Quo vadis and Ancient Rome in the United States, 1896–1905

Abstract

The immense success of Quo vadis in the United States prompted widespread interest in both its most interesting character, Petronius, and in its account of the reign of Nero. Although Sienkiewicz mentions the Satyricon only briefly, in the period following the novel’s appearance new translations of the Cena Trimalchionis were published, along with editions intended for students of Latin, despite the Satyricon’s earlier reputation as decadent and its association with pornography. Sienkiewicz’s sympathetic portrayal of Petronius was probably responsible for making this reception of the Cena possible. The general educated public was also concerned about the historical basis of Quo vadis. Readers who found the novel too sensational, as many did, not surprisingly also questioned its historical accuracy. Debates about the novel also show the complex influence of Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, which accepts Tacitus’s account of Nero’s persecution, but more generally argues that Christian accounts of persecutions are exaggerated. American critics of Quo vadis applied Gibbon’s arguments about Diocletian’s persecution to Nero’s. Academics who provided expert guidance seem uncritical compared to ancient historians today: while they point out that Tacitus did not have personal knowledge of Nero’s reign, they do not consider his sources or methods.