1. Mangled Epic: Statius’ Thebaid (II)
Politics & Poetics
Mangled Epic:
Statius’ Thebaid (II)

2. Tydeus: horror in the mirror (Cellini 1554)

3. Etruscan temple relief, Pyrgi

4. Political ‘issues’ in the Thebaid
Civil war (nb recent civil war of 69)
Succession, the problem of…
Brotherly rivalry (see Suetonius 2.3 on Domitian and Titus)
Epic’s monumentalising power in crisis?
Horror trumps/takes the place of glory

5. Hell on earth: the new Jupiter

6. Directionality derailed
Ipse deum genitor tibi me miseratus ab alto
mittit
The father of the gods himself in pity sends me to you from on high/the depths

7. Quiz Suggest 4 ways of filling in the blank:
The politics of ____________________
2. Place the following figures in chronological order (according to birth date), beginning with the earliest: Virgil, Lucan, Seneca the Younger, Persius, Ovid, Catullus, Nero, Domitian, Statius.

8. 3. When did the battle of Pharsalus take place?
4. Translate the following key Latin terms:
concordia
amicitia
furor
mora
libertas
carmen perpetuum
recusatio
tempora
verba novissima

9. 5. What does a ‘formalist’ approach to literature consist of?
Conservative criticism in a formal style
Criticism which deals only with metre and rhythm
Interpretation which approaches the text as isolated from the social, political, cultural and economic context in which it was produced. 

10. 6. What suggests that Ovid Metamorphoses 3 gets us to reflect on Ovid’s own ‘guilt’ and punishment by Augustus?

11. 7. Which of the following statements are true?
Literature reflects and responds to its surrounding culture
Literature participates/intervenes in and performs politics+
Literature is a product of social and political forces.
The verbal arts are uniquely political

12. 8. Why does the topic of civil war offer such exciting opportunities for Latin epic poets to experiment with poetic form?

13. 9. Why are civil war and incest entwined themes in Latin epic. 10
9. Why are civil war and incest entwined themes in Latin epic? 10. Why is teleology a political issue in epic narrative?

14. 11. In what ways does Virgil get us to think about politics as a viewpoint, or visual perspective? 12. Name three things Statius’ Thebaid has in common with Virgil’s Aeneid.

15. 13. How do Lucan and Statius make reading about civil war a participatory political act?