Statius and Epic Games: Sport, Politics and Poetics in the Thebaid

Front Cover
Cambridge University Press, Apr 21, 2005 - Games & Activities - 336 pages
Epic games are more than just an interlude; they reflect the realities of epic: heroism, power and war. This first major study of the athletic games in Statius' Thebaid Book 6 uses them to produce a new reading of the poem as a whole. It explores each event in Statius' games, discussing intertextual manoeuvres, historical context and poetic positioning, developing a theme from each: audience power, cosmic disruption, national identity, masculinity and the body, games and war, kingship and narrative control. This book uses a close reading of one part of one text to range over ancient literature. It casts light on the tradition of games in ancient epic as a whole, examining the works of Homer, Virgil, Apollonius, Ovid and Lucan. It is essential reading for the student of Statius and of ancient epic and of interest to historians of Roman society with an interest in sport and spectacle.

From inside the book

Contents

The chariot race
23
The running
55
The discus ΙΟΙ
101
The boxing
141
The wrestling
193
The sword fight
243
The archery
277
Conclusion
307
Index of passages discussed
331
Copyright

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2005)

Helen Lovatt is Lecturer in Classics at the University of Nottingham. She has written numerous articles on Latin epic and its reception.

Bibliographic information