Trimalchio

Trimalchio is a fictional character from the 1st-century Roman novel Satyricon, attributed to Petronius Arbiter. He is depicted as an immensely wealthy and ostentatious freedman (a former slave) who throws an extravagant banquet. This episode, known as the Cena Trimalchionis or "Banquet of Trimalchio," is the most famous surviving part of the novel.12

Trimalchio embodies the parvenu, a newly rich individual with a lack of taste and refinement, despite his wealth and affectation of culture. Petronius uses Trimalchio to satirize Roman society, particularly the nouveau riche class and their vulgar displays. The character is vividly portrayed with a mix of boastfulness, superstition, and underlying vulgarity, making him a memorable figure in satirical literature.2