Gaius Petronius Arbiter - Biography and Works
Gaius Petronius Arbiter (c. 27 - 66 A.D) was a Roman writer who is believed to be the author of the Satyricon, a satirical novel written during the Neronian era.
Gaius Petronius Arbiter
His reputed fiction Satyricon is a fragmentary manuscript written in prose and verse considered to be one of the early forms of the novel.
Petronius is believed to be wealthy and from a noble family. Petronius employs allusions as a literary device. The same allusions of certain people and events justify that Satyricon was written during Nero’s time. The well known example of allusion used in his work is Lucretia. Petronius concerned more about the artistic presentation with entertainment rather than giving the moral. Satyricon is comic and episodic in form. It includes independent tales like “Widow of Ephesus” (Satyricon, ch. 111-112).
