When Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey appeared in 2017--revealing the ancient poem in a contemporary idiom that was "fresh, unpretentious and lean" (Madeline Miller, Washington Post)--critics lauded it as "a revelation" (Susan Chira, New York Times) and "a cultural landmark" (Charlotte Higgins, Guardian) that would forever change how Homer is read in English. Now Wilson has returned with an equally revelatory translation of Homer's other...

A comic masterpiece of classical antiquity, the Satyrica (or Satyricon) of Petronius is a tantalizing work of fiction-part poetry, part prose, hilariously vulgar, exquisitely elegant, its original form and length as much a matter of speculation as the identity of its author. Its brilliance and enduring influence are, however, beyond dispute. The romantic misadventures, fabulous feasts, and ribald foibles of Encolplus ("crotch" in Greek) and his cohorts...