Short answers, pulled from the story.
Petronius Arbiter was a Roman courtier during the reign of Nero, serving as suffect consul in 62 AD. Tacitus, Pliny the Elder, and Plutarch all describe him as the elegantiae arbiter, or judge of elegance, in Nero's court. He is generally believed to be the author of the Satyricon, a satirical novel from the Neronian era.
The Satyricon is a satirical novel, specifically a Menippean satire, believed to have been written during the reign of the emperor Nero. It is generally attributed to Gaius Petronius Arbiter, though the connection rests on a medieval manuscript from around 1450 that credited a "Titus Petronius" as the author. The identification remains speculative and disputed.
Petronius was arrested at Cumae in 65 AD after Tigellinus, the commander of the emperor's guard, accused him of treason out of jealousy. Rather than await a sentence, Petronius chose to take his own life, opening and closing his veins while dining and talking with friends. Before dying, he sent Nero a sealed document detailing the emperor's shameful excesses by name, then broke his signet ring so it could not be used to endanger others.
Petronius served as a trusted intimate of Nero and was regarded as an absolute authority on matters of taste and luxurious living. Tacitus describes his relationship to the emperor as akin to that of a fashion advisor. His reckless freedom of speech was interpreted as frankness and made him popular in the court.
The Satyricon stands out in ancient literature for its detailed portrayals of individual characters, particularly Trimalchio, through specific speech, behavior, surroundings, and appearance. This attention to character was unusual at a time when ancient literature focused primarily on plot governed by classical rules. The novel also preserves detailed observations of Roman customs and social conditions during Nero's reign.
Petronius is one of the most important characters in Henryk Sienkiewicz's historical novel Quo Vadis, published in 1895. Leo Genn portrayed him in the 1951 film adaptation of the same name.