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), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

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

. 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, an ...

, 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 origina ...

", 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 in the late 1st century AD, though the manuscript tradition identifi ...

'', which was probably written by

Petronius Gaius Petronius Arbiter"Gaius Petronius Arbiter"
Britannica.com. (; ; ; s ...

. 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 language, Greek dialect of the regions of ancient Greece, ancient region of Attica, including the ''polis'' of classical Athens, Athens. Often called Classical Greek, it was the prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige diale ...

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

, who wrote in

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

. 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 (; , , later ), in the ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the Greek underworld, underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea ...

. 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 (; ) or Klotho, is a mythological figure. She was one of the Three Fates or Moirai. In ancient Greek mythology, she spins the thread of human life, her sisters draw out ( Lachesis) and cut ( Atropos) the thread. She also made major dec ...

to kill the emperor, Claudius walks to

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (, , ) is an extensive massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, between the regional units of Larissa (regional unit), Larissa and Pieria (regional ...

, 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 Gr ...

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 origina ...

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 Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

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 Lacuna (plural lacunas or lacunae) may refer to: Related to the meaning "gap" * Lacuna (manuscripts), a gap in a manuscript, inscription, text, painting, or musical work **Great Lacuna, a lacuna of eight leaves in the ''Codex Regius'' where there ...

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 Roman festivals, ancient Roman festival and holiday in honour of the List of Roman deities, god Saturn (mythology), Saturn, held on 17 December in the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities until 19 December. By t ...

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 Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...

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 li ...

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

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

'' by

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

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 books in Latin Underworld in classical literature Prose texts in Latin Political thought in ancient Rome Satirical stories Works by Seneca the Younger Cultural depictions of Claudius

Authorship

Plot

Translations

See also

Notes

References