Silvae

Although the Silvae of P. Papinius Statius had a formative influence on Renaissance and Baroque poetry, today they are unknown works of Roman literature outside specialist circles. Yet they offer an intellectually highly appealing insight into the interests and self-stylisation of the Roman upper class of the Flavian period, particularly in their mannerist form, comparable to the epigrams of Martial, Statius' eternal literary antipode. Apart from the problematic transmission and the sometimes unusually experimental character of the texts, it is above all their wealth of allusions and their complexity that stand in the way of an easy reception of these poems: the reader is required to have a certain amount of knowledge, and no less of 'lateral thinking' and sometimes wry humour if he or she wants to engage with them. This bilingual edition endeavours to accommodate the reader by providing as comprehensive a commentary as possible and thus to give the Silvae more of the attention they deserve.