x dismiss this message
Did you know you can edit this page?
-
Sign Into Shelfari
-
Choose something to edit
-
Save your contributions
see page history
Description edit
Henryk Sienkiewicz (1846-1916) won the 1905 Nobel Prize in Literature. A brilliant Polish writer and patriot, he is possibly best known abroad for his monumental historical epic Quo Vadis that portrays the vibrant and dissonant combination of cruel excesses and decadence of Rome during the... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Characters/People edit
- Marcus Vinicius: a Roman patrician and a military tribune. Nephew of Petronius.
- Callina: Ligia Callina is the daughter of a deceased king of the Lygians, given as a hostage to Rome by her father.
- Lygia: Add a description of this character.
- Callina (Ligia): the beautiful daughter of a deceased king of the Ligians, a barbarian tribe. She is now a hostage of the romans.
- Nero: the cruel roman emperor
- Apostle Peter: One of the apostles of Jesus, present at his crucifiction and a major leader of the Roman Christians.
- C. Petronius: Petronius is titled the "arbiter of elegance. " He is the former governor of Bithynia. As a member of Nero's court, he uses his wit to adulate and mock him at the same time. Petronius is the uncle of Marcus Vinicius.
- Petronius: the "arbiter of elegance", former governor of Bithynia, a member of Nero's court. Vinicius is his nephew.
- Paul: Paul of Tarsus, a Roman citizen called by God to reach the gentiles for Christ.
- Eunice: household slave of Petronius. She is later freed and becomes his lover.
- Poppæa: Wife of Nero and mother of his only child, a daughter.
- Lucan
- Chilon Chilonides: a charlatan and a private investigator.
- Antium
- Tigellinus: the prefect of the feared Praetorian Guard and the enemy of Petronius.
- Poppaea Sabina: Nero's wife.
- Plautius
- Ursus: Lygia's bodyguard. A Christian, he struggles to follow the teachings of Christianity despite his enormous size, great strength, and barbarian mindset.
- Aulus Plautius: a respected retired Roman general, Lygia's foster father.
- Carin
- Vestinius
- Pomponia Graecina: the wife of Aulus, a Christian convert. She is the foster mother of Lygia.
- Saint Peter: Apostle of Christ who ministers to the Christians in Rome and develops a personal relationship of ministry with Vitinius. He is amazed at Nero and his wickedness and nicknames him The Beast.
- Tullius Senecio
- Pomponia Græcina
- Pomponius
- Saint Paul: Apostle of Christ who travels with Marcus to explain to him Christianity and to convert him
- Jove
- Thrasea
- Ulysses
- Terpnos
- Caius
- Caesar
- Poppea
- Ligia
- Miriam: A Christian who hides Lygia and Ursus.
- Seneca
- Glaucus
- Claudius
- Chrysothemis: A former lover of Petronius.
- Diana
- Croton: A Gladiator of Rome.
- John
- Mark
- Gullo
- Lucanus
- Troy
- Otho
- Baiae
- Crispus: a Christian fanatic who focuses on judgment rather than love.
- Acte: A slave of Nero's and former mistress. She studies the Christian faith during the story.
Quotes edit
-
“Life deserves laughter, hence people laugh at it.”
Petronius -
“Not Nero, but God, rules the world.”
Ligia -
“People thus far did not know a God whom man could love, hence they did not love one another; and from that came their misfortune, for as light comes from the sun, so does happiness come from love. Neither lawgivers nor philosophers taught this truth, and it did not exist in Greece or Rome; and when I say, not in Rome, that means the whole world. The dry and cold teaching of the Stoics, to which virtuous people rally, tempers the heart as a sword is tempered, but it makes it indifferent rather than better.”
Setting & Locations edit
Rome
- Rome
- Augusta
- Ostrianum
- Greece
- Naples
- Achæa
- Sicily
- Apollo
- Egypt
- Gaul
- Rubria
- Subura
- Beneventum
- Vatinius
- Chilo
- Hades
- Campania
- Niger
- Ostia
- Circus
- Tiberius
- Asia Minor
- Cyprus
- Italy
- Africa
- Mamertine
- Nigidia
- Vesta
- Callina
- Tiresias
- Britain
- Caligula
- Via Portuensis
- Vatican Hill
- Tullianum
- Bronzebeard
- Jupiter
- Armenia
- Ceres
- Paris
- Libitina
- Cumæ
- Via Nomentana
- Calvia Crispinilla
First Sentence edit
Petronius woke only about midday, and as usual greatly wearied.
Series & Lists edit
This is book 795 of 1286 in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. (authoritative list)
Authors & Contributors edit
- Henryk Sienkiewicz (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: Polish
Publisher: Polish dailies
Country: Poland
Publication Date: 1895
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 592
Publisher: Polish dailies
Country: Poland
Publication Date: 1895
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 592
Awards edit
- Nobel Prize (1905: Literature)
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: PG7158.S4 Q43
- Dewey: 813
Subjects edit
Popular Tags
See all 50 tags
Movie Connections edit
- Quo Vadis (1951) (IMDb): Starring Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, and Peter Ustinov
- Quo Vadis (2001) (IMDb): Polish production, directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz. Starring Paweł Deląg, Magdalena Mielcarz and Bogusław Linda.
More Books Like This edit
We’re hiding the errata, links to supplemental material, books with additional background information, books that influenced this book, books influenced by this book, books that cite this book and books cited by this book sections. If you would like to add content to them, you must first make them visible.
You were just viewing this book on 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die Shelf’s shelf.
(see review)
