Publius Papinius Statius was born in Naples (Neapolis) around the middle of the first century AD, the son of a distinguished professional poet. Statius’ own oeuvre was considerable: an epic in twelve books on the theme of the Seven against Thebes; an unfinished epic on the story of Achilles of which one book and a portion of a second survive; and five books of Siluae comprising thirty-two occasional poems written for rich patrons. This volume provides a comprehensive conspectus of readings of the manuscripts of the Siluae, together with a complete register of known conjectures by modern scholars.
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.
A classical epic of fratricide and war, the Thebaid retells the legendary conflict between the sons of Oedipus—Polynices and Eteocles—for control of the city of Thebes. The Latin poet Statius reworks a familiar story from Greek myth, dramatized long before by Aeschylus in his tragedy Seven against Thebes. Statius chose his subject well: the Rome of his day, ruled by the emperor Domitian, was not too distant from the civil wars that had threatened the survival of the empire. Published in 92 A.D., the Thebaid was an immediate success, and its fame grew in succeeding centuries. It reached its peak of popularity in the later Middle Ages and Renaissance, influencing Dante, Chaucer, and perhaps Shakespeare. In recent times, however, it has received perhaps less attention than it deserves, in large part because there has been no accessible, dynamic translation of the work into English. Charles Stanley Ross offers a compelling version of the Thebaid rendered into forceful, modern English. Casting Statius's Latin hexameter into a lively iambic pentameter more natural to the modern ear, Ross frees the work from the archaic formality that has marred previous translations. His translation reinvigorates the Thebaid as a whole: its meditative first half and its violent second half; its intimate portrayal of defeat and retribution, and the need to seek justice at any cost. In a wide-ranging introduction, Ross provides an overview of the poem: its composition, reception and legacy; its major themes and literary influences; and its place in Statius' life. And in a helpful series of notes, he offers background information on the major characters and incidents. -- Paolo Asso
The five books of the Silvae bring together the occasional verses which Statius wrote in addition to his two epics. In these short descriptive poems Statius elaborates features taken from various genres into an original whole, in which description and eulogy play important roles. The main themes of the poems of his second book are consolation after bereavement and the contrast between nature and culture. The present work contains a general introduction, a text of Silvae II, a bibliography, and an index, together with a verse-by-verse commentary on the poems of this second book. This is the first commentary on a book of the Silvae since Vollmer's commentary on the whole of the Silvae of 1898. Emphasis is here placed on interpretation and moreover chiefly on the literary and stylistic aspects of the poems, which, compared with the epic poetry of Statius and his contemporaries, have hitherto received relatively little attention.
This compendium (4 vols.) studies the continuity, flexibility, and variation of structural elements in epic narratives. It provides an overview of the structural patterns of epic poetry by means of a standardized, stringent terminology. Both diachronic developments and changes within individual epics are scrutinized in order to provide a comprehensive structural approach and a key to intra- and intertextual characteristics of ancient epic poetry.
Volume III of the present work on Statius' Thebaid and Achilleid is divided into two parts. The first part offers a sketch of the history of the textual transmission, a complete list of manuscripts, discussion of various previous editions, exposition of the views about the manuscripts which underly the present edition, and an orthographical index. The second part comprises a secondary apparatus, which tabulates further evidence from the manuscripts and all conjectures not recorded in the primary apparatus.
Publius Papinius Statius was born in Naples (Neapolis) around the middle of the first century AD, the son of a distinguished professional poet. Statius’ own oeuvre was considerable: an epic in twelve books on the theme of the Seven against Thebes; an unfinished epic on the story of Achilles of which one book and a portion of a second survive; and five books of Siluae comprising thirty-two occasional poems written for rich patrons. This volume presents a text of the Siluae with a facing translation, preceded by a chronologically arranged introduction to the transmission of the text, and a bibliography of editions and relevant secondary literature.
