Statius

Family background

Information about Statius' life is almost entirely drawn from his Silvae and a mention by the satirist Juvenal. He was born to a family of Greek-Campanian origin; his Roman cognomen suggests that at some time an ancestor of his was freed and adopted the name of his former master, although neither Statius nor his father were slaves. The poet's father (whose name is unknown) was a native of Velia but later moved to Naples and spent time in Rome where he taught with marked success. From boyhood to adulthood, Statius' father proved himself a champion in the poetic contests at Naples in the Augustalia and in the Nemean, Pythian, and Isthmian games, which served as important events to display poetic skill during the early empire. Statius declares in his lament for his father (Silv. 5.3) that his father was in his time equal to any literary task, whether in prose or verse. He mentioned Mevania, and may have spent time there, or been impressed by the confrontation of Vitellius and Vespasian in 69. Statius' father was a Roman eques, but may have lost his status because of money troubles. At Naples, he was a teacher of Greek and Roman literature who attracted many pupils who were destined for religious offices in Rome. He died in 79 AD. From Pliny the Younger's Letters, it has recently been deduced that Statius also wrote under the pseudonym of Propertius.

Birth and career

Less is known of the events of Statius' life. He was born c. 45 CE and he was raised in the Greek cultural milieu of the Bay of Naples, and his Greek literary education lends a sophisticated veneer to his ornamental verse.^[1] From his boyhood he was victorious in poetic contests many times at his native Naples and three times at the Alban Festival, where he received the golden crown from the hand of the emperor Domitian who had instituted the contest. For the Alban Festival, Statius composed a poem on the German and Dacian campaigns of Domitian which Juvenal lampoons in his seventh satire. Statius is thought to have moved to Rome c. 90 after his father's death where he published his acclaimed epic poem the Thebaid c. 92. In the capital, Statius seems to have made many connections among the Roman aristocracy and court, and he was probably supported through their patronage. Statius produced the first three books of occasional poetry, his Silvae, which were published in 93, which sketch his patrons and acquaintances of this period and mention his attendance at one of Domitian's Saturnalia banquets. He competed in the great Capitoline competition, although it is not known in what year, although 94 has been suggested. Statius failed to win the coveted prize, a loss he took very hard. The disappointment may have prompted his return to Naples around 94, the home of his youth. In existence is a poem he addressed to his wife, Claudia, the widow of a famous singer who had a musically talented daughter by her first husband, on this occasion (Silv. 3.5).

Later years at Naples

Statius' first three books of the Silvae seem to have received some criticism, and in response he composed a fourth book' at Naples, which was published in 95. During this period at Naples, Statius maintained his relations with the court and his patrons, earning himself another invitation to a palace banquet (Silv. 4.2). He seems to have taken an interest in the marriage and career of his stepdaughter and he also took a young slave boy under his wing, as he was childless, who died c. 95. In that same year Statius embarked on a new epic, the Achilleid, giving popular recitations of his work (Juv. 7.83) only to complete a book and a half before dying in 95, leaving the poem unfinished. His fifth book of Silvae were published after his death c. 96.

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Juvenal

Juvenal

Decimus Junius Juvenalis, known in English as Juvenal, was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE. He is the author of the collection of satirical poems known as the Satires. The details of Juvenal's life are unclear, although references within his text to known persons of the late first and early second centuries CE fix his earliest date of composition. One recent scholar argues that his first book was published in 100 or 101. A reference to a political figure dates his fifth and final surviving book to sometime after 127.

Greece

Greece

Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Sea of Crete and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin, featuring thousands of islands. The country consists of nine traditional geographic regions, and has a population of approximately 10.4 million. Athens is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki and Patras.

Campania

Campania

Campania is an administrative region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula, but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the island of Capri. The capital of the Campania region is Naples. As of 2018, the region had a population of around 5,820,000 people, making it Italy's third most populous region, and, with an area of 13,590 km2 (5,247 sq mi), its most densely populated region. Based on its GDP, Campania is also the most economically productive region in southern Italy and the 7th most productive in the whole country. Naples' urban area, which is in Campania, is the eighth most populous in the European Union. The region is home to 10 of the 58 UNESCO sites in Italy, including Pompeii and Herculaneum, the Royal Palace of Caserta, the Amalfi Coast and the Historic Centre of Naples. In addition, Campania's Mount Vesuvius is part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

Cognomen

Cognomen

A cognomen was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary cognomina were used to augment the second name, the nomen gentilicium, in order to identify a particular branch within a family or family within a clan. The term has also taken on other contemporary meanings.

