The epics of the three Flavian poets-Silius Italicus, Statius, and Valerius Flaccus-have, in recent times, attracted the attention of scholars, who have re-evaluated the particular merits of Flavian poetry as far more than imitation of the traditional norms and patterns. Drawn from sixty years of scholarship, this edited collection is the first volume to collate the most influential modern academic writings on Flavian epic poetry, revised and updated to provide both scholars and students alike with a broad yet comprehensive overview of the field. A wide range of topics receive coverage, and analysis and interpretation of individual poems are integrated throughout. The plurality of the critical voices included in the volume presents a much-needed variety of approaches, which are used to tackle questions of intertextuality, gender, poetics, and the social and political context of the period. In doing so, the volume demonstrates that by engaging in a complex and challenging intertextual dialogue with their literary predecessors, the innovative epics of the Flavian poets respond to contemporary needs, expressing overt praise, or covert anxiety, towards imperial rule and the empire.
| ISBN: | 9780199650668 |
| Publication date: | 2nd June 2016 |
| Author: | Antony Professor of Classics, Associate Professor of Classics, University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign Augoustakis |
| Publisher: | Oxford University Press |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 554 pages |
| Series: | Oxford Readings in Classical Studies |
| Genres: |
Roman religion and mythology Ancient history Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval Literary studies: poetry and poets Poetry by individual poets Social and cultural history Social and cultural anthropology Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy |