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Fabula Muta: Petronius, Poetry, and Rape

2021; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 142; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/ajp.2021.0018

1086-3168

Debra Freas,

Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies

Petronian scholars have long recognized that Encolpius' erotic experiences in the Croton episode are influenced by Ovid's amatory works, yet three of his poems in this section—Sat. 126.18, 131.8, 137.9—are more indebted to Ovid in style and substance than previously realized on account of their engagement with mythological rape and metamorphosis. This article argues that Petronius critiques an Ovidian poetics of sexual violence in these poems by mocking Encolpius who attempts to imitate the Ovidian poet-amator and by parodying conventions found in Ovid's numerous episodes featuring mythological rape.