Among the Ancients II: Juvenal

In this episode, we tackle Juvenal, whose sixteen satires influenced libertines, neoclassicists and early Christian moralists alike. Conservative to a fault, Juvenal’s Satires rails against the rapid expansion and transformation of Roman society in the early principate. But where his contemporary Tacitus handled the same material with restraint, Juvenal’s work explodes with vivid and vicious depictions of urban life, including immigration, sexual mores and eating habits. Emily and Tom explore the idiosyncrasies of Juvenal’s verse and its handling in Peter Green’s translation, and how best to parse his over-the-top hostility to everyone and everything. Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen in full and to our other Close Readings series, sign up: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Further reading in the LRB: Remembering Peter Green https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2024/september/peter-green-1924-2024 Claude Rawson: Blistering Attacks https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v02/n21/claude-rawson/blistering-attacks Clare Bucknell & Colin Burrow: What is satire? https://www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and-videos/podcasts/close-readings/on-satire-what-is-satire Get in touch: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices