Documenting the colorful escapades of the former gladiator Encolpius and his less-than-faithful lover Giton, the Satyricon plunges the reader into the lives of ordinary Roman citizens, vividly revealing the Empire's seamy underbelly. A host of unforgettable characters are satirically presented, such as Trimalchio, the pretentious parvenu host, in a memorable banquet sce≠ the lascivious priestess Quartilla; and the narrator's unreliable, roguish friend Ascyltus. Sometimes referred to as the first novel--although surviving only in fragments--this bawdy, picaresque, and surprisingly modern narrative is considered one of the founding masterpieces of Western literature.