By Randall T. Ganiban
On the finish of the Thebaid, Statius enjoins his epic 'not to compete with the divine Aeneid yet particularly to persist with at a distance and constantly revere its footprints'. the character of the Thebaid's interplay with the Aeneid is, even if, a question of discussion. This publication argues that the Thebaid reworks subject matters, scenes, and concepts from Virgil so one can convey that the Aeneid's illustration of monarchy is insufficient. It additionally demonstrates how the Thebaid's fascination with horror, spectacle, and unspeakable violence is tied to Statius' critique of the ethical and political virtues on the middle of the Aeneid. Professor Ganiban deals either the way to interpret the Thebaid and a mostly sequential studying of the poem.
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Additional info for Statius and Virgil: The Thebaid and the Reinterpretation of the Aeneid
Example text
Ambivalent interpretations, however, question the ultimate success of the Augustan order, and focus especially on the ability of furor to undermine it. 946–7). 46 And it is Virgil’s use of the passions that seems to have so fascinated his poetic successors. 505. 33 and in Epode 7, which is focused on this idea. 25, 39 (scelestas). In general Horace has nefas as part of a system of right and wrong (fas nefasque) that is based most probably on religious belief and that helps to structure a moral and religious framework for viewing actions: cf.
31 Oedipus does not spell these things out, but we might see Virgil’s Juno intertextually doing it for him. Oedipus’ desire for fratricidal nefas will be a fundamental element of the poetic world of the Thebaid. Statius indicates the expanded horror of his epic universe in other ways as well. Both Allecto and Tisiphone do their bidding with great efficiency, but Statius’ Tisiphone responds even more terrifyingly (Theb. 32 The checks to the Fury Allecto in the Aeneid are no longer in place. There the heavenly gods maintain control over hell; in Statius’ world, the Furies dominate.
334–5; cf. Theb. 86–7),20 and he asks for something terrible to happen (Phoen. 353–4; cf. Theb. 21 But an important difference between the two intensifies the criminality of Statius’ character. Whereas Seneca’s Oedipus merely reacts to a fraternal war that has already been initiated, Statius’ Oedipus calls for the fratricidal war himself, raising the nefas of his prayer to a higher level of impiety, and thus hinting that the Thebaid’s Oedipus will outdo his poetic models. If Oedipus appears very different from Aeneas,22 so do their poetic worlds.