Book dossier

Silvae

by Publius Papinius Statius, David R. Shackleton Bailey

Statius' Silvae, thirty-two occasional poems, were written probably between 89 and 96 AD. Here the poet congratulates friends, consoles mourners, sends thanks, admires a memorable scene. The verse is light in touch, with a distinct picture quality. Statius gives us in these impromptu poems clear images of Domitian's Rome. Statius published his Thebaid in the last decade of the first century. This epic recounting the struggle between the two sons of Oedipus for the kingship of Thebes is his masterpiece, a stirring exploration of the passions of civil war. The extant portion of his unfinished Achilleid is strikingly different in tone; this second epic begins as a charming account of Achilles' life.