Velia

Velia

Velia was the Roman name of an ancient city of Magna Graecia on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. It was founded by Greeks from Phocaea as Hyele around 538–535 BC. The name later changed to Ele and then Elea before it became known by its current Latin and Italian name during the Roman era. Its ruins are located in the Cilento region near the modern village Velia, which was named after the ancient city. The village is a frazione of the comune Ascea in the Province of Salerno, Campania, Italy.

Naples

Naples

Naples is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's administrative limits as of 2022. Its province-level municipality is the third-most populous metropolitan city in Italy with a population of 3,115,320 residents, and its metropolitan area stretches beyond the boundaries of the city wall for approximately 20 miles.

Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy. It is also the capital of the Lazio region, the centre of the Metropolitan City of Rome, and a special comune named Comune di Roma Capitale. With 2,860,009 residents in 1,285 km2 (496.1 sq mi), Rome is the country's most populated comune and the third most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. The Metropolitan City of Rome, with a population of 4,355,725 residents, is the most populous metropolitan city in Italy. Its metropolitan area is the third-most populous within Italy. Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of the Tiber. Vatican City is an independent country inside the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city. Rome is often referred to as the City of Seven Hills due to its geographic location, and also as the "Eternal City". Rome is generally considered to be the "cradle of Western civilization and Christian culture", and the centre of the Catholic Church.

Augustalia

Augustalia

The Augustalia, also known as the Ludi Augustales, was a festival celebrated October 12 in honor of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. It was established in conjunction with an altar to Fortuna Redux to mark the return of Augustus from Asia Minor to Rome in 19 BC. The pontiffs and Vestals conducted sacrifices, and the date became a holiday (feria) on the official religious calendar of Rome.

Pythian Games

Pythian Games

The Pythian Games were one of the four Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. They were held in honour of Apollo at his sanctuary at Delphi every four years, two years after the Olympic Games, and between each Nemean and Isthmian Games. The Pythian Games were founded sometime in the 6th century BC. In legend they were started by Apollo after he killed Python and set up the oracle at Delphi. They continued until the 4th century AD.

Isthmian Games

Isthmian Games

Isthmian Games or Isthmia were one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece, and were named after the Isthmus of Corinth, where they were held. As with the Nemean Games, the Isthmian Games were held both the year before and the year after the Olympic Games, while the Pythian Games were held in the third year of the Olympiad cycle.

Culture of Greece

Culture of Greece

The culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years, beginning in Minoan and later in Mycenaean Greece, continuing most notably into Classical GREEK Empire. Other cultures and states such as the Frankish states, the Ottoman Empire, the Venetian Republic and Bavarian and Danish monarchies have also left their influence on modern Greek culture, but historians credit the Greek War of Independence and democracy. Modern democracies owe a debt to Greek beliefs in government by the people, trial by jury, and equality under the law. The ancient Greeks pioneered in many fields that rely on systematic thought, including biology, geometry, history, philosophy, and physics. They introduced such important literary forms as epic and lyric poetry, history, tragedy, and comedy. In their pursuit of order and proportion, the Greeks created an ideal of beauty that strongly influenced Western art.

Domitian

Domitian

Domitian was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a ruthless but efficient autocrat", his authoritarian style of ruling put him at sharp odds with the Senate, whose powers he drastically curtailed.

As a poet, Statius was versatile in his abilities and contrived to represent his work as otium. Taught by his educated father, Statius was familiar with the breadth of classical literature and displayed his learning in his poetry which is densely allusive and has been described as elaborate and mannerist. He was able to compose in hexameter, hendecasyllable, Alcaic, and Sapphic meters, to produce deeply researched and highly refined epic and polished impromptu pieces, and to treat a variety of themes with the dazzling rhetorical and poetic skill that inspired the support of his patrons and the emperor. Some of Statius' works, such as his poems for his competitions, have been lost; he is recorded as having written an Agave mime, and a four line fragment remains of his poem on Domitian's military campaigns, the De Bello Germanico composed for the Alban Games in the scholia to Juvenal 4.94.^[2]

The Thebaid

Based on Statius' own testimony, the Thebaid was written between c. 80 and 92, beginning when the poet was around 35, and the work is thought to have been published in 91 or 92.^[3] The poem is divided into twelve books in imitation of Virgil's Aeneid and is composed in dactylic hexameter.^[4] In the Silvae, Statius speaks of his extensive work in polishing and revising the Thebaid and his public recitations of the poem.^[5] From the epilogue it seems clear that Statius considered the Thebaid to be his magnum opus and believed that it would secure him fame for the future. In the poem, Statius follows Virgil closely as a model (in the epilogue^[6] he acknowledges his debt to Virgil), but he also refers to a wide range of sources in his handling of meter and episodes.

The Thebaid describes the siege of Thebes by the seven Argive champions

The poem's theme is the myth of the Seven against Thebes, the story of the battle between the sons of Oedipus for the throne of Thebes. The poem opens (Book 1) with the disgraced Oedipus' curse on his two sons, Eteocles and Polyneices, who have decided to hold the throne of Thebes in alternate years, one ruling, the other in exile. Jupiter plans a war between Thebes and Argos, although Juno begs him not to incite it. Polyneices in exile fights with Tydeus, another exile at Adrastus' palace; the two are entertained and marry Adrastus' daughters. In Book 2, Tydeus goes to Eteocles to ask him to lay down the throne and yield power, but he refuses and tries to kill Tydeus with an ambush. Tydeus slaughters the Thebans and escapes to Argos, causing Adrastus and Polyneices to declare war on Thebes (Book 3). In the fourth book the Argive forces gather, commanded by the seven champions Adrastus, Polyneices, Amphiaraus, Capaneus, Parthenopaeus, Hippomedon, and Tydeus, and march to Thebes, but at Nemea, Bacchus causes a drought. The army meets Hypsipyle who shows them a spring then tells them the story of the Women of Lemnos (Book 5). While she is speaking, her ward, Opheltes, is killed by a snake; in Book 6, the Argives perform games for the dead child, instituting the Nemean Games. In 7, Jupiter urges the Argives to march on Thebes where battle breaks out during which Amphiaraus is swallowed in the earth. In 8, Tydeus, wounded and dying, kills Melanippus and eats his head; a battle over his body leads to the death of Hippomedon and Parthenopaeus (Book 9). In 10, Juno causes sleep to overcome the Thebans and the Argives slaughter many in the camp; Menoeceus sacrifices himself to save Thebes and Jupiter kills the wicked Capaneus with a thunderbolt. In 11, Polyneices and Eteocles join in single combat and kill each other; Jocasta kills herself and Creon assumes power, forbidding burial of the Argive dead. In the final book, the Argive widows go to Athens to ask Theseus to force Creon to allow their husbands' burial while Argia, Polyneices' wife, burns him illicitly. Theseus musters an army and kills Creon. The Thebaid ends with an epilogue in which the poet prays that his poem will be successful, cautions it not to rival the Aeneid, and hopes that his fame will outlive him.

Modern critics of the Thebaid have been divided over interpretations of the epic's tone. Earlier critics in the 19th and 20th century considered the poem a piece of elaborate flattery that vindicated the regime of Domitian; however, more recent scholars have viewed the poem as a subversive work that criticizes the authoritarianism and violence of the Flavians by focusing on extreme violence and social chaos.^[7] Statius' use of allegory in the Thebaid and his abstract treatment of the gods has been seen as an important innovation in the tradition of classical poetry which ushered in Medieval conventions.^[8] Finally, although earlier scholars criticized the style of the poem as episodic, current scholars have noted the subtlety and skill with which Statius organizes and controls his narrative and description.^[9] Other topics discussed in the scholarship on the Thebaid are the pervasive role of madness (furor), time, or the family.^[10]

The Silvae

The Silvae were probably composed by Statius between 89 and 96. The first three books seem to have been published together after 93, Book 4 was probably released in 95, and Book 5 is thought to have been released posthumously in c. 96.^[11] The title of the collection (silvae meaning "forest" or "raw material") was used to describe the draft of a poet's work which was composed impromptu in a moment of strong inspiration and which was then revised into a polished, metrical poem.^[12] This suggests that the Silvae are revised, impromptu pieces of occasional poetry which were composed in the space of a few days' time. There are thirty-two poems in the collection (almost all with a dedicatee), divided into five books, each with a dedicatory epistle. Of nearly four thousand lines which the books contain, more than five-sixths are hexameters. Four of the pieces are written in the hendecasyllabic metre, and there is one Alcaic and one Sapphic ode.

