Vol. 18 No. 2 (2012)
Articles

Trimalchio’s Astrology: Naïve Superstitions or Intentional Jokes? (Petr. Sat. 35. 1–5; 39. 5–12)

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  • Denis Keyer
Denis Keyer
St. Petersburg Institute for History, RAS; Bibliotheca classica Petropolitana

Published 2014-01-30

Keywords

  • astrology,
  • astronomy,
  • Petronius
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Keyer, D. (2014). Trimalchio’s Astrology: Naïve Superstitions or Intentional Jokes? (Petr. Sat. 35. 1–5; 39. 5–12). Hyperboreus, 18(2), 264-294. https://doi.org/10.36950/hyperboreus.WEAO8133

Abstract

Trimalchio’s zodiacal forecasts in ch. 39 do not indicate his liability to astrological superstitions, being a set of intentional jokes similar to the handing out of the apophoreta in ch. 56. Likewise, the foodstuffs assigned to zodiacal signs in ch. 35 aim at exquisite culinary design and are not to be imputed to simple-minded occultism.

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