About the Book
The Roman poet P. Papinius Statius (ca. 45-96) is the author of two epics (the Thebaid and the unfinished Achilleid) and a large corpus of occasional verse (Silvae). This poetry, long seen as derivative or decadent, is increasingly appreciated for the daring and originality of its responses both to the Greek and Latin literary tradition and to the contemporary Roman world. This volume offers the papers delivered at a symposium on Statius (Amsterdam 2005) by leading scholars in the field from Europe and North America. These papers demonstrate the fascination of Statius' poetry on account of the poet's vast knowledge of Greek and Latin tragedy, his rapid narrative, psychological acumen, brilliant eulogies, and pessimistic views on gods and men. The focus of the collection is on literary technique in the Thebaid, on socio-historical aspects of the Silvae, and on the reception of Statius in European literature and scholarship.
Contributors include: Valéry Berlincourt, Kathleen M. Coleman, Harm-Jan van Dam, Michael Dewar, Bruce Gibson, Peter J. Heslin, Donald E. Hill, Ruurd R. Nauta, Gianpiero Rosati, Lorenzo Sanna and Johannes J.L. Smolenaars.
Table of Contents:
Preface
Abbreviations
1. ‘In pondere non magno satis ponderosae…’: Gronovius and the printed tradition of the Thebaid, Valéry Berlincourt
2. Stones in the forest: epigraphic allusion in the Silvae, Kathleen M. Coleman
3. Wandering woods again: from Poliziano to Grotius, Harm-Jan van Dam
4. The equine cuckoo: Statius’ Ecus Maximus Domitiani Imperatoris and the Flavian Forum, Michael Dewar
5. Battle narrative in Statius, Thebaid, Bruce Gibson
6. Statius and the Greek Tragedians on Athens, Thebes and Rome, P.J. Heslin
7. Jupiter in Thebaid 1 again, D.E. Hill
8. Statius in the Silvae, Ruurd R. Nauta
9. Statius, Domitian and acknowledging paternity: rituals of succession in the Thebaid, Gianpiero Rosati
10. Dust, water and sweat: the Statian puer between charm and weakness, play and war, Lorenzo Sanna
11. Statius Thebaid 1.72: is Jocasta dead or alive? The tradition of Jocasta’s suicide in Greek and Roman drama and in Statius’ Thebaid, Johannes J.L. Smolenaars
Bibliography
Index of passages discussed
General index
About the Author :
Johannes J.L. Smolenaars was Associate Professor of Latin at the University of Amsterdam. He is the author of Statius Thebaid VII, A Commentary (Brill, 1994) and has published several articles on Virgil, Ovid, Seneca tragicus and Statius. Harm-Jan van Dam is Associate Professor of Latin at VU University Amsterdam. He is the author of Statius Silvae II, A Commentary (Brill, 1984) and Hugo Grotius De imperio summarum potestatum circa sacra (Brill, 2001). Ruurd R. Nauta is Professor of Latin at the University of Groningen. He is the author of Poetry for Patrons, Literary Communication in the Age of Domitian (Brill, 2002), and co-editor of Catullus' Poem on Attis (Brill, 2005). The three editors have earlier collaborated in editing Flavian Poetry (Brill, 2006). Contributors include: Valery Berlincourt, Kathleen M. Coleman, Harm-Jan van Dam, Michael Dewar, Bruce Gibson, Peter J. Heslin, Donald E. Hill, Ruurd R. Nauta, Gianpiero Rosati, Lorenzo Sanna and Johannes J.L. Smolenaars.
Review :
"For Flavianists and Latin literary scholars there is much of value in this collection ranging from understudied points in Statius' reception through the interaction between poetry and material context to the most rewarding Greek and Latin intertextual relationships. The volume indeed leaves the impression of a 'brilliant and versatile' poet, and the eleven papers set an example of the varied and interesting scholarly work which Statius can offer." - in: Bryn Mawr Classical Review, July 2009
"This collection of eleven essays by respected scholars offers interesting new readings of the works of the Flavian poet P. Papinius Statius, mostly dealing with his epic Thebaid, with others on the Silvae and textual reception." - K. Sara Myers, University of Virginia, in: Religious Studies Review, Vol. 37 Nr. 2 (2011)
