This classic collection captures the splendour, the squalor and the sheer vibrant energy of everyday Roman life
In Satires, Juvenal (c. 55-138 AD) creates a fascinating (and immediately familiar) world of fortune-tellers, boozy politicians, slick lawyers, shameless sycophants, ageing flirts and downtrodden teachers. A member of the traditional land-owning class which was rapidly seeing power slip into the hands of dynamic outsiders, he offers equally savage portraits of decadent aristocrats; women interested only in “rough trade” like actors and gladiators; and the jumped-up sons of panders and auctioneers. He constantly compares the corruption of his own generation with their stern upright forebears. And he makes us feel from within the deep humiliation of having to dance attendance on rich but odious patrons.
Peter Green’s celebrated translation is fully annotated and clarifies all references and allusions in the text, making it equally suitable for students and for continuous reading. This new edition has been substantially revised throughout to give it an even more contemporary flavour.
Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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