his pretentious attitude very quickly
-Biased narration, perhaps Trimalchio’s idiocracy was exaggerated, but creates more entertaining narrative
-Cold and callous towards Triamchio’s slaves, encouraged punishment of his slaves
Quote to support Encolpius’ patronising tone
I was waiting for him to say with his usual arrogance
Quote to support Encolpius’ cruel attitude towards slaves
I wouldn’t forgive that slave that forgot to gut a fish
Quotes for Trimalchio being excessively wealthy
-Silver toothpick
-Instead of counters of black and white he had gold and silver denarii
-Mushroom spores to be sent to him from India
How is Trimalchio’s wife characterised + quotes
-Presented to be a gold digger, also extremely rich
-“She measures money by the bucket load”
-She is quite cruel and insidious& is lazy
-“She has a wicked tongue and is like a magpie on his couch”