Subjects of the Silvae vary widely. Five poems are devoted to the emperor and his favorites, including a description of Domitian's equestrian statue in the Forum (1.1), praise for his construction of the Via Domitiana (4.3), and a poem on the dedication of the hair of Earinus, a eunuch favorite of Domitian's, to a shrine of Aesculapius (3.4). Six are lamentations for deaths or consolations to survivors, including the highly personal poems on the death of Statius' father and his foster-son (5.3,5). The poems on loss are particularly notable in the collection and range from consolations on the death of wives (3.3) to pieces on the death of a favorite parrot (2.4) and a lion in the arena (2.5). Another group of the Silvae give picturesque descriptions of the villas, gardens, and artworks of the poet's friends. In these we have a more vivid representation than elsewhere of the surroundings Roman aristocrats of the empire lived in the country. Important examples include a piece on Pollius' temple to Hercules (3.1), the aetiology of the tree at Atedius' villa (2.3), an antique statue of Lysippus' Heracles (4.6) and a description of Pollius' villa at Surrentum (2.2). The rest of the Silvae consist of congratulatory addresses to friends, and poems for special occasions such as the wedding poem for Stella and Violentilla (2.2), the poem commemorating the poet Lucan's birthday (2.7), and a joking piece to Plotius Grypus on a Saturnalia gift (4.9).

As with the Thebaid, Statius' relationship to Domitian and his court caused him to fall out of favor with critics and readers, but in recent times, the Silvae have been rehabilitated by scholars.^[13] Domitian is an important presence in the Silvae, and many of the poems appear to flatter the emperor and court. The content of the Silvae is primarily dictated by the needs of Statius' patrons, and many of the addressees come from the wealthy, privileged class of landowners and politicians.^[14] Statius' flattery of these elites has been interpreted in two ways by scholars; some maintain that the collection is highly subversive and is a subtle criticism of Domitian and the Roman aristocracy.^[15] Others urge a reading of the Silvae as individual pieces that respond to specific circumstances with their own unique viewpoints.^[16]

The Achilleid

A fragment of his epic poem on the life of Achilles—the Achilleid—is also extant, consisting of one book and a few hundred lines of a second.^[17] What was completed of this poem was composed between 94 and 95 based on Silvae 4.7.21ff. Statius records that there were recitations of the poem.^[18] It is thought that Statius' death in 95 is the reason that the poem remains unfinished. In the first book, Thetis, having foreknowledge of her son's death in the Trojan War, attempts to hide Achilles on the island of Scyros by dressing him up as a girl. On the island, Achilles falls in love with Deidamia and forces her to have sex with him. Ulysses arrives to recruit Achilles for the war effort and reveals his identity. In the second book, Ulysses and Achilles depart and Achilles gives an account of his early life and tutelage by the centaur Chiron. The poem breaks off at the end of his speech. In general, scholars have remarked on the markedly different tone of the Achilleid in comparison with the Thebaid, equating it more to the style of Ovid than Virgil.^[19] Some have also noted the predominance of feminine themes and feminine power in the fragment and focus on the poem's perspectives on gender relations.^[20]

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Otium

Otium

Otium, a Latin abstract term, has a variety of meanings, including leisure time in which a person can enjoy eating, playing, relaxing, contemplation and academic endeavors. It sometimes, but not always, relates to a time in a person's retirement after previous service to the public or private sector, opposing "active public life". Otium can be a temporary time of leisure, that is sporadic. It can have intellectual, virtuous or immoral implications. It originally had the idea of withdrawing from one's daily business (neg-otium) or affairs to engage in activities that were considered to be artistically valuable or enlightening. It had particular meaning to businessmen, diplomats, philosophers and poets.

