JUVENAL
Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis
-Satires-
Compared to coeval authors like Suetonius, Tacitus or Plinius Secundus, Juvenals literary output was quite small. His fame is in fact based on just 16 poems of different length, written in dactylic hexameter and simply called Satires, the name of the genre in which they were written. The poems are divided between five books, numbered but not individually titled, therefor translators have often added titles for the convenience of readers. The satires deal with different topics which offer an insight into the everyday life of the Romans during the reign of Emperor Domitian. Juvenal exercises a pitiless, pessimistic, but linguistically and stylistically often excellent criticism of all social classes, the roman manners, institutions and the state of the Empire. Juvenal's objects of ridicule are Domitian and his court, the nobility, the arrogance of the armed forces, the sinful city life, debauchery, gluttony, greediness.
So what's the conclusion? The poems are sometimes invidious, sometimes bitchy but always a vicious fun to read! Some people may prefer the elegant style of Ovid or Virgil but the more wicked reader will be satisfied by the satires. I am and therefor thumbs up for Juvenal.
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