Buy new:
-5% $13.24
FREE delivery Sunday, May 12 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$13.24 with 5 percent savings
List Price: $14.00

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Sunday, May 12 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Wednesday, May 8. Order within 23 hrs 27 mins
In Stock
$$13.24 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$13.24
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$11.28
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
Shows signs of wear. Jacket may be torn, cover may have creases, pages have some writing and highlighting. May have some water damage. May be a former library book. Ships direct from Amazon! Shows signs of wear. Jacket may be torn, cover may have creases, pages have some writing and highlighting. May have some water damage. May be a former library book. Ships direct from Amazon! See less
FREE delivery Monday, May 13 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Wednesday, May 8. Order within 23 hrs 27 mins
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$13.24 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$13.24
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Juvenal
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Sixteen Satires (Penguin Classics) Paperback – February 1, 1999

by Juvenal (Author), Peter Green (Translator, Introduction)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 109 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$13.24","priceAmount":13.24,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"13","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"24","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"2bED%2FfGUu%2FdOdbKup7O28TMVReZxrgzSvD43h4Vgk5Hu0SR42bgVbdiz881gyfN9u6Jx%2BOWDuYwdPoIKYVdKxSD%2FOF%2BjpWtTz%2FWNcDFreBILrVob%2F16qV%2Btf0yvfLKtDFZCuoolLpxs%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$11.28","priceAmount":11.28,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"11","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"28","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"2bED%2FfGUu%2FdOdbKup7O28TMVReZxrgzSo5BTOIpGb8%2FZ3OZ3ZIWQdap%2FeNTZjt42fIkZ0S23lNshizlCA22Alg5iw1Ipa7OCTADwCCn9a0Dl6s1UssEwbeZWASU5QeOmPJ33oB4%2Fxt%2BJRF6T%2Fm75KEy%2B%2FBayIycVzFFb8KNWxNjSkBkZEZiADQ%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Juvenal's Satires create a fascinating (and immediately familiar) world of whores, fortune-tellers, boozy politicians, slick lawyers, shameless sycophants, ageing flirts and downtrodden teachers

Perhaps more than any other writer, Juvenal (c. 55-138 AD) captures the splendour, the squalor and the sheer vibrant energy of everyday Roman life. A member of the traditional land-owning class which was rapidly seeing power slip into the hands of dynamic outsiders, he offers equally savage portraits of decadent aristocrats; women interested only in 'rough trade' like actors and gladiators; and the jumped-up sons of panders and auctioneers. He constantly compares the corruption of his own generation with their stern upright forebears. And he makes us feel from within the deep humiliation of having to dance attendance on rich but odious patrons.

Green's celebrated translation is fully annotated and clarifies all references and allusions in the text, making it equally suitable for students and for continuous reading. For this new edition it has been substantially revised throughout to give it an even more contemporary flavour.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Classics
  4. Publication date
    February 1, 1999
  5. Dimensions
    5.1 x 0.75 x 7.8 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0140447040
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0140447040
  8. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Frequently bought together

Sixteen Satires (Penguin Classics)
$13.24
Get it as soon as Sunday, May 12
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Satires and Epistles of Horace and Satires of Persius (Penguin Classics)
$14.30
Get it as soon as Sunday, May 12
Only 14 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
The Complete Odes and Epodes (Oxford World's Classics)
$13.80
Get it as soon as Sunday, May 12
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Some of these items ship sooner than the others.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Less is known about the life of Juvenal (D. Iunius Iuuenalis) than was once believed - a key source, an inscription naming one Iunius Iuuenalis, refers to a later descendant, not the satirist - and such evidence as there is remains sadly inadequate. Much of it comes from Juvenal's own work. We know that the family was from Aquinum in Latium near modern Monte Cassino. One ancient Life offers a plausible birth date of AD 55. Another states that till middle-age Juvenal practised rhetoric, not for professional reasons but as an amusement, which implies a private income. Book I of the Satires was not published till c. 110-12, when the poet was in his fifties, and is clearly the work of an impoverished and embittered man who has come down in the world - a hanger-on of wealthy patrons with a chip on his shoulder - but the precise circumstances of Juvenal's fall from grace are unclear.