Hexameter

Hexameter

Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet. It was the standard epic metre in classical Greek and Latin literature, such as in the Iliad, Odyssey and Aeneid. Its use in other genres of composition include Horace's satires, Ovid's Metamorphoses, and the Hymns of Orpheus. According to Greek mythology, hexameter was invented by Phemonoe, daughter of Apollo and the first Pythia of Delphi.

Hendecasyllable

Hendecasyllable

In poetry, a hendecasyllable is a line of eleven syllables. The term may refer to several different poetic meters, the older of which are quantitative and used chiefly in classical poetry, and the newer of which are syllabic or accentual-syllabic and used in medieval and modern poetry.

Aeneid

Aeneid

The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It comprises 9,896 lines in dactylic hexameter. The first six of the poem's twelve books tell the story of Aeneas' wanderings from Troy to Italy, and the poem's second half tells of the Trojans' ultimately victorious war upon the Latins, under whose name Aeneas and his Trojan followers are destined to be subsumed.

Oedipus

Oedipus

Oedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family.

Eteocles

Eteocles

In Greek mythology, Eteocles was a king of Thebes, the son of Oedipus and either Jocasta or Euryganeia. Oedipus killed his father Laius and married his mother without knowing his relationship to either. When the relationship was revealed, he was expelled from Thebes. The rule passed to his sons Eteocles and Polynices. However, because of a curse from their father, the two brothers did not share the rule peacefully and died as a result, ultimately killing each other in battle for control of the city. Upon his death, Eteocles was succeeded by his uncle, Creon.

Argos, Peloponnese

Argos, Peloponnese

Argos is a city in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and the oldest in Europe. It is the largest city in Argolis and a major center for the area.

Adrastus

Adrastus

In Greek mythology, Adrastus or Adrestus, , was a king of Argos, and leader of the Seven against Thebes. He was the son of the Argive king Talaus, but was forced out of Argos by his dynastic rival Amphiaraus. He fled to Sicyon, where he became king. Later he reconciled with Amphiaraus and returned to Argos as its king.

Amphiaraus

Amphiaraus

In Greek mythology, Amphiaraus or Amphiaraos was the son of Oicles, a seer, and one of the leaders of the Seven against Thebes. Amphiaraus at first refused to go with Adrastus on this expedition against Thebes as he foresaw the death of everyone who joined the expedition. His wife, Eriphyle, eventually compelled him to go.

Capaneus

Capaneus

In Greek mythology, Capaneus was a son of Hipponous and either Astynome or Laodice, and husband of Evadne, with whom he fathered Sthenelus. Some call his wife Ianeira.

Parthenopaeus

Parthenopaeus

In Greek mythology, Parthenopaeus or Parthenopaios was one of the Seven against Thebes, a native of Arcadia, described as young and outstandingly good-looking, but at the same time arrogant, ruthless and over-confident, although an unproblematic ally for the Argives.

Hippomedon

Hippomedon

Hippomedon may refer to several figures in Greek mythology:Hippomedon, one of the Seven against Thebes. Hippomedon, father of Ereuthalion. Hippomedon, son of Maenalus and the nymph Ocyrhoe, a defender of Troy killed by Neoptolemus. Hippomedon, father of Menoites. His son was another defender of Troy and was killed by Teucer.

Statius' poetry was very popular in his lifetime, although he was not without his critics who apparently had problems with his ex tempore style.^[21] Juvenal is thought to extensively lampoon Statius' type of court poetry in his fourth satire on the turbot of Domitian, but he also mentions the immense popularity of Statius' recitations in Satire 7.82ff.^[22] In late antiquity, the Thebaid which was by then a classic received a commentary by a Lactantius Placidus.

Throughout the Middle Ages, the Thebaid remained a popular text, inspiring a 12th-century French romance and works by Boccaccio and Chaucer. Statius' development of allegory helped establish the importance of that technique in Medieval poetry. In the Renaissance, the Silvae, thanks to Poliziano, helped inspire an entire genre of collections of miscellaneous, occasional poetry called Sylvae which remained popular throughout the period, inspiring works by Hugo Grotius and John Dryden.^[23] Dante mentions Statius in De vulgari eloquentia along with Ovid, Virgil and Lucan as one of the four regulati poetae (ii, vi, 7).

