L’UCCELLO PARLANTE DI TRIMALCHIONE

Abstract

This article offers an interpretation of the talking magpie which welcomes guests at the entrance to Trimalchio’s house (Petronius, Satyrica, 28.9), arguing that the bird’s greeting should be reconstructed as a form of wordplay, as is signaled in the text through a figure of sound. This hitherto unrecognized pun is interpreted as an example of Trimalchio’s sense of humor, and as a sort of motto marking the entrance to Trimalchio’s world.