Satire 15 and 16 Summary

In satire fifteen, Juvenal states that everyone has heard of the Egyptians' tendency of worshipping cats, dogs and crocodiles as gods while no one raises a prayer to Diana. The Egyptians abstain from lamb and mutton, but they eat human flesh. King Alcinous disbelieved Ulysses' account of witnessing this atrocity. Juvenal will tell of a more recent incident, an act of mob violence. There is a vendetta between two neighboring countries, Ombi and Tentyra, because they loath one another's gods. They break up each other's festivals, which leads to fist fights. Soon, men withdraw swords and shoot arrows at one another. Men capture men from the other side and eat them raw with great relish. Juvenal recalls that some Spaniards once kept alive on such a diet, but only because a famine was caused by their extended war. No such affliction...