The Lives all agree that he was exiled for an indiscreet lampoon of the jobbing of appointments by a Court favourite. But they do not agree as to where he was sent or which emperor was responsible, and Juvenal never refers to the matter. Many doubt whether he was exiled at all. If he was, it was almost certainly by Domitian, c. 93, to Egypt. In any case he must have lost his patrimony. It is reasonable to assume that he was recalled after Domitian's assassination in 96. After Hadrian's accession he seems to have acquired a small farm at Tivoli and a house in Rome. His last and unfinished (or partially lost) collection appeared c. 128-30. He may have died then: at the latest he is unlikely to have survived long after Hadrian's death in 138.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Classics; 3rd edition (February 1, 1999)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0140447040
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140447040
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.1 x 0.75 x 7.8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 109 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Juvenal

Juvenal

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
109 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Written 2,000 years ago but still fresh
Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2023
Verified Purchase
This is a wonderful and funny catalog of human frailties, vices, vanities, greed, hypocrisies, and general foolishness. It was written two thousand years ago but accurately portrays the behavior and characteristics of our own day and age. The more things change the more they remain the same.
Helpful
 Report
Vanya
5.0 out of 5 stars And the award for vicious social commentary goes to...
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2016
Verified Purchase
...Juvenal! *applause*

Juvenal was a guy, about whom almost nothing is known, who lived from around 55 to around 135 AD. He was apparently important enough, and annoying enough, to be exiled at some point (maybe), but he obviously Got Better at some point. Oh, yeah-- And he was really, really pissed at the direction Roman government and society was going.

The last Satire breaks off in the middle; according to the notes (which are excellent in this edition, I thought), the most likely cause is that one whole scroll is missing off the end. The notes, as I mentioned, are very good; it's a social commentary, and references many people and events which would have been obvious to his readers, but not so much to us. Trigger Warning: He gets awfully nasty about a lot of them.

Satire One: Basically an intro. J. complains that the current producers of poetry and drama are writing garbage and rehashing old plots (First century 'Sequelitis' perhaps), for fear of causing offence or boring the crowds, and announces he's throwing his hat into the ring.

Two: J. laments the increasing effeminacy of Roman men, and decries open-secret gay marriage between Roman men.

Three: A narration by a friend of J.'s, on his moving out of Rome due to high cost of living, corruption, and his being unwilling to become a sycophantic yes-man in order to gain favor.

Four: Conspicuous consumption and toadying is decried.

Five: The fate of a low-ranking hanger-on at a dinner party given by his rich patron. Spoiler alert: The rich guy eats well... You don't.

Six: By far the longest. An absolutely brutal punch at Roman women, and women in general. Fair? No idea.

Seven: The impecunious fate of teachers and tutors is remarked upon. Lawyers and newsreaders make more.

Eight: Family trees, and the airs people put on about theirs.

These are obviously just morsels of what's actually in there, and there are eight more. Buy it. Human nature never changes. Not recommended for children, unless you feel like fielding a lot of really explicit questions.
19 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Peteklat
4.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining old grouch.
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2014
Verified Purchase
I first met the writings of Juvenal (translated by Peter Green) many years ago, when a misogynist priest thought I might like them. Well I did, and the latest edition lives up to everything I remember. Juvenal lived approximately 52 AD to 130 AD, and he is a conservative and xenophobic commentator on life in Rome. Peter Green has served his subject excellently as far as I can tell, not having access to the original Latin. Remember "bread and circuses" ? ""who will judge the judges themselves?" . All Juvenal.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Lars P. Hanson
5.0 out of 5 stars A Joy to Read!
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2009
Verified Purchase
Peter Green's latest revision to his earlier translations of Juvenal's satires is an absolute joy to read! In the Introduction he recounts the changes he has made with a refreshing candor. In addition, he neatly summarizes the various viewpoints about the problematic portions of the Satires -- possible lacunae (gaps), possible line shuffling, possible transcription errors, etc. While such problems occur with any ancient text (such as the Bible), it is rarely that a translator will discuss the problems, the solutions the translator has employed, and the reasons for his or her choices outside of scholarly works. Peter Green's clear and persuasive arguments are a welcome change from the usual practice.

The translations themselves preserve the sense of the original Latin, with little or no modern colloquialisms. As the translator noted in his Introduction, he was aghast to note in the first edition the extent to which he had both varied from the original line structure of Juvenal's works and the extent to which he had employed contemporary language, which now seemed dated. As a result, Peter Green retranslated most of the Satires to correct these errors. The latest edition of this work thus is far truer to the original work. The resulting text provides fascinating insights into Roman life duriung Juvenal's lifetime.

Another wonderful aspect of this edition are the clear and self-contained footnotes. The reader is not left having to scramble to find some obscure text in order to understand the footnote. Peter Green puts all the information necessary into each footnote, and also provides external references as necessary.

