The ''Apocolocyntosis (divi) Claudii'', literally ''The Pumpkinification of ''(''the Divine'')'' Claudius'', is a satire on the Roman emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Drusus and Antonia Minor ...

, which, according to

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

, was written by

Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca was born ...

. A partly extant

Menippean satire The genre of Menippean satire is a form of satire, usually in prose, that is characterized by attacking mental attitudes rather than specific individuals or entities. It has been broadly described as a mixture of allegory, picaresque narrative, and ...

, an anonymous work called ''Ludus de morte Divi Claudii'' ("Play on the Death of the Divine Claudius") in its surviving manuscripts, may or may not be identical to the text mentioned by Cassius Dio. "Apocolocyntosis" is a word play on "

apotheosis Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The term ha ...

", the process by which dead Roman emperors were recognized as gods.

Authorship

The ''Ludus de morte Divi Claudii'' is one of only two examples of a Menippean satire from the classical era that have survived, the other being the ''

Satyricon The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petr ...

'', which was likely written by

Petronius Gaius Petronius Arbiter"Gaius Petronius Arbiter"
Gilbert Bagnani is among the scholars who also attribute the ''Ludus'' text to Petronius. "Apocolocyntosis" is Latinized Greek, and can also be transliterated as ''Apokolokyntosis'' (

Attic Greek Attic Greek is the Greek dialect of the ancient region of Attica, including the '' polis'' of Athens. Often called classical Greek, it was the prestige dialect of the Greek world for centuries and remains the standard form of the language that ...

Ἀποκολοκύντωσις: "Pumpkinification", "Gourdification"). The title ''Apokolokyntosis'' comes from the Roman historian

, who wrote in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

. Cassius Dio attributed authorship of a satirical text on the death of Claudius, called ''Apokolokyntosis'', to Seneca the Younger. Only much later was the work referred to by Cassius Dio identified (with some degree of uncertainty) with the ''Ludus'' text. Most scholars accept this attribution, although a minority holds that the two works are not the same, and that the surviving text is not necessarily Seneca's.

Plot

The work traces the death of Claudius, his ascent to heaven, judgment by the gods, and eventual descent to

Hades Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...

. At each turn, the author mocks the late emperor's personal failings, most notably his arrogant cruelty and his inarticulacy. After Mercury persuades

Clotho Clotho (; el, Κλωθώ) is a mythological figure. She is the youngest of the Three Fates or Moirai who spins the thread of human life; the other two draw out ( Lachesis) and cut (Atropos) in ancient Greek mythology. Her Roman equivalent is ...

to kill the emperor, Claudius walks to

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...

, where he convinces

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

to let the gods hear his suit for

deification Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The term has ...

in a session of the divine

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. Proceedings are in Claudius's favor until

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

delivers a long and sincere speech listing some of Claudius's most notorious crimes. Most of the speeches of the gods are lost due to a large lacuna in the text. Mercury escorts him to Hades. On the way, they witness the funeral procession for the emperor, in which a crew of venal characters mourns the loss of the perpetual

Saturnalia Saturnalia is an ancient Roman festival and holiday in honour of the god Saturn, held on 17 December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to 23 December. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple ...

of the previous reign. In Hades Claudius is greeted by the ghosts of all the friends he has murdered. These shades carry him off to be punished, and the gods condemn him to shake dice forever in a box with no bottom (as gambling was one of Claudius's vices); every time he tries to throw the dice, they fall out, and he has to search the ground for them. Suddenly

Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germani ...

appears, claims that Claudius is an ex-slave of his, and hands him over to be a law clerk in the court of the underworld.

Translations

Notable English-language translations of the ''Apocolocyntosis'' include: * W. H. D. Rouse (1913), ''Apocolocyntosis, or Ludus de Morte Claudii: The Pumpkinification of Claudius'' (available on

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...

''Apocolocyntosis'' by W.H.D. Rouse, 1920 edition
available on The Stoic Therapy eLibrary
''Apocolocyntosis''
* J.P. Sullivan (ed), "The Apocolocyntosis" (Penguin Books, 1986) * The novel ''

Claudius the God ''I, Claudius'' is a historical novel by English writer Robert Graves, published in 1934. Written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius, it tells the history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the early years of the Rom ...

'' by

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celt ...

contains a translation of the ''Apocolocyntosis'' in the annexes

Notes

References

* Altman, Marion (1938). "Ruler Cult in Seneca." ''Classical Philology'' 33 (1938): 198–204. * Astbury, Raymond (1988). "The Apocolocyntosis." ''The Classical Review'' ns 38 (1988): 44–50. * Colish, Marcia (1976). "Seneca's Apocolocyntosis as a Possible Source for Erasmus' Julius Exclusus." ''Renaissance Quarterly'' 29 (1976): 361–368. * Relihan, Joel (1984). "On the Origin of 'Menippean Satire' as the Name of a Literary Genre." ''Classical Philology'' 79 (1984): 226–9.
''Senecae Apocolocyntosis Divi Claudii (Latin Text)''
at The Stoic Therapy eLibrary {{DEFAULTSORT:Apocolocyntosis 1st-century Latin books Underworld in classical literature Latin prose texts Political thought in ancient Rome Satirical works Works by Seneca the Younger Claudius

Authorship

Plot

Translations

See also

Notes

References