Volume 19, 2007 - Brown University

52 Matthew Nicholson
Alcibiades, in Plato’s Symposium, commends Socrates’ chastity, recounting his
own vain attempts to woo the philosopher; but here the sardonic praise instead
exposes the obstruction of Encolpius’ will by physical defect. On the metaphorical
level, Giton’s conceited simile announces the utter exclusion of Encolpius
from the realms of classical literature; Encolpius fails to assert heroism by fulfilling
his sexual cravings, yet can not enjoy a reputation of classical purity.
Additionally, through this philerasteia, Giton subverts Encolpius within the
sexual dynamic, assuming the role of the erastes and relegating Encolpius to a
purely pathic erotic status. The various episodes of symbolic emasculation
throughout the novel confirm this role reversal; Giton threatens to cut off his
genitals but other characters stop him for want of them, while Encolpius, preoccupied
with asserting masculinity and attaining sexual authority through a
pedophilic relationship, repeatedly fails at the task.
After scrutinizing these episodes in the Satyricon and having agreed on
their participation in an extended metaphor linking child love and classical
inheritance, the careful reader will continue to question Petronius’ stance on,
and the moral issues surrounding, this theme. Unfortunately the fragmentary
nature of the work discourages the attempt to assign a definite morality and a
certain social commentary to the author. The tone of what remains also creates
doubt; the uniformly ironic and sarcastic narrative voice adumbrates the
distinction between objects of genuine cultural criticism and the phenomena that
face Petronius’ biting wit as a result of circumstance. One possible interpretation
with at least enough evidence to warrant its investigation is that Petronius
includes pederasty among the luxuries which he implicates in societal decay.
Given Encolpius’ impractical attitude and outdated ideals, Petronius frames him
as a personality incongruous with Neronian society. By describing the typically
unpleasant trials facing an individual of that disposition he implies that Encolpius’
insistence to live mentally in a bygone era (and the pederasty that lies at
the heart of his willful self-deception) prohibits him from fully participating in
contemporary civilization. If Petronius is in fact calling this very attitude to task,
then assuming that he takes issue with pederasty does not overstep the bounds of
common sense and sensitive readership. Additional episodes lend support to this
interpretation. For example, Eumolpus’ rehashing of Lucan’s Bellum Civile,
which attempts to yoke mythology with very recent history, supports the argument
that Petronius disapproves of purposeless clinging to classical ideology. It
should also be noted that Eumolpus, a symbol of the epic poet having outlived
his utility, praises pederasty in his account of the Pergamine boy and yet denies
such a beloved topic the honor of his incessant versification.
Of the myths that Petronius weaves into the Satyricon, the two most structurally
important and ubiquitous are those of the wanderings of Odysseus and
the rage of Achilles. Encolpius wears these masks throughout. As Achilles, he
seeks Giton as the reward for, and embodiment of, his masculinity, and as
Odysseus, he labors to abandon his nomadic life style and eliminate the
bothersome suitors who perpetually ply Giton with blandishments as well as