This work stands in stark contrast to Walsh's translation and footnoting of Petronius' Satyricon (Oxford Classics series),which I also reviewed.

Peter Green's translation of Juvenal's Satires is well worth purchasing and reading for anyone at all interested in life and issues in life in late first and early second century Rome.
35 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Mick Boyce
5.0 out of 5 stars after reading this,
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2022
Verified Purchase
I felt like I knew what it was like to live in ancient Rome. Peter Green brought the sights and smells of the eternal city by channeling Juvenal through translation.
Peter Green himself is said to be embarrassed by some of the choices he made in this old edition of 16 Satires. He sometimes uses English slang terms rather than an aesthetically pure "King's English". He sees this as a bug now, and has edited a new edition. For my money, I think the informal slang choices he made help bring the book to life.
I laughed out loud at parts of this book; Juvenal was a funny, intensely bitter misanthrope. On our worst days, we've all shared his frustrations and anger. The more things change the more they stay the same...
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
om
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, but challenging to read
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2012
Verified Purchase
Juvenal is hilarious, but in this translation, there are more "new" (to me) words than in the satire in the book we read when I studied at the university. This is probably because the translator chooses words with the most correct meaning, if you compare them with Juvenals choice of words? In that case, that is good, but it's more challenging to read.
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read!!
Reviewed in Canada on December 22, 2020
Verified Purchase
"Things" have not changed much.
One person found this helpful
 Report
Jon Chambers
5.0 out of 5 stars Beware the wasp - and the mullet!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 31, 2009
Verified Purchase
Yes, Dr Jones may well be right in suggesting that there are better editions than this (although it would have been useful if he'd told us exactly which ones and why!). However, Peter Green arguably offers the best introduction to Juvenal's Satires. After all, Green is not writing for the specialist but for the average, intelligent reader - the kind of reader that Penguin Classics habitually caters for. Jones probably has scholars like Susanna Braund in mind and I'd imagine that her editions are those that professional classicists like him find most valuable. She offers an extremely perceptive commentary, full Latin text and a translation that is, I suspect, closer to the letter than Green's. But Braund comes at a hefty price - £18 for Volume I alone.

In any case, this Penguin edition has lots to offer besides value. Green captures the spirit and vitality, as well as the sharply ironic humour, of the original at least as well as Braund or Rudd, the two main competitors. His Juvenal sounds fresh, witty and modern (as well as occasionally loathsome, misogynistic and xenophobic). His Introduction, moreover, is extensive and engaging. It may well be 'old-fashioned' in its lack of enthusiasm for the 'persona theory' (ie the view that the poet is donning a mask and not voicing his own opinions, thereby preventing us from reading the satires as self-revelation). But Green does at least address 'the much-vexed question of Juvenal's satirical persona', and gives us an alternative approach. He inclines to the view that Juvenal's savage indignation resulted from humbling personal experience. According to long-held tradition, he was exiled - probably to Egypt. Green surmises that this story of exile is true, and that it might well have taken the harshest form - 'deportatio' - involving the confiscation of everything dear to a Roman citizen: land, money, status. In the early satires, Green sees Juvenal as 'a waspish gadfly from Aquinum' and a 'snarling chip-on-the-shoulder flay-all'. The gradual softening of tone (anger - cynicism - irony) can be accounted for, Green thinks, by a gradual improvement in Juvenal's material circumstances. In this reading, therefore, the Satires are at least partly autobiographical.

So, maybe not definitive and certainly not radical, but an edition that's good enough for the vast majority of interested readers. Good enough even for Dr Jones himself, otherwise he wouldn't have used Green's translation in his (excellent) article 'The persona and the addressee in Juvenal's Satire 11' in Ramus, vol.19, no2, pp160-68, 1990, when Braund's and Rudd's alternatives were also available.

Oh, that mullet. You'll have to read Green's illuminating note to line 317 of Satire X.
35 people found this helpful
 Report
leon dupont
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 1, 2018
Verified Purchase
Fulfilled my greatest expectations. Thank you.
Report
Kim
4.0 out of 5 stars What the Romans also did for us
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 3, 2023
Verified Purchase
Many of today's 'satirists' could learn a thing or two from Juvenal. There cannot have been many sharper pens. And you quickly realise, as you look around, that plus ca change.
Report
Dalcio Marcal
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in Canada on March 1, 2018
Verified Purchase
Great!
Report