Statius in Dante's Divine Comedy

Statius as a character in Purgatorio

In the Divine Comedy, Dante and Virgil meet Statius as they leave the fifth terrace in Purgatorio (reserved for the avaricious and the prodigal) and enter the sixth terrace (reserved for the gluttonous). Statius' redemption is heard in Purgatorio 20, when the mountain of Purgatory trembles and the penitent souls cry out the hymn "Gloria in excelsis Deo". Statius joins Dante and Virgil, as indicated in Purgatorio 21. Statius ascends Mount Purgatory with Dante and Virgil, and he stays with Dante in the Earthly Paradise at the mountain's summit, after Virgil has returned to Limbo. Statius is last mentioned in Purgatorio 33. Although Statius plays a small role after the disappearance of Virgil, his presence in accompanying Dante through Earthly Paradise until the rivers of Lethe and Eunoe serves an important role in the plot line of the Comedy as it underscores Statius’ significant difference from Virgil. This is because Dante's Statius, a Christian poet who drew inspiration from Virgil, represents a model of the "new vernacular Christian Dante-poeta" in Dante's journey in the Comedy as a protagonist.

Statius’ arrival in Purgatorio 20 is often compared to Jesus’ appearance to the disciples after the Resurrection as narrated by Luke 24:13–16.^[24] Scholars have also paralleled Virgil and Statius’ relationship to that of John the Baptist and Jesus: John the Baptist precedes Jesus and formally baptizes him. In Inferno, Virgil alludes to Christ's Harrowing of Hell, through which John the Baptist is freed from Limbo. In the same spirit, Statius cites Virgil's poems as the reason for his conversion to Christianity. In particular, Statius was saved from the vice of prodigality by reading Virgil's condemnation of this particular vice in a passage of the Aeneid (Aeneid 3.56-57), and that he found reason for converting to Christianity while reading a passage from Virgil's Eclogues (Eclogue 4.5-7). Statius recounts to Virgil that, “through you I was a poet, through you a Christian” (per te poeta fui, per te cristiano, Purg. 22.73). Statius’ relationship with Virgil highlights the tragedy of Virgil, who may beget salvation, but cannot attain it.^[24]

Though Statius converted to Christianity, he states that he kept his Christianity a secret (Purg. 22.90) as he lived at a time where Christians were persecuted, which resulted him spending four centuries in the fourth terrace of Purgatory, where the vice of sloth is cleansed.

Dante presents Statius as the author of Thebaid and Achilleid and as someone who has a great admiration for Virgil. Statius remarks that Virgil's Aeneid "was my mama and my nurse" (Purg. 21.98) to express Virgil as his inspiration. In Purgatorio, when Dante reveals Virgil's identity to Statius, Statius makes a failed attempt to embrace Virgil, which parallels with Aeneas’ failed attempt to embrace the shade of his father Anchises in Aeneid 6.700-2. Dante also adds inventive details about Statius’ life to fit with the narrative of the Divine Comedy. In addition to being a foil for Virgil, Dante's creative freedom allows him to establish Statius as a reflection of himself. Both Statius’ and Dante's salvation is facilitated by Virgil. Statius’ conversations with Virgil parallel Dante's conversations with Virgil. For example, Statius asks Virgil where the poets Terence, Caecilius, Plautus and Lucius Varius are. Both Dante and Statius are curious about the souls in Hell and look to Virgil as a mentor.^[24]

Furthermore, Dante's inventive portrayal of Statius embodies three elements of conversion important for the Comedy's tropology of exile.^[24] First, his conversion to Christianity symbolizes exodus as humanity was redeemed through Christ. Second, his aversion of vice exemplifies soul's conversion from sin to grace. Third, his completion of cleansing in Purgatorio allegorizes the soul's exodus from servitude to eternal glory. In addition, the idea that Virgil was the reason for his conversion simulates how Virgil was a rescuer for Dante in Inferno 1. However, though Statius's conversion to Christianity is a key positive element in the Divine Comedy, it is also a "negative exemplum" to Dante. This is because Statius shunned from publicly revealing his Christianity, contrary to Dante, who publicly writes about his faith in the Divine Comedy.^[24]

Influence of works by Statius on the Divine Comedy

In addition to Statius himself, characters drawn from his works are also found in the Divine Comedy. Argia, who was a character in Statius’ Thebaid and wife of Polynices, is referred to in the line "of your people" (de le genti tue) in Purg. 22 109–110. Dante considers her to be a noble woman placing her among the virtuous pagans in Limbo. Capaneus, who is at the center of Thebaid's tragic theme, is placed in the third ring of the seventh circle of Dis, where those who committed sins of violence against the God are condemned. However, Statius’ Capaneus is represented as a heroic character, while in the Comedy, his only attributes are physical strength and his failure to accept God's divine power.

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Ex tempore

Ex tempore

Ex tempore is a legal term that means 'at the time'. A judge who hands down a decision in a case soon or straight after hearing it is delivering a decision ex tempore. Another way a judge may deliver a decision is to reserve their decision and deliver it later in written form. An ex tempore judgment, being off the cuff, does not entail the same preparation as a reserved decision. Consequently, it will not be thought out to the same degree.

Lactantius Placidus

Lactantius Placidus

Lactantius Placidus was the presumed author of a commentary on Statius's poem Thebaid. Wilhelm Siegmund Teuffel considered him to be the same person as Luctatius Placidus, the ostensible author of a medieval Latin glossary titled Glossae Luctatii Placidi grammatici. Some authors also attribute an anonymous work titled Narrationes fabularum quae in Ov. Metam. occurrunt to Lactantius, though Franz Bretzigheimer argued against this view, on the basis that the commentator on Statius lacks evidence of Christian attitudes seen in the Narrationes.

Giovanni Boccaccio

Giovanni Boccaccio

Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was sometimes simply known as "the Certaldese" and one of the most important figures in the European literary panorama of the fourteenth century. Some scholars define him as the greatest European prose writer of his time, a versatile writer who amalgamated different literary trends and genres, making them converge in original works, thanks to a creative activity exercised under the banner of experimentalism.

Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for The Canterbury Tales. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He was the first writer to be buried in what has since come to be called Poets' Corner, in Westminster Abbey. Chaucer also gained fame as a philosopher and astronomer, composing the scientific A Treatise on the Astrolabe for his 10-year-old son Lewis. He maintained a career in the civil service as a bureaucrat, courtier, diplomat, and member of parliament.

Hugo Grotius

Hugo Grotius

Hugo Grotius, also known as Huig de Groot and Hugo de Groot, was a Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawyer, theologian, jurist, poet and playwright. A teenage prodigy, he was born in Delft and studied at Leiden University. He was imprisoned in Loevestein Castle for his involvement in the intra-Calvinist disputes of the Dutch Republic, but escaped hidden in a chest of books that was transported to Gorinchem. Grotius wrote most of his major works in exile in France.

John Dryden

John Dryden

John Dryden was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate.

Dante Alighieri

Dante Alighieri

Dante Alighieri, probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante, was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His Divine Comedy, originally called Comedìa and later christened Divina by Giovanni Boccaccio, is widely considered one of the most important poems of the Middle Ages and the greatest literary work in the Italian language.

De vulgari eloquentia

De vulgari eloquentia

De vulgari eloquentia is the title of a Latin essay by Dante Alighieri. Although meant to consist of four books, it abruptly terminates in the middle of the second book. It was probably composed shortly after Dante went into exile, circa 1302–1305.

Divine Comedy

Divine Comedy

The Divine Comedy is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun c. 1308 and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest works of world literature. The poem's imaginative vision of the afterlife is representative of the medieval worldview as it existed in the Western Church by the 14th century. It helped establish the Tuscan language, in which it is written, as the standardized Italian language. It is divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.

Gloria in excelsis Deo

Gloria in excelsis Deo

"Gloria in excelsis Deo" is a Christian hymn known also as the Greater Doxology and the Angelic Hymn/Hymn of the Angels. The name is often abbreviated to Gloria in Excelsis or simply Gloria.

Garden of Eden

Garden of Eden

In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden or Garden of God, also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28 and 31.

First circle of hell

First circle of hell

The first circle of hell is depicted in Dante Alighieri's 14th-century poem Inferno, the first part of the Divine Comedy. Inferno tells the story of Dante's journey through a vision of hell ordered into nine circles corresponding to classifications of sin. The first circle is Limbo, the space reserved for those souls who died before baptism and for those who hail from non-Christian cultures. They live eternally in a castle set on a verdant landscape, but forever removed from heaven.