Despite having been written in the first century AD, this fragmentary novel by an ancient-Roman satirist retains its impact as a daring novel of social and sexual adventure. Presenting the adventures of a pair of homosexual lovers, Encolpius and Giton, and their friend, Ascyltus, the story follows the boys as they wander through the towns of southern Italy, observing—and sometimes participating in—festivals, sexual orgies, abductions, and murder. Whether intended as a moral fable or a celebratory catalog of sexual achievement, Petronius's work remains wickedly entertaining, and this translation adds its own wit and flair to appeal to a 21st-century audience.
