The Best Translation of The Satyricon
The Satyricon was written in Latin. 2 recommended editions, ranked — with Gröblé’s verdict on which to read first.
Sarah Ruden
Hackett Publishing · 2000 · 208 pages
Ruden's Petronius is loud, vulgar, and unembarrassed, which is exactly the register the Latin asks for. Trimalchio's feast lands as both funny and grotesque, the way it apparently did in Nero's Rome.
Every recommended edition, compared
Walsh's Oxford runs cooler. The notes on the fragmentary text and its literary context are the strongest part, and the translation is accurate even where it tones down Petronius's shock.
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Reading The Satyricon in translation
The Satyricon was written in Latin, so unless you read Latin, the translator decides the book you actually experience — its register, its pace, how it sounds read aloud. Two editions of the same work can feel like different books.
The ranking above is Gröblé’s: one reader’s verdict on which English gets you closest, not a publisher’s blurb. Start with the top pick; reach for the others when you want a different angle on the original.