Statius and Virgil The Thebaid and the Reinterpretation of the Aeneid [Paperback]

This 2007 book explores the degree to which Statius' Thebaid is engaged in a dialogue with the ideas and poetry of Virgil's Aeneid.Statius' Thebaid tells the tale of the curse Oedipus places on his sons and the fratricidal war that results. Professor Ganiban offers a fresh reading of the epic and explores the degree to which it is engaged in a dialogue with the ideas and poetry of Virgil's Aeneid.Statius' Thebaid tells the tale of the curse Oedipus places on his sons and the fratricidal war that results. Professor Ganiban offers a fresh reading of the epic and explores the degree to which it is engaged in a dialogue with the ideas and poetry of Virgil's Aeneid.At the end of the Thebaid, Statius enjoins his epic 'not to compete with the divine Aeneid but rather to follow at a distance and always revere its footprints'. The nature of the Thebaid's interaction with the Aeneid is, however, a matter of debate. This 2007 book argues that the Thebaid reworks themes, scenes, and ideas from Virgil in order to show that the Aeneid's representation of monarchy is inadequate. It also demonstrates how the Thebaid's fascination with horror, spectacle, and unspeakable violence is tied to Statius' critique of the moral and political virtues at the heart of the Aeneid. Professor Ganiban offers both a way to interpret the Thebaid and a largely sequential reading of the poem.Preface; List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction; 2. Oedipus' curse; 3. Horror, prophecy, and the gods; 4. Hypsipyle's narrative of nefas; 5. Bacchus and the outbreak of war; 6. Dis and the domination of hell; 7. Delay and the rout of Pietas; 8. Spectacle, crime, and monarchy at Thebes; 9. Pietas, burial, and clementia in a world of nefas; Works cited; Indexes. ...this is a splendid study of the Thebaid. --BMCR