Volume 19, 2007 - Brown University

50 Matthew Nicholson
do battle. Encolpius adopts this language of military epic when he languishes in
misery, citing, as the only reason against immediate suicide, that he “begrudges
his enemy victory.” Additionally, he envisions Ascyltos, his “previously dearest
ally,” as “haughtily indulging in his spoil,” explicitly recalling the militant
despondence of Achilles in Book I of the Iliad (Ch. 80, sec. 7). To Petronius’
audience, these lines must have recalled the following passage from the epic in
which Achilles rails against the hypocrisy of Agamemnon’s theft of Briseis.
And of such things you heed not, nor have any regard,
and you even threaten that you will take my reward from me,
for which I toiled greatly, and which the sons of the Achaeans gave me.
The ensuing episode in which Encolpius laments his loss further demonstrates
his assumption of epic importance. His speech smacks of epic themes, especially
his request for mythic sporagmos—“Thus why cannot the earth engulf me in
ruin?” And his implicit sympathy with the trials of Aeneas—“[f]oresaken, in the
Greek city”—recalls Aen. II, 664-72 (Ch. 81, sec. 3). Giton plays a crucial role
in perpetuating these fantasies since his effeminate charm and appearance allow
him to serve as either male or female according to the mandates of the various
myths chosen by Encolpius. Encolpius himself makes note of this fact when he
ironically comments that “even he who thought he was a man considered him as
much a girl” (Ch. 81, sec. 5), unaware that the indefinite pronoun in the phrase
describes him as well. Having thus characterized Giton, Encolpius immediately
realizes the opportunity to prove his manhood in the fashion of a mythical hero,
proclaiming “either I am not a man and a free citizen, or I will avenge my
wounds with guilty blood” (Ch. 81, sec. 6). Then he “girds his waist with
sword” (Ch, 82, sec. 1) in the fashion of Aeneas. But when he encounters a
soldier on his quest for vengeance, the guise is discovered, and having been
disarmed Encolpius abandons the mythic mindset “despoiled, with vengeance
cut short” (Ch. 81, sec. 4). The egregious metaphorical emasculation of the
scene clarifies the function of Giton within the mythical context; Encolpius
derives virility from Giton, and from that virility equates himself with classical
heroes.
This function of Giton as mythical catalyst is addressed later in the novel
with continued reference to the rage of Achilles. The opening of Chapter 129
weaves together the themes of pederasty, sexual potency, and epic heroism.
Consider the following lines, in which Giton’s role as eramenos is identified as
responsible not only for Encolpius’ manhood, but his stance as epic hero as well:
“I do not know myself to be a man, I do not feel it. Dead and buried is that part
of my body, by which once I was Achilles” (sec. 1). Here Encolpius expressly
equates his ability to assume these roles as mythic heroes with his potency to
perform sexually with Giton. Just as his surrender to the soldier in Chapter 81
robbed him of masculinity and epic vengeance, here too his failure to perform
the offices of a traditional Greek erastes deprives him of the satisfaction of continued
fantasies.