Statius Thebaid VII

The epic poem the Thebaid by P. Papinius Statius, written about AD 80 to 92, deals with the fraternal strife between Oedipus' sons Eteocles and Polynices for the mastery of Thebes. Book VII describes the forced march of the Seven and their arrival at Thebes, Jocasta's vain attempt at mediation and Amphiaraus' spectacular katabasis.
This book is the first which deals with Thebaid VII since Barth (1664) and Amar & Lemaire (1825-30). Apart from being a commentary in the philological sense, it examines in close detail the poet's mannered style and analyses the text as a system of intertextual references. In addition to Homer and Vergil, specific passages from Euripides, Lucan, Seneca and especially Valerius Flaccus were exploited by Statius to create his challenging imitation. The identification of these sources offers the key to interpret and evaluate the poet's artistic intentions.
The Introduction discusses Statius' technique of multiple imitation. The information brought together has been made easily accessible by full indexes and an appendix listing the passages imitated by Statius.

J.J.L. Smolenaars Ph.D. (1983) is Associate Professor of Latin at the University of Amsterdam, and has published articles on Latin lyrical and epic poetry.

'...S.'s commentary remains an impressive piece of scholarship. It will prove a tremendously valuable resource for students of Statius and of post-Vergilian epic. All of us who take pleasure in reading Statius owe S. a great debt of gratitude.'
Randall Ganiban, Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 1995.
'...une cohérence qu'il faut saluer.'
François Spaltenstein, Museum Helveticum, 1995.
'...un excellent instrument de travail pour tous ceux qui s'intéressent à Stace.'
Sylvie Franchet d'Espérey Revue des Etudes Latines.
'In sum, this is a work that all commentators on Statius will find indispensable. S. Has performed an invaluable service for Statian scholarship.'
W.J. Dominik, The Classical Review, 1996.