Family in Flavian Epic examines the treatment of family bonds in Valerius Flaccus’ Argonautica, Statius’ Thebaid and Achilleid, and Silius Italicus’ Punica. The eleven contributions consider the representation of epic parents, children, siblings, and spouses, and their interaction with each other, demonstrating the Flavian poets’ engagement with their epic, and more generally literary, tradition. At the same time, Roman attitudes towards the family and Flavian concerns especially related to dynastic harmony and civil war also characterise both historical and mythological members of Flavian epic families.

Roman imperial epic is enjoying a moment in the sun in the twenty-first century, as Lucan, Valerius Flaccus, Statius, and Silius Italicus have all been the subject of a remarkable increase in scholarly attention and appreciation. Lucan and Flavian epic characterizes and historicizes that moment, showing how the qualities of the poems and the histories of their receptions have brought about the kind of analysis and attention they are now receiving. Serving both experienced scholars of the poems and students interested in them for the first time, this book offers a new perspective on current and future directions in scholarship.

This book examines the textual representations of emotions, fear in particular, through the lens of Stoic thought and their impact on depictions of power, gender, and agency. It first draws attention to the role and significance of fear, and cognate emotions, in the tyrant's psyche, and then goes on to explore how these emotions, in turn, shape the wider narratives. The focus is on the lengthy epics of Valerius Flaccus' Argonautica, Statius' Thebaid, and Silius Italicus' Punica. All three poems are obsessed with men in power with no power over themselves, a marked concern that carries a strong Senecan fingerprint. Seneca's influence on post-Neronian epic can be felt beyond his plays. His Epistles and other prose works prove particularly illuminating for each of the poet's gendered treatment of the relationship between power and emotion. By adopting a Roman Stoic perspective, both philosophical and cultural, this study brings together a cluster of major ideas to draw meaningful connections and unlock new readings.

This volume on the three Flavian epic poets (Valerius Flaccus, Statius and Silius Italicus) for the first time critically engages with a unique set-up in Roman literary history: the survival of four epic poems from the same period (Argonautica; Thebaid, Achilleid; Punica). The interactions of these poems with each other and their contemporary context are explored by over 20 experts and emerging scholars. Topics studied include the political dimension of the epics, their use of epic themes and techniques and their intertextual relationship among each other and to predecessors. The recent upsurge of interest in Flavian epic has been focussed on the analysis of individual works. Looking at these poems together now allows the appreciation of their similarities and nuanced differences in the light of their shared position in literary and political history and gives insights into the literary culture of the period. The different approaches and backgrounds of the contributors ensure the presentation of a range of viewpoints. Together they offer new perspectives to the still increasing readership of Flavian epic poetry but also to anyone interested in the epic genre within Roman literature or other cultures more generally.

In the light of recent scholarly work on tragic patterns and allusions in Flavian epic, the publication of a volume exclusively dedicated to the relationship between Flavian epic and tragedy is timely. The volume, concentrating on the poetic works of Silius Italicus, Statius and Valerius Flaccus, consists of eight original contributions, two by the editors themselves and a further six by experts on Flavian epic. The volume is preceded by an introduction by the editors and it concludes with an ‘Afterword’ by Carole E. Newlands. Among key themes analysed are narrative patterns, strategies or type-scenes that appear to derive from tragedy, the Aristotelian notions of hamartia and anagnorisis, human and divine causation, the ‘transfer’ of individual characters from tragedy to epic, as well as instances of tragic language and imagery. The volume at hand showcases an array of methodological approaches to the question of the presence of tragic elements in epic. Hence, it will be of interest to scholars and students in the area of Classics or Literary Studies focusing on such intergeneric and intertextual connections; it will be also of interest to scholars working on Flavian epic or on the ancient reception of Greek and Roman tragedy.

This study investigates the role of embedded narratives in Silius Italicus’ Punica, an epic from the late first century AD on the Second Punic War (218–202 BC). At first sight, these narratives seem to be loosely ‘embedded’ in the epic, having their own plot and being situated in a different time or place than the main narrative. A closer look reveals, however, that they foreshadow or recall elements that are found elsewhere in the epic. In this way, they serve as ‘mirrors’ of the main narrative. The larger part of this book consists of four detailed case studies.

Applying the latest narratological theory and focusing on the use of anachrony (or 'chronological deviation'), this book explores how Statius competes – successfully – for a place within an established literary canon. Given the tremendous pressure on poets to render familiar stories in unfamiliar and novel ways, how did he achieve this? When Statius elected to sing of the quarrelsome sons of Oedipus he was acutely aware that this was a well-trod road, one frequently reproduced in a variety of genres – epic, drama and lyric poetry. Despite this highly varied corpus against which he sought to contend, he boasts that his epic has novelty and proudly declares that he is now counted among the 'prisca nomina', or ancient names, that sang of Thebes. And indeed precisely the fact that there were so many story-versions (a greater number survive for comparison than for any other work from antiquity, rivaling even the popularity of the Trojan legend) means that the story is conveniently positioned to offer a unique exploration into how Statius creates a compelling story despite working within a saturated and overly familiar mythic tradition. This book argues that it is chiefly through the use of narrative anachrony, or non-chronological modes of narration, that Statius manipulates states of anticipation, suspense, and even surprise in his audience.

In a much-needed comprehensive introduction to Silius Italicus and the Punica, Jacobs offers an invitation to students and scholars alike to read the epic as a thoughtful and considered treatment of Rome's past, present, and (perilous) future. The Second Punic War marked a turning point in world history: Rome faced her greatest external threat in the famous Carthaginian general Hannibal, and her victory led to her domination of the Mediterranean. Lingering memories of the conflict played a pivotal role in the city's transition from Republic to Empire, from foreign war to civil war. Looking back after the events of AD 69, the senator–poet Silius Italicus identified the Second Punic War as the turning point in Rome's history through his Punica. After introductory chapters for those new to the poet and his poem, Jacobs' close reading of the epic narrative guides students and scholars alike through the Punica. All Greek and Latin passages are translated to ensure accessibility for those reading in English. Far more than simply a retelling of Rome's greatest triumph, the Punica challenges its reader to make sense of the Second Punic War in light of its full impact on the subsequent course of the city's history.

The figure of Anna Perenna embodies the complexity and richness of the Roman mythological tradition. In exploring Anna Perenna, the contributors apply different perspectives and critical methods to an array of compelling evidence drawn from central texts, monuments, coins, and inscriptions that encapsulate Rome's shifting artistic and political landscape. As a collection, Uncovering Anna Perenna provides a unique examination that represents the interdisciplinary intersection between Roman literature, history, and culture. The assembled chapters offer thought-provoking and insightful discussions written by specialists in Roman myth and religion, literary studies, and ancient history. A convergence of different perspectives within the collection, including comparative literature, gender and sexuality, literary criticism, and reception, results in a rich and varied investigation. Organized into four parts, the volume explores Anna along four conceptual lines: her liminal nature as a Carthaginian figure coopted into Rome's literary, mythological, and artistic heritage; her capacity as a Roman goddess and nymph; her political and cultural associations with plebeian and populist ideology; and her intriguing influence on James Joyce's Finnegans Wake.

Combines material and literary cultural approaches to the study of the reception of Augustus and his age during the reign of the emperor